TSLA: Tesla Reports Quarterly Earnings This Week. What’s Top of Mind for Investors?

Spoiler: Revenue is expected to rise from last year while profits are expected to shrink a little. On a side note, markets want to move onto better things after the underwhelming robotaxi event.

• Tesla TSLA is slated to report earnings this Wednesday after the closing bell. The big data dump comes a couple weeks after the company’s robotaxi event, which not only failed to spark enthusiasm among investors, but led to billions of dollars siphoned out of Tesla’s market cap. Now, Elon Musk is staring at yet another test — will Tesla manage to steer through a successful earnings report or fail investor safety?
• Here’s what traders are pricing in: revenue of $25.4 billion, much better than the $23.4 billion reported in the same quarter last year. Earnings per share of 48 cents, almost 10% below the year-ago quarter’s 53 cents a share. Net income is projected to land at $1.68 billion against last year’s $1.85 billion. Deliveries for the September quarter narrowly beat the mid-range expectations with 462,890 cars shipped.
• Analysts on Wall Street aren’t exactly aligned on Tesla’s share price direction. While the average price is pinned at $223 a share, nine out of 19 analysts tracked by Visible Alpha have slapped “buy” ratings. Seven are in favor of a hold and three are selling the stock. Tesla’s stock has been on a volatile ride this year, down 40% at one point, then up for the year only to dive about 11% underwater at the current market price of $220.70 a share.