Cars and Drivers

Is Tesla in Trouble After Mixed Q4 Results?

Chris Lange

Published: January 27, 2021 4:42 pm

Last Updated: January 27, 2021 8:58 pm

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported its most recent quarterly results after the closing bell on Wednesday. The electric vehicle (EV) giant said that it had $0.80 in earnings per share (EPS) and $10.74 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for $1.01 in EPS and $10.32 billion in revenue. The fourth quarter from last year had $0.41 in EPS and $7.38 billion in revenue.

Revenues increased 22.5% a quarter over quarter basis, and 46% on a year over year basis. The reason for this substantial growth was from vehicle deliveries as well as growth in other parts of the business. Also, vehicle average selling price (ASP) declined by 11% compared to the same period last year as Tesla’s product mix continues to shift from Model S and Model X to the more affordable Model 3 and Model Y.

In the fourth quarter, operating income increased to $575 million, resulting in a 5.4% operating margin.

For the quarter, automotive sales increased 46% year over year to $9.31 billion, with a gross margin of 24.1%. Total deliveries came in at 180,667 for the quarter and 499,550 for the full year.

Separately, the company reported solar deployment of 86 MW and storage deployment of 1,584 MWh, year over year increases of 59% and 199%, respectively.

On the books, Tesla reported cash and cash equivalents of $19.38 billion at the end of the fourth quarter, versus $6.27 billion at the end of the previous year.

Shares of Tesla closed Wednesday at $864.16, in a 52-week range of $70.10 to $900.40. The consensus price target is $553.28. Following the announcement, the stock was down 4% at $829.38 in the after-hours trading session.