Tesla Misses Q4 Earnings Estimates, Upbeat on Energy Storage Business

Electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla TSLA reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share of 73 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 75 cents but increased from the year-ago figure of 71 cents. Total revenues of $25.71 billion also lagged the consensus mark of $27.5 billion but inched up from $25.17 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2023.Stay up-to-date with the quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.Despite the significant miss, shares of Tesla were up more than 4% in after-hours trading. TSLA remains committed to starting the production of affordable vehicles in the first half of this year. It also reaffirmed that Cybercab will begin volume production in 2026. And most importantly, energy storage deployments are expected to grow at least 50% this year.Tesla, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Tesla, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Tesla, Inc. QuoteKey TakeawaysTesla’s fourth-quarter production totaled 459,445 units (436,718 Model 3/Y and 22,727 other models), declining 7% year over year and missing our estimate of 540,826 units. The company delivered 495,570 vehicles, which increased 2% year over year but lagged our estimate of 517,043 units. The Model 3/Y registered deliveries of 471,930 vehicles, marking year-over-year growth of 2% but falling short of our expectations by 19,221 units.Total automotive revenues of $19.78 billion were down 8% year over year and lagged our estimate of $22.56 billion. The reported figure also included $692 million from the sale of regulatory credits for electric vehicles, which increased 60% year over year. Automotive sales, excluding revenues from leasing and regulatory credits, totaled $18.66 million, which missed our projection of $21.56 million on lower-than-expected deliveries.Automotive gross profit (including automotive sales and regulatory credits) came in at $3.08 billion. Automotive gross margin came in at 15.9%, down from 18.3% reported in fourth-quarter 2023 and missed our forecast of 18.4% amid lower-than-expected revenues. Tesla’s operating margin declined 204 basis points year over year to 6.2% in the quarter under discussion and also lagged our estimate of 8.4%.Energy Generation and Storage revenues came in at $3.06 billion in fourth-quarter 2024, rocketing 113% year over year and breezing past our estimate of $2.6 billion. Notably, energy storage deployments came in at 11 GWh, exceeding our projection of 9.2 GWh.Services and Other revenues were $2.84 billion, up 31.5% year over year. However, the metric fell short of our estimate of $2.99 billion. Tesla ended fourth-quarter 2024 with 65,495 Supercharger connectors.FinancialsTesla had cash/cash equivalents/investments of $36.56 billion as of Dec 31, 2024, compared with $29 billion on Dec 31, 2023. Long-term debt and finance leases, net of the current portion, totaled $5.7 billion, up from $2.8 billion as of Dec 31, 2023.Net cash provided by operating activities amounted to $4.8 billion in fourth-quarter 2024, up from $4.37 billion in the year-ago period. Capital expenditure totaled $2.78 billion in the quarter under review. Tesla generated a free cash flow of $2.03 billion during the reported quarter compared with $2.06 billion generated in the fourth quarter of 2023.Tesla currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Other Releases From the Auto SpaceU.S. legacy automaker General Motors GM and trucking giant PACCAR PCAR reported fourth-quarter 2024 results on Tuesday.General Motors’ fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $1.92 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.85. The bottom line also increased from the year-ago quarter’s level of $1.24. Revenues of $47.71 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $44 billion and increased from $42.98 billion recorded in the year-ago period.For 2025, GM expects adjusted EBIT in the range of $13.7-$15.7 billion compared with $14.9 billion recorded in 2024. Adjusted EPS is anticipated in the range of $11-$12 compared with $10.60 recorded in 2024.PACCAR recorded earnings of $1.68 per share for the fourth quarter of 2024, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66 but declined from $2.70 per share reported in the year-ago period. Consolidated revenues (including trucks and financial services) came in at $7.9 billion, down from $9 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024.Sales from Trucks, Parts and Others were $7.36 billion. PCAR expects capex and R&D expenses for 2025 in the band of $700-$800 million and $460-$500 million, respectively.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PACCAR Inc. (PCAR): Free Stock Analysis Report General Motors Company (GM): Free Stock Analysis Report Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks