Tesla will be posting its Q4 and full-year 2017 financial results after the closing bell on February 7, 2018. A live Q&A webcast will be held at 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. EST), where company executives including CEO Elon Musk will discuss the firm’s financial and business results for the past year. According to analysts polled by FactSet, Tesla is expected to report an adjusted loss of $3.04 a share on sales of $3.3 billion in the quarter. By comparison, the electric car company posted an adjusted loss of 69 cents a share on sales of $2.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Analysts will be taking note of signs that the California-based electric car maker is able to tackle a number of challenges, especially with regards to the manufacture of its Model 3 compact electric sedan. In Q3 2017, Tesla experienced what CEO Elon Musk readily admitted as “production hell,” due to issues related to the automation of battery production at Gigafactory 1 in Nevada. Overall, Q3 2017 ended with $3.5 billion of cash on hand and capex of $1.1 billion. The majority of capital expenditures were attributable to Model 3 and Gigafactory 1 production capacity increases.
Amid reports that Tesla continues to face battery production and quality control challenges at its battery facility, all eyes will be on the company’s ability to address the production bottlenecks that plagued the manufacture of the Model 3 in Q3 2017. Tesla delivered 1,550 Model 3 to customers in Q4, a significant increase from the 220 that were delivered in Q3 2017. As stated in its Q4 2017 delivery report, Model 3 production hit a pace equivalent to 1,000 per week during the last days of December.
“During Q4, we made major progress addressing Model 3 production bottlenecks, with our production rate increasing significantly towards the end of the quarter. In the last seven working days of the quarter, we made 793 Model 3s, and in the last few days, we hit a production rate on each of our manufacturing lines that extrapolates to over 1,000 Model 3s per week.”
The fourth quarter also saw the reveal of two new vehicles, the Tesla Semi and the next-generation Tesla Roadster. With reservations on both vehicles taking place in Q4 2017, analysts will likely attempt to glean insight on the order count for each vehicle.
In addition, revenue for the record deliveries of Model S and X in 2017, along with guidance for Model 3 will likely be discussed by Musk and the executive team on the earnings call.
A copy of Tesla’s Q4 and Full Year 2017 Financial Results will be available on Tesla’s Investors Relations page after the markets close on February 7, 2018.
