Tesla’s Financial Results Miss Wall Street Forecasts Across The Board

Electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) has reported fourth-quarter 2024 financial results that missed Wall Street forecasts on the top and bottom lines.The company led by Elon Musk declared earnings per share (EPS) of $0.73 U.S., which was below the $0.76 U.S. expected among analysts. Revenue in the final three months of last year amounted to $25.71 billion U.S., which was less than the $27.26 billion U.S. forecast on Wall Street. Tesla’s revenue increased just 2% from $25.17 billion U.S. a year earlier. Automotive revenue declined 8% to $19.8 billion U.S., and of that, $692 million U.S. came from regulatory credits.The company’s operating income declined 23% year over year to $1.6 billion U.S.The company cited reduced average selling prices across all of its electric vehicle models as a major reason for the decline.Earlier in January, Tesla reported deliveries for the fourth quarter of 495,570 vehicles. For the full year, deliveries totaled 1.8 million, marking the company’s first annual decline ever. To end 2024, Tesla offered several discounts and incentives to help sell its electric vehicles. In China, Tesla cut prices on its popular Model Y SUV.In a bright spot, Tesla’s energy business performed better in the quarter than its automotive unit. Energy generation and storage revenue of $3.06 billion U.S. was up 113% from the same period a year earlier.In its earnings call with analysts and media, Tesla executives said they plan to review every aspect of the company’s cost of goods sold per vehicle to help make its EVs more affordable.The decline in electric vehicle sales comes as Tesla pushes further into new areas such as self-driving cars and robots. Tesla declined to provide any formal earnings guidance for this year.The stock of Tesla has risen 103% in the last 12 months to trade at $389.10 U.S. per share.