Tesla Inc.’s profit topped $1 billion for the first time in the company’s history, and its sales nearly doubled, rocketing Wall Street expectations. Still, there was no stock rally late Monday as limited battery supply with the ongoing chip shortage crimped the Silicon Valley electric-car maker’s output and forced it to delay the launch of its commercial truck, calling it an “inflection point” for EVs.
The chip shortage “remains quite serious,” CEO Elon Musk said after the results. “The chip supply is fundamentally the governing factor on our output,” and it’s hard to say how long it will last because it’s out of Tesla’s control, he said.
Musk said that Tesla had used other chips, but it is not just about a swap, as new software has to be rewritten.
In the second quarter, Tesla,+2.21%, earned $1.14 billion, or $1.02 a share, compared with $104 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $1.45 a share.
Revenue soared to 98% to $11.96 billion, from $6.04 billion a year ago, which the company pinned in part on “substantial growth” in vehicle sales.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected Tesla to report adjusted earnings of 94 cents a share on sales of $11.51 billion for the quarter.
Analysts by FactSet expected Tesla to report adjusted earnings of 94 cents a share on sales of $11.51 billion in the quarter. Monday’s results marked the eighth straight GAAP and adjusted quarterly profit for the company. But Tesla shares gained only 1% in after-hours trading and were up roughly the same premarket Tuesday.
“Public sentiment and support for electric vehicles seem to be at a never-before-seen inflection point,” Tesla said in a letter to investors.
Tesla kept its sales guidance for the year nonspecific, saying that “over a multi-year horizon”, it expects 50% average annual growth in vehicle sales and sees 2021 as a year it could grow faster.
Tesla had a mixed first quarter in April, zooming past Wall Street expectations for adjusted profit. However, it lost the sales forecast by a pinch while parts shortages were tormenting the company.
Tesla shares have lost about 6% this year while the company is sticking to gains of about 133% for the past 12 months. That compares with an advance of around 18% and 37% for the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.24% in the same span of time.
