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Tesla Sales Seen Revving 70% in Q1, But Model X Could Hit Margins

(Tesla)

Electric-car maker Tesla Motors (TSLA) took a hit ahead of its Q1 earnings report set for release after the close Wednesday, as Baird lowered its profit-margin estimates for the quarter.

Current analyst consensus calls for Q1 sales of $1.6 billion, up 70% from the year-earlier quarter, according to Thomson Reuters. That would be its sharpest increase since Q3 2014. Wall Street expects Tesla to report a loss of 58 cents a share, deepening from 36 cents in Q1 2015.

On Friday, Baird analyst Ben Kallo wrote in a research note that the slow ramp of the new Model X SUV will hit Q1 profit margins. He lowered his margin estimate on the Model X to minus 10% from minus 5%. His overall gross margin estimate is 19.3% vs. the 21% consensus. He added that a refreshed Model S sedan should help Tesla still reach its year-end delivery goal of 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles.

Tesla stock slid 2.8% Friday, to 240.76. Tesla stock has been hovering in the mid-200s and hit an eight-month high of 269 on April 7, when the company reported 325,000 preorders of its new Model 3 sedan and cleared a cup-with-handle base. By April 21, that number had risen to 400,000.

The company hopes to begin production of its lower-cost Model 3 -- the base price is about $35,000 -- by the end of 2017.