Tesla Q3 Profit Trounces Street On Strong Deliveries

(RTTNews) - Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) Wednesday reported a third-quarter profit that surged from a year ago and trounced Wall Street estimates, driven by a 57% jump in revenues, reflecting strong deliveries despite supply chain challenges in the auto industry caused by chip shortage.

Palo Alto, California-based Tesla reported third-quarter profit of $1.62 billion or $1.44 per share, compared to last year's profit of $331 million or $0.27 per share.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $1.86 per share, compared to $0.76 per share last year. On average, 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.58 per share for the quarter.

The electric car maker's revenues for the quarter surged 57% to $13.76 billion from $8.77 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $13.62 billion.

Tesla said revenue growth was driven by growth in vehicle deliveries, as well as growth in other parts of the business.

Tesla produced 237,823 vehicles and delivered 241,391 vehicles in the third-quarter. It delivered 232,102 units of its Model 3 and Model Y, along with 9,289 units of its Model S and Model X.

Meanwhile, vehicle ASP declined by 6% from last year as the Model S and Model X mix reduced from a year ago in the third quarter due to product updates and as lower ASP vehicles became a larger percentage of mix.

"The third quarter of 2021 was a record quarter in many respects. We achieved our best-ever net income, operating profit and gross profit. Additionally, we reached an operating margin of 14.6%, exceeding our medium-term guidance of 'operating margin in low-teens,'" the company said in a statement.

Looking forward, Tesla said it expects to grow manufacturing capacity as quickly as possible. The company expects to achieve 50% average annual growth in vehicle deliveries.

TSLA closed Wednesday's trading at $865.80, up $1.53 or 0.18%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, slipped $5.07 or 0.59%, in the after-hours trading.