Tesla reports third-quarter earnings after the bell today, with analysts expecting 54 cents per share on $26.37 billion revenue - a potential return to growth after two straight quarterly declines. The EV giant's stock has rebounded from a brutal start to the year, but faces mounting challenges from European sales slumps and intensifying competition that could test investor confidence.
Tesla drops its third-quarter earnings report after market close today, and Wall Street's watching closely as the electric vehicle pioneer attempts to prove its recovery story is real. After a brutal start to 2025, the stock has clawed back much of its losses, but today's numbers will test whether that momentum can hold.
Analysts are betting on a comeback quarter. They're expecting 54 cents per share on revenue of $26.37 billion - which would mark a 4.7% jump from last year's $25.18 billion and end two consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue declines. But here's the catch: early projections for Q4 already show revenue dropping 1.2% again, according to LSEG data.
The company did deliver some good news earlier this month with record Q3 vehicle deliveries hitting 497,099 units on production of 447,450 vehicles. Yet dig deeper and the picture gets murkier - through the first three quarters, total deliveries sit around 1.2 million, down about 6% compared to the same period in 2024.
CEO Elon Musk and CFO Vaibhav Taneja already warned investors during July's earnings call about headwinds from higher tariff costs and the expiration of federal EV tax credits. The end of those credits, tied to President Trump's spending bill, created an artificial sales surge as consumers rushed to buy before the incentive disappeared - a boost that's now working in reverse.
Cantor Fitzgerald analysts, who maintain a buy rating on the stock, wrote Tuesday they'll be laser-focused on Musk's commentary around "several upcoming key material potential near-term catalysts." That includes progress on Tesla's Robotaxi service rolling out in Texas and California, production updates on lower-cost Model 3 and Y variants, and adoption rates for premium driver assistance systems in China and Europe.
The bigger story brewing is Tesla's brand crisis in Europe, where sales continue slumping partly due to consumer backlash against Musk's increasingly political rhetoric and activism. Competition from established players like Volkswagen and Chinese upstart BYD isn't helping either.
