It’s not an overstatement to say that Tesla’s earnings report this week was jaw-dropping. With analysts expecting the electric automaker to post a quarterly loss, Tesla posted a profit of $1.91 per share. Suffice it to say, analysts were completely caught by surprise.
“While we remain concerned on 2020 momentum / profitability, we acknowledge this was an outstanding quarter relative to lowered expectations despite mixed headwinds which we expect could increase as Model Y launches,” an Evercore ISI analyst said of Tesla’s earnings report. Other analysts, meanwhile, echoed that sentiment.
In the wake of Tesla’s impressive earnings report, shares of Tesla have been on an absolute tear. Just one day after posting its earnings report, shares of Tesla shot up by more than 40 points. Tesla’s shares have continued to rise and are up by nearly 5% in trading today. In the span of about 5 months, Tesla shares have jumped by a whopping 76%, or 137 points to be exact.
As it stands now, Tesla’s market cap stands at about $56.4 billion, which means that Tesla over the past few days has eclipsed GM to become the most valuable auto manufacturer in the U.S. As a point of contrast, GM’s market cap currently falls in the $51.9 billion range.
Notably, most everyone seems to be impressed by Tesla’s earnings report, even traditional automakers who have never been shy about throwing shade in Tesla’s direction. To this point, Volkswagon CEO Herbert Diess recently pushed back against the notion that Tesla is too small to thrive.
“Tesla is not niche,” Diess told reporters this week. “The Model 3 is a large-series model and they are one of the biggest manufacturers of electric-car batteries.”
All that said, it remains to be seen if Tesla can remain profitable on a consistent basis in the quarters and years ahead.
