Tech billionaire and Tesla founder Elon Musk at a meeting.
Johannes Neudecker | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Tesla reported better-than-expected third-quarter results after the bell on Wednesday, even as automotive revenue dropped. The stock rose slightly in extended trading.
Here’s how the company did, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:
Earnings per share: 48 cents adjusted vs. 43 cents estimated
Revenue: $28.05 billion vs. $27.9 billion estimated
Tesla’s earnings report lands a day after CEO Elon Musk told investors on SpaceX’s quarterly call that it would be a “good idea” for his two companies to merge, and said the boards at both have formed special committees to discuss a possible tie-up.
“I feel like I’m tap dancing through a minefield,” Musk said on the call, responding to a question about a potential merger.
“Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes,” Musk said. “But at the end of the day, the shareholders have to be supportive of this.” On the Tesla side, that means needing a 50% vote of all shares, which is “quite a high hurdle,” he said.
Revenue in Tesla’s core automotive business declined 3% from a year earlier to $20.56 billion in the quarter, Tesla said in its earnings deck. Energy revenue fell 16% to $2.88 billion.
Net income attributable to common share holders plummeted 29% to $787 million, or 22 cents a share, from $1.11 billion, or 32 cents a year earlier, Tesla said.
The drop in profitability reflects a surge in spending on robotics and artificial intelligence initiatives. Capital expenditures more than doubled from a year earlier to $3.73 billion. Free cash flow plunged by 62% year over year to $1.53 billion, after Tesla turned free cash flow negative in the second quarter.