Tesla reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday that showed higher revenue and profit from a year earlier, as US demand picked up ahead of the expiration of a $7,500 federal electric-vehicle tax credit.
Earnings per share came in at $0.50, missing the $0.54 average analyst estimate compiled by LSEG.
Revenue rose to $28.1 billion for the July-September period.
By segment, automotive revenue rose 6% to $21.21 billion. Energy generation and storage revenue jumped 44% to $3.42 billion, and services and other climbed 25% to $3.48 billion.
The Analysts had expected Tesla to report revenue of $26.24 billion for the three months ended in September, a 4.2% increase from a year earlier, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Company-wide GAAP gross margin was 18.0%, down 185 bps from a year earlier. Operating expenses rose 50% to $3.43 billion.
Income from operations fell 40% to $1.62 billion, yielding an operating margin of 5.8% (down 501 bps). Adjusted EBITDA was $4.23 billion (-9% y/y) with a 15.0% margin (-348 bps).
Third quarter results were supported by stronger vehicle deliveries and record software sales, though profitability remained under pressure from price cuts and rising costs.
After posting two consecutive year-on-year revenue declines, the Elon Musk-led company returned to growth.
Tesla shares closed at $438.97 ahead of the results, giving the company a market capitalization of about $1.46 trillion.
Immediately after the release, Tesla shares were trading 0.8% lower at $439 in extended trading.
Net income was also projected to rise modestly from last year’s level.
Automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits sold to other automakers to meet emissions targets, was estimated to be 15.6%, based on a survey of 19 analysts by Visible Alpha.
That compares with 17.05% a year earlier, reflecting continued pricing pressure and product mix changes as Tesla prioritized volume growth.
“Our focus remains on scaling our core hardware business by maximizing our deliveries and deployments, as these products will deliver increasing value to our customers over time via services powered by AI,” Tesla said in the shareholder deck.
