Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported quarterly earnings of $1.86 per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.57 by 18.47%. This is a 144.74% increase over earnings of $0.76 per share from the same period last year. The company reported quarterly sales of $13.76 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $13.62 billion by 1.01%. This is a 56.85% increase over sales of $8.77 billion the same period last year. After Tesla trading officially closed on October 20, 2021, the company released its Shareholder Letter before its Q3 2021 Earnings Call, which will be hosted today at 4:30 p.m. Central Time (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time).
HIGHLIGHTS
Cash
Operating cash flow less capex (free cash flow) of $1.3B in Q3
Net debt and finance lease repayments of $1.5B in Q3
In total, $164M decrease in cash and cash equivalents in Q3 to $16.1B
Profitability
$2.0B GAAP operating income; 14.6% operating margin in Q3
$1.6B GAAP net income; $2.1B non-GAAP net income (ex-SBC1) in Q3
30.5% GAAP Automotive gross margin (28.8% ex-credits) in Q3
Operations
Record vehicle production and deliveries in Q3
Started roll out of FSD City Streets Beta to a wider population in October
Revenue
Total revenue grew 57% YoY in Q3. This was primarily achieved through growth in vehicle deliveries, as well as growth in other parts of the business. At the same time, vehicle ASP declined by 6% YoY as the Model S and Model X mix reduced YoY in Q3 due to product updates and as lower ASP vehicles became a larger percentage of our mix
Profitability
Our operating income improved to $2.0B in Q3 compared to the same period last year, resulting in a 14.6% operating margin. This profit level was reached while incurring SBC expense attributable to the 2018 CEO award of $190M in Q3, primarily driven by a new operational milestone becoming probable.
Operating income increased substantially YoY mainly due to vehicle volume growth and cost reduction. Positive impacts were partially offset by ASP decline, growth in operating expenses, lower regulatory credit revenue, additional supply chain costs, Bitcoin-related impairment of $51M and other items.
Cash
Quarter-end cash and cash equivalents decreased to $16.1B in Q3, driven mainly by net debt and finance lease repayments of $1.5B, partially offset by free cash flow of $1.3B. Our total debt excluding vehicle and energy product financing has fallen to just $2.1B at the end of Q3.
© 2021, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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Eva Fox holds zero shares of Tesla, Inc., and currently (at the time of this article's publishing) holds zero options or securities in Tesla Inc. and/or its affiliates.
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
