Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk dances onstage during a delivery event for Tesla China-made Model 3 cars in Shanghai, China January 7, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
Tesla is poised to report fourth-quarter earnings after markets close on Wednesday.
Here’s what Wall Street is expecting:
- Earnings: $1.72 per share, adjusted, according to a survey of analysts by Refinitiv.
- Revenue: $7.02 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Analysts’ expectations varied widely, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.80 to $2.57, and revenue estimates ranging from $6.46 billion to $7.54 billion, according to Refinitiv.
The company has already reported deliveries of 112,000 vehicles globally during the fourth quarter, a quarterly best for Tesla. That number significantly topped Wall Street estimates, and hit the low-end of Musk’s year-end sales goal.
Shares in Tesla have risen by more than 120% since the company’s Q3 2019 earnings update in October last year. At that time, Tesla notched a surprise profitable quarter following deep spending cuts, expansion of Model 3 sales outside the U.S. and the recognition of at least $30 million in revenue related to an Autopilot update that brought Tesla vehicles a so-called Smart Summon capability.
Tesla continued to rally after that update, with investors bullish about its prospects in China, especially. The company opened a car plant in Shanghai ahead of schedule. Executives are expected to offer guidance in consideration of the coronavirus epidemic impacting the factory and sales, potentially, in mainland China.
Musk previously said that he expected his electric car and solar business to become sustainably profitable beginning in the third quarter of 2018.
Tesla first went public in 2010 and has generally lost money, focusing on growth and a product road map that is science fiction-like, instead. Last year, Tesla raised more than $1 billion in fresh capital, telling investors it would deliver feature-complete, full self-driving robotaxis in 2020, and more.
Tesla recorded non-consecutive, profitable quarters once in 2013 and again in 2016. Tesla was profitable during the third and fourth quarters of 2018, but was back in the red in the early half of 2019.
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