Tesla Probably Had Weakest Quarterly Profit, Revenue Gains in Three Years

Elon Musk's Tesla Inc. (TSLA), last year's worst-performing stock in the S&P 500, may underpin that performance by saying this week that fourth-quarter profit rose at the slowest pace in three years amid weaker demand and logistical issues.

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) likely rose 41% to $1.19 from a year ago, according to estimates from Visible Alpha. Revenue probably increased almost 38% to $24.4 billion, the slowest pace of growth since mid-2020. Tesla announces results after markets close on Jan. 25.

The electric vehicle (EV) company dealt with a slew of internal issues in recent months including COVID-related logistics trouble and supply chain problems. Musk, the CEO, has stirred controversy with his takeover of Twitter, prompting some Tesla shareholders to call for his ouster. Musk also faces scrutiny from regulators, including a possible trading probe over shares he sold in December and a trial over allegations that he lied about potential plans to take Tesla private in 2018.

Externally, increased competition from rival EV makers, a cooling economy, and tepid demand among Chinese customers prompted Tesla to slash prices on several models in early January in a bid to win business. What's more, Tesla announced at the start of the year that it came up short of analyst estimates for new cars delivered in the last quarter.

Tesla shares plunged by almost two-thirds last year. A modest improvement early in 2023 brings Tesla's stock to a one-year drop of about 60%, compared with a 26% decline for the S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary Index.

Source: Visible Alpha

The Key Metric: Vehicle Production

Vehicle production is a key metric for Tesla, as it needs to expand production to lift revenue and profit. As manufacturing increases, Tesla will need to address supply chain issues and new-vehicle transportation capacity.

Tesla's vehicle production growth has slowed in the last several quarters. Though the company said in early January that it produced over 439,700 cars in the last three months of 2022, coming up ahead of a predicted 435,000.