Q3 revenue and profit miss estimates; Cybertruck deliveries ‘on track’ for later this year

October 19, 2023

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Tesla (TSLA) stock was volatile in after-hours trading after the electric-vehicle maker missed on both the top and bottom lines, though the company did reveal that Cybertruck deliveries are on track for November of this year.

For the quarter, Tesla reported top-line revenue of $23.4 billion, missing analysts’ estimates of $24.06 billion, however revenue did climb 13% from a year ago. From a profitability standpoint, Tesla reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66 versus $0.74 expected and adjusted net income of $2.3 billion, versus the $2.56 billion expected, which is nearly 30% lower than a year ago.

The drop in profitability could be attributed to expected downward pressure on margins since Tesla began its cost-cutting efforts late last year. Tesla reported Q3 gross margin of 17.9%, slightly missing Wall Street estimates of 18.0%. Last quarter Tesla reported gross margin of 18.2%.

Tesla however did reiterate its 2023 production goal of 1.8 million vehicles. Earlier this month, Tesla said it delivered 435,059 vehicles globally, of which approximately 419,000 were Model Y and Model 3 vehicles and around 16,000 were higher-priced Model X and Model S cars. Wall Street consensus estimates had deliveries pegged at 456,722.

Through three quarters of the year Tesla has delivered around 1.3 million vehicles globally, so the company will need a very strong quarter — of around 500,000 — to hit its annual delivery goal.

Looking ahead to future products, Tesla said Cybertruck deliveries remain on track for later this year, with deliveries beginning in November. Though Tesla had said a delivery event would occur in Q3, no event took place in the quarter. The company also said it expects the Model Y production to gradually ramp up higher at Giga Austin and Giga Berlin.