Tesla Earnings Stock Jumps After Record Profit Sells Despite Supply

Tesla Earnings: Stock Jumps After Record Profit, Sells Despite Supply Chain Issues

Tesla Inc. reported another record quarter of sales and profits late Wednesday, beating Wall Street estimates, though it said its factories remained running below capacity due to supply chain issues.

Tesla TSLA, -4.96% said it made $3.2 billion, or $2.86 per share, in the first quarter compared to earnings of $438 million, or 39 cents per share, in the first quarter same period last year.

Adjusted for one-time items, the electric vehicle maker earned $3.22 per share.

Revenue rose 81% to $18.6 billion from $10.39 billion a year ago, thanks to higher average auto prices and growth in vehicle sales, the company said.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected the company to report adjusted earnings per share of $2.26 on sales of $17.85 billion.

The stock rose more than 4% after the results.

“Public interest in a sustainable future continues to grow and we remain focused on growing as quickly as possible,” Tesla said in a letter to investors.

Tesla unexpectedly managed “an impressive increase in sales” despite ongoing problems and “even Musk’s recent game for Twitter,” said Alyssa Altman of consulting firm Publicis Sapient.

With the two newer factories, “the company appears well positioned to offset reduced production capacity in the Far East due to the Shanghai lockdown,” Altman said.

In its letter to investors, Tesla said supply chain issues and the cost of commodity prices, which have recently risen “severalfold,” continue to weigh, the EV maker said.

“Our own factories have been running below capacity for several quarters as the supply chain became the main constraining factor, which is likely to continue through the end of 2022,” the company said.

Tesla said a spike in COVID-19 cases ended with a temporary shutdown of the Shanghai factory and parts of the company’s supply chain.

“Although limited production has recently resumed, we continue to monitor the situation closely,” the company said.

The ramp-up at the newer factories in Austin, Texas and Berlin, Germany will also depend on supply chain deficiencies, Tesla said.

“Factory ramps take time, and it will be no different at Gigafactory Austin and Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg.”

The company also promised to release its full self-driving suite of driver-assistance systems this year to all U.S. customers who opted for the $10,000 package “before the end of this year.”

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and other Tesla executives will host a conference call with analysts at 5:30 p.m. ET to discuss the results. The call will be webcast.

Musk made a $43 billion bid for the social media company last week.

Tesla stock is up about 36% over the past 12 months, which compares to a roughly 8% gain for the S&P 500 index. SPX, -0.06%