Tesla reported its second consecutive quarterly profit Wednesday and better-than-expected sales, but its fourth-quarter earnings fell short of analysts’ expectations – with its shares dipping slightly in after-hours trading.
Tesla reported its second consecutive quarterly profit Wednesday and better-than-expected sales, but its fourth-quarter earnings fell short of analysts’ expectations – with its shares dipping slightly in after-hours trading.
On the one hand, Tesla’s results and the outlook for 2019 were not too bad, but it’s automotive segment – which still accounts for the majority of Tesla’s business just didn’t reach the profit expectations some investors were anticipating.
This is Tesla fourth time since it went public in 2010, and the first time it has managed to have back-to-back profitable quarters. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last year that he expected Tesla to be sustainably profitable beginning in the third quarter of 2018, which is just what has happened.
In a letter to investors on Wednesday, Tesla said it expects to deliver 360,000 to 400,000 vehicles in 2019, for an expected growth rate of between 45 percent to 65 percent compared with 2018.
