Unlock stock picks and a broker-level newsfeed that powers Wall Street.
TSLA Stock: 3 Top Takeaways From the Tesla Earnings Event

In This Article:

Yesterday brought the earnings call that Wall Street had been waiting for. As the closing bells sounded, both institutional and retail investors prepared to hear from Elon Musk. The Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO missed the last earnings call for the previous quarter. This time around, investors had plenty of questions about the company’s plans and what they meant for TSLA stock. Even after the electric vehicle (EV) innovator surpassed expectations with the quarter’s delivery statistics, there has been considerable speculation regarding the company and its industry.

Interior of the Tesla Model 3
Interior of the Tesla Model 3

Source: Khairil Azhar Junos/Shutterstock.com

Tesla stock was rising in anticipation of the call, but today it began by falling. Does that mean that Musk reported bad news? Not at all, but there’s plenty to unpack about the company’s previous quarter and the year ahead. There are several top takeaways of which investors should take note.

Investors should begin assessing the quarter by reviewing the basic figures. Tesla beat analyst expectations in both the important categories of adjusted earnings and revenue. It reported earnings for the quarter of $2.52 per share, 16 cents above the expected price of $2.36. Quarterly reported revenue was $17.72 billion, opposite the predicted $16.57 billion.

InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

The initial takeaway from the those important statistics is that Tesla has proved it can remain profitable during a year of growth. That shouldn’t be dismissed as insignificant. It is not, however, one of the key takeaways. Let’s take a closer look.

Takeaway No. 1: The Supply Chain Crisis Is Real

First, let’s look at the bad news. One of the defining market trends of 2021 was the supply chain crisis. It posed constraints for many sectors, and EV producers were among the most impacted. Musk acknowledged on the earnings call that the company was definitely “chip-limited,” confirming that no new models would be released this year. This means that the highly anticipated Cybertruck’s launch date has been delayed until 2023. Additionally, fans shouldn’t expect to see the $25,000 car on the market this year.

This is disappointing for both investors and EV aficionados. However, it doesn’t mean that TSLA stock will suffer in 2022. The call also confirmed that the company is focused on expanding production and getting even more EVs to market. Tesla’s Freemont, California, factory recently set a record for the number of vehicles produced. Musk plans to take it even further, expanding production capacity to more than 600,000 cars this year.