It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Tesla (TSLA). Shares have lost about 12% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Tesla due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Tesla, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Tesla Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates
Tesla reported third-quarter 2025 earnings per share of 50 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents and decreased from the year-ago figure of 72 cents. Total revenues of $28.1 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $26.4 and rose 12% year over year.
Key Takeaways
Tesla’s third-quarter production totaled 447,450 units (435,826 Model 3/Y and 11,634 other models), which declined 5% year over year and missed our estimate of 451,948 units. The company delivered 497,099 vehicles, which rose 7% year over year and topped our estimate of 435,370 units. The Model 3/Y registered deliveries of 481,166 vehicles, which rose 9% year over year and topped our expectations of 416,456 units.
Total automotive revenues of $21.2 billion were up 6% year over year and topped our estimate of $18.86 billion. The reported figure also included $417 million from the sale of regulatory credits for electric vehicles, which decreased 43.6% year over year. Automotive sales, excluding revenues from leasing and regulatory credits, totaled $20.4 billion, which surpassed our projection of $18 billion on higher-than-expected deliveries. Automotive gross profit (excluding automotive leasing and regulatory credits) came in at $3 billion. Automotive gross margin came in at 14.7%, down from 16.4% reported in third-quarter 2024.
Tesla’s operating margin declined 501 basis points year over year to 5.8% in the quarter under discussion, but topped our estimate of 4.9%.
Energy Generation and Storage revenues came in at $3.4 billion in the third quarter of 2025, which rose 44% year over year and beat our estimate of $2.9 billion. Notably, energy storage deployments came in at 12.5 GWh. Services and Other revenues were $3.5 billion, up 25% year over year. The metric also topped our estimate of $3.35 billion. Tesla ended third-quarter 2025 with 73,817 Supercharger connectors.
Financials
Tesla had cash/cash equivalents/investments of $41.6 billion as of Sept. 30, 2025, compared with $36.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024. Long-term debt and finance leases, net of the current portion, totaled $5.78 billion, up from $5.75 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Net cash provided by operating activities amounted to $6.24 billion in third-quarter 2025, down from $6.26 billion in the year-ago period. Capital expenditure totaled $2.25 billion in the quarter under review. Tesla generated free cash flow of $4 billion during the reported quarter compared with $2.7 billion generated in the third quarter of 2024.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
It turns out, fresh estimates have trended upward during the past month.
VGM Scores
At this time, Tesla has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock has a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Interestingly, Tesla has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry Player
Tesla is part of the Zacks Automotive - Domestic industry. Over the past month, General Motors (GM), a stock from the same industry, has gained 1.8%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended September 2025 more than a month ago.
General Motors reported revenues of $48.59 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -0.3%. EPS of $2.80 for the same period compares with $2.96 a year ago.
For the current quarter, General Motors is expected to post earnings of $2.21 per share, indicating a change of +15.1% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +12.2% over the last 30 days.
The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for General Motors. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of A.
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Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report General Motors Company (GM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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