Tesla’s Q1 2019 financial results and earnings call: What to expect

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is set to release its Q1 2019 financial results after markets close today, April 24, 2019. Following the release of its first-quarter financial results, the electric car maker is scheduled to hold its earnings call, which will begin at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time).

Expectations are quite tempered for Tesla this quarter, following the company’s less-than-expected production and delivery numbers in Q1. After a record number of production and deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2018, Tesla’s electric car deliveries fell by around 30%, while total production numbers fell by around 12%. TSLA stock has been weighed down by these results since their release in early April, with the company off around 20% this year, compared to a roughly 16% rise for the broader S&P 500.

Earnings and Revenue

When Tesla launched the $35,000 Model 3, Elon Musk mentioned that he does not expect the electric car maker to be profitable in Q1 2019. Wall St. is currently looking for a quarterly loss of $1.84 per share based on standard accounting methods, according to FactSet. A non-GAAP loss of $0.99 per share on revenue of about $5.46 billion is also expected.

Analysts tracked by FactSet are showing some range on their predictions. Four analysts still expect Tesla to turn a profit in the first quarter, while 16 are expecting the electric car maker to report a loss of up to $2.60 per share. It should be noted that in Q1 2018, Tesla reported a GAAP loss of $4.19 per share and a non-GAAP loss of $3.06 per share, on revenue of $3.41 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the electric car maker reported a GAAP profit of $0.78 per share and a non-GAAP profit of $1.93 per share, on revenue of about $7.23 billion.

Updates for ongoing projects

Tesla is currently involved in a number of high-profile initiatives, from the buildout of Gigafactory 3 in China to the rollout of its Full Self-Driving suite. Questions from retail investors polled and aggregated by investor communication service Say reveals a notable degree of interest on projects such as the Tesla Semi, the Tesla Pickup Truck, and initiatives like the Maxwell acquisition. Some of these inquiries might be addressed by the electric car maker, similar to the Q4 2018 earnings call.

Elon Musk noted during the Model Y reveal that 2019 will be the year of the Solar Roof, Tesla’s solar shingles that are yet to be fully ramped. Tesla Energy rarely incites comparable media attention compared to the company’s electric car business. Thus, updates on high-profile and large-scale deployments of its Powerpack system, as well as the ramp of its Powerwall 2 home battery units, would likely be discussed in Tesla’s Q1 2019 earnings call.

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.