Here s what investors, analysts and other interested parties will have their eyes on when Tesla reports fourth-quarter and full-year earnings Wednesday afternoon:
Production numbers are key. The electric-car maker said it would produce 35,000 cars and deliver 33,000 in 2014. Did it? Analysts at Stifel said in a note today that they expect Tesla to have fallen short, to 31,750 Model S cars delivered last year.
Also, the company said it plans to increase production to 2,000 cars a week by the end of this year. And CEO Elon Musk said last month he expected the company to be producing 500,000 cars in 2020. How will Tesla get there?
Tesla said during its last earnings call that it expected to start deliveries of the Model X, its crossover SUV, in the third quarter of 2015. The company acknowledged that was a few months later than originally predicted, and it may provide an update on whether work on the Model X is on track.
What about demand, and expansion? Low oil prices have prompted questions about demand for electric cars and sparked gyrations in the company s stock. And there have been signs that all is not well in China, which is a key market for most companies looking to expand: Last month, Tesla s China president resigned after less than nine months on the job. And Musk has called the nation a wild card.
On average, analysts estimate that Tesla will turn in quarterly earnings of 31 cents a share on revenue of $1.23 billion, and full-year earnings of 57 cents a share on revenue of $3.7 billion.
Tesla shares are trading up slightly at about $219. They reached a 52-week high of $291.42 in September, and a 52-week low of $177.22 in May.
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