TSLA Q1 Earnings Miss Mark, Investors Pin Hopes on Robotaxi, Cheap EVs

Electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla TSLA reported first-quarter 2025 earnings per share of 27 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents and also decreased from the year-ago figure of 45 cents. Total revenues of $19.33 billion also lagged the consensus mark of $21 billion and declined 9% year over year.  

Despite the significant miss, shares of Tesla were up more than 5% in after-hour trading. TSLA remains committed to starting the production of affordable vehicles in the first half of this year. It also reaffirmed that Cybercab will begin volume production in 2026. The company is also on track for the pilot launch of Robotaxi in Austin by June. However, with the current global tariff chaos and uncertainty with Tesla’s China business, the company will revisit 2025 delivery volume guidance in the second-quarter update.

Tesla, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Tesla, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Tesla, Inc. Quote

Key Takeaways

Tesla’s first-quarter production totaled 362,615 units (345,454 Model 3/Y and 17,161 other models), declining 16% year over year and missing our estimate of 426,407 units. The company delivered 336,681 vehicles, which fell 13% year over year and lagged our estimate of 409,584 units. The Model 3/Y registered deliveries of 323,800 vehicles, which declined 12% year over year and fell short of our expectations of 389,255 units.

Total automotive revenues of roughly $14 billion were down 19.6% year over year and lagged our estimate of $18.4 billion. The reported figure also included $595 million from the sale of regulatory credits for electric vehicles, which increased 34.6% year over year. Automotive sales, excluding revenues from leasing and regulatory credits, totaled $12.92 billion, which missed our projection of $17.5 billion on lower-than-expected deliveries. Automotive gross profit (excluding automotive leasing and regulatory credits) came in at $1.46 billion. Automotive gross margin came in at 11.3%, down from 15.5% reported in first-quarter 2024.

Tesla’s operating margin declined 343 basis points year over year to 2.1% in the quarter under discussion and significantly lagged our estimate of 7.5%. (Find the latest earnings estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

Energy Generation and Storage revenues came in at $2.73 billion in first-quarter 2025, surging 67% year over year but lagging our estimate of $3 billion. Notably, energy storage deployments came in at 10.4 GWh. Services and Other revenues were $2.64 billion, up 15% year over year. However, the metric fell short of our estimate of $3 billion. Tesla ended first-quarter 2025 with 67,316 Supercharger connectors.

Financials

Tesla had cash/cash equivalents/investments of $37 billion as of March 31, 2025, compared with $36.5 billion on Dec. 31, 2024. Long-term debt and finance leases, net of the current portion, totaled $5.3 billion, down from $5.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Net cash provided by operating activities amounted to $2.1 billion in first-quarter 2025, down from $4.8 billion in the year-ago period. Capital expenditure totaled $1.5 billion in the quarter under review. Tesla generated free cash flow of $664 million during the reported quarter compared with $2.8 billion generated in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Tesla currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Releases From the Auto Space

Genuine Parts Company GPC reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $1.75 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66 but declined from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $2.22 per share. Genuine Parts reported net sales of $5.87 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.82 billion and inched up 1.4% year over year.

Genuine Parts had cash and cash equivalents worth $420.4 million as of March 31, 2025, down from $490 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. Long-term debt increased to $3.78 billion from $3.74 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024. For 2025, Genuine Parts expects year-over-year revenue growth of 2-4% for both automotive and industrial segments. Overall sales growth is projected in the range of 2-4% compared with the growth of 1.6% in 2024.

Autoliv Inc. ALV reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $2.15 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.72 and rose 37% year over year. The company reported net sales of $2.58 billion in the quarter, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.47 billion but fell 1.4% year over year.Autoliv had cash and cash equivalents of $322 million as of March 31, 2025. Long-term debt totaled $1.57 billion

Autoliv reiterated its guidance for 2025. It expects 2025 organic sales growth of around 2% compared with 0.4% reported in 2024. The adjusted operating margin is anticipated to be in the range of 10-10.5%. Operating cash flow is expected to be $1.2 billion in 2025.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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