Can Tesla Manage to Please on Earnings?

Cars and Drivers

Published: July 31, 2014 2:20 pm

Last Updated: July 31, 2014 4:28 pm

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is set to report earnings after the close of trading on Thursday. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.04 in operating earnings per share (down from $0.20 a year ago) but on a revenue gain of close to 47% to $810.6 million. This is one of those reports where the bar might be set low, but Tesla shares are up so much that it seems likely that the company still has to do very well to keep the bulls happy.

UPDATE: TESLA’s FULL EARNINGS REPORT SUMMARY IS HERE

Tesla delivered 6,457 Model S cars in the first quarter of 2014 and it guided with the previous earnings report that the second-quarter deliveries would come to 7,500 for the second quarter.

Much interest may be generated around the total units sold and the company’s margin expectations. Still, the Gigafactory, the move to get states to allow direct selling and the questionable outcome from accidents may all come up as front and center issues outside of the formal earnings report. In fact, Tesla signed an agreement with its existing partner Panasonic for the Gigafactory for its lithium ion battery project. One small problem is that no details have been seen on the matter.

Tesla beat earnings last time at $0.12 in earnings per share versus a $0.06 per share estimate. Revenue of $713 million was about $16 million ahead of estimates. Still, shares were down 7% shortly after the report a quarter ago because the company warned that battery cell supply would constrain production this quarter — and improve in the third quarter.

ALSO READ: Cars So Hot They Are Out of Stock 2014

Now you know why there is expected to be a drop in earnings. WhisperNumber.com just sent us their earnings whisper review. They said:

The whisper number is $0.03, one cent behind the analysts’ estimate and showing no confidence from investors. Whispers range from a low of $0.01 to a high of $0.05. Tesla has a 50% positive surprise history (having topped the whisper in 4 of the 8 earnings reports for which we have data). The overall average price move is “as expected” (beat the whisper number and see strength, miss and see weakness) when the company reports earnings.

Tesla shares were down 1% at $226.50 in late afternoon trading ahead of the report, and the 52-week range is $116.10 to $265.00. Its consensus analyst price target is almost $225, and the highest analyst price target is all the way up at $325.

Keep in mind that Tesla’s market cap is $28 billion already.

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