Tesla Hits Enough Targets to Make Investors Happy

Cars and Drivers

Published: May 6, 2015 5:25 pm

Last Updated: April 28, 2020 5:52 am

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported first-quarter 2015 earnings after markets closed on Wednesday. The electric car maker posted an adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.36 on adjusted revenues of $1.1 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported adjusted EPS of $0.02 on revenues of $761.34 million. First-quarter results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.31 and $1.23 billion in revenues.

On a GAAP basis, the carmaker lost $1.22 per basic share. GAAP revenue totaled $940 million. Adjusted revenue includes $163.7 million in deferred Model S gross profit due to lease accounting.

The carmaker built 11,160 vehicles in the quarter, 10% more than its guidance, according to the company. Tesla delivered 10,045 units in the quarter, slightly above its announced level of 10,030 last month. The company directly leased 592 cars to customers in the first quarter, worth $63 million in aggregate value.

In 2015 Tesla expects to deliver 55,000 units, including its new Model X beginning in the third quarter. In the second quarter, Tesla expects to build 12,000 cars and deliver 10,000. That still leaves the company to build and deliver about 35,000 units in the second half of the year.

Adjusted automotive gross margins in the quarter came in exactly on target at 26%. For the second quarter, the company is guiding automotive gross margin at just under 25% due to foreign currency exchange effects.

The company said the Model X release is on target for a late third-quarter delivery, and Tesla is now building and testing “release candidate Model X prototypes.”

Tesla only mentioned China once in its shareholder letter: “While we still have work to do in China, we saw encouraging signs of a return to growth in orders there as well.” European and North American orders are reported to be “much higher than Q1 last year.”

Shares traded up about 2.7% at $236.56 in Wednesday’s after-hours session. The stock’s 52-week range is $177.22 to $291.42. The consensus price target for the shares was around $264.00 before the report, with the highest target set at $400.00.

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