Tesla Motors Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Tesla Motors (NAS: TSLA) reported earnings on May 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Tesla Motors beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share grew. GAAP earnings per share grew.


Gross margins contracted, operating margins grew, net margins increased.

Revenue details
 Tesla Motors chalked up revenue of $561.8 million. The 11 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $496.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were much higher than the prior-year quarter's $30.2 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.12. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.04 per share. Non-GAAP EPS were $0.12 for Q1 versus -$0.76 per share for the prior-year quarter. GAAP EPS were $0.09 for Q1 compared to -$0.86 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 17.1%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -1.0%, much better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 2.0%, much better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $457.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.01.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.91 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.07.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 874 members out of 1,318 rating the stock outperform, and 444 members rating it underperform. Among 328 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 173 give Tesla Motors a green thumbs-up, and 155 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Tesla Motors is outperform, with an average price target of $40.68.

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The article Tesla Motors Beats on Both Top and Bottom Lines originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool recommends Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of Tesla Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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