Tesla soundly beat analyst estimates with their Q3 2021 production and delivery figures. With a little help from increased Model S sales, and a big push from a strong September in China, Tesla delivered a new quarterly record of more than 241,000 cars worldwide.
Many analysts thought the ongoing global supply chain and semiconductor shortage would have had a larger impact on their numbers, resulting in Tesla beating consensus estimates by as much as 20,000 units.
Now the automaker is set to releases it Q3 2021 financials after markets close on Wednesday, October 20. For the first time the earnings call will be held in Austin, Texas, the new home of Tesla’s headquarters.
Here’s what to expect.
Earnings
According to a poll of Wall Street analysts by FactSet, Tesla is expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.58 per share. In Q3 2020, Tesla reported adjusted earnings of 76 cents per share.
Estimize, a crowd-sourcing platform, is slightly more optimistic. Analysts polled are expecting an adjusted profit of $1.79 per share.
Revenue
The FactSet consensus is for Tesla to announce $13.7 billion in revenue for Q3 2021. That is up from Tesla’s Q3 2020 revenue of $8.77 billion, and $11.96 billion in Q2 2021.
Estimize is again a little higher with an expectation of $13.9 billion of revenue.
Regulatory Credits
As always, there will be a strong focus by critics on Tesla’s regulatory credit revenue. The money Tesla makes from other automakers buying their credits has resulted in a steady flow of income over the last few years. In Q2 2021 it earned $354M in regulatory credit revenue, down 17% year-over-year and the lowest amount reported over the previous four quarters.
Other Announcements
There are always at least a few surprise announcements from CEO Elon Musk during quarterly earnings call. However he said during the Q2 2021 call that he will no longer be attending them unless there is something important to say or announce.
So if he is on the call, it is basically a guarantee of something big coming.
Musk already provided a production update on the Cybertruck at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders. But with the recent changes to the website, we might get another update on the electric truck.
We could hear more about the official opening date for Giga Berlin, as construction at that factory appears to be closer to completion than in Austin.
Tesla was also rumoured to be reintroducing the Standard Range (SR) Model Y later this year with a new, larger lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack. Could Tesla unveil it during the call?
How to listen to Tesla Q3 2021 Financial Results
What: Date of Tesla Q3 2021 Financial Results and Q&A Webcast
When: Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Time: 4:30 p.m. Central Time / 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Q3 2021 Update: http://ir.tesla.com
Webcast: http://ir.tesla.com (live and replay)
Approximately two hours after the Q&A session, an archived version of the webcast will be available on the Company’s website.
Disclaimer: Darryn is a TSLA shareholder and has no plans to change positions within 72 hours.
