Tesla (TSLA) crushed Wall Street projections for first quarter earnings today, Wednesday, April 20. After the market close, the company reported record revenue of $18.756 billion, up 80.5% from the first quarter of 2021. (Wall Street analysts had expected revenue of $17.76 billon.) And earnings of $3.22 a share. That was well ahead of Wall Street expectations for $2.89 a share.
The stock, which was down 4.96% in the regular session, gained 4.02% in after-hours trading.
Deliveries rose by 67.8% from the first quarter of 2021 to a record 310,048 unit. That was just off analysts forecasts and up only 0.5% from the fourth quarter of 2021.
Production fell to 305,407 units from 305,840 in the fourth quarter of 2021 as a result of supply chain disruptions and Pandemic shutdowns at the company’s Shanghai plant.
After stripping away emissions credits paid by other automakers, gross automotive margins were 30%. Wall Street had projected 28.9% margins. Margins were 29.2% in the fourth quarter of 2021
That’s a remarkable achievement on margins given the increase in costs this quarter. “The inflationary impact on our cost structure has contributed to adjustments in our product pricing, despite a continued focus on reducing our manufacturing costs where possible,” the company said. That’s corporate speak for “We raised prices on our cars.”
I’d guess that Tesla’s boffo results today will help the market turn the page on yesterday’s Netflix’s subscriber miss when markets open for trading tomorrow.
