Tesla's quarterly profits are "record" ... but a quarter of them are not from cars!
Tesla posted first-quarter earnings that easily beat estimates, with results in line with the record deliveries reported by the electric vehicle maker during the first three months of 2021. However, first-quarter revenue came in slightly below expectations.
Tesla generated $ 10.39 billion in revenue during the first quarter, compared to the $ 10.42 billion analysts forecast in a Bloomberg survey. However, it was higher than the first quarter of 2020, when it recorded $ 5.99 billion.
The company's quarterly net profit reached a record $ 438 million, and it posted a positive impact of $ 101 million from Bitcoin sales during the quarter.
The adjusted earnings per share was 93 cents, compared to the expected 80 cents, and 23 cents in the corresponding quarter of last year.
This comes after Tesla reported earlier in April, record deliveries during the first quarter amounted to 184,800 cars, most of which were the more expensive 3 and Y models.
Business results revealed late Monday evening indicate that gross car margins rose unexpectedly by more than one percentage point to 26.5%, while reducing costs, helping to expand profitability even as Tesla models outperform sales. The price is significantly lower on sales of the higher margin S and X models.
In its message to shareholders, Tesla said it still plans to achieve an average annual growth of 50% in vehicle deliveries over several years.
"In some years we may grow at a faster pace, which we expect will be the case in 2021, as the rate of growth will depend on our equipment capacity, operational efficiency, capacity and supply chain stability," the company added.
Although Tesla does not separate deliveries or sales by geographic region, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives predicts that China will account for about 40% of Tesla's total global deliveries next year.
