Tesla stock leaps on solid Q3 earnings, delivery growth outlook

Tesla posted stronger-than-expected third quarter earnings Wednesday, and said it expects to grow overall vehicle deliveries this year, as investors look for guidance on the groups AI and full-self driving ambitions and the near-term future of its recent robotaxi launch.

Tesla said adjusted earnings for the three months ending in September were pegged at 72 cents per share, up nearly 6% from the same period last year and 5 cents well head of the Street consensus forecast of 58 cents per share. Group revenues, Tesla said, rose 7.8% from last year to $25.18 billion, falling just shy of analysts’ forecasts of a $25.37 billion tally.

Gross automotive margins were 19.8%, a modest increase from last year that stopped Street forecasts of around 17%.

“We delivered strong results in Q3 with growth in vehicle deliveries both sequentially and year-on-year, resulting in record third-quarter volumes,” the company said in a statement. “We also recognized our second-highest quarter of regulatory credit revenues as other OEMs are still behind on meeting emissions requirements.”

“Despite sustained macroeconomic headwinds and others pulling back on EV investments, we remain focused on expanding our vehicle and energy product lineup, reducing costs and making critical investments in AI projects and production capacity,” Tesla added. “We believe these efforts will allow us to capitalize on the ongoing transition in the transportation and energy sectors.”

Tesla shares were marked 7.75% higher in after-hours trading immediately following the earnings release to indicate a Thursday opening bell price of $230.21.

Tesla, which earlier this year cautioned the 2024 deliveries would be “significantly lower” that 2023 levels, shifted around 463,000 vehicles over the three months ending in September, a 6.4% increase from last year that snapped a streak of two consecutive quarterly declines.

Despite Tesla’s earlier warnings, Musk has said the group can top last year’s record 1.8 million delivery tally, but that would require a blowout fourth quarter performance of more than half a million - and possibly further price cuts or incentives.

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This story was originally published October 23, 2024, 1:15 PM.