Elon Musk’s big bet that Tesla price cuts could boost sales and profits amid increasing competition and poor economic sentiment appears to be yielding mixed results. The company beat analyst expectations for net income in the April-June quarter, although its shares barely budged.
The Austin, Texas, maker of electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries reported net income of $2.7 billion in the quarter, a 20% increase from a year ago. Earnings per share also rose 20% to 78 cents when measured via generally accepted accounting principles.
Analysts, however, tend to focus on Tesla’s own measurement of profit, which excludes stock-based compensation expense. By that measure, Tesla’s net income zoomed to $3.15 billion, or 91 cents a share, sharply exceeding analyst estimates of 80 cents per share according to FactSet.
Tesla shares were flat at roughly $292 after the earnings report, up a smidgeon from their close at $291.26.
Total revenue rose 47% to $24.93 billion.
Tesla reported strong vehicle delivery numbers July 2, saying they rose 83% compared to the year-earlier quarter after the company cut prices several times on its four electric vehicle models. The company sold a record 466,140 vehicles worldwide from April through June, nearly doubling the 254,695 it sold during the same period a year earlier.
The vast majority of the sales involved Tesla’s popular Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossover SUVs.