By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) on Wednesday reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that handsomely beat analysts' forecasts following "substantial" growth in vehicle deliveries.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) gained 3% in after-hours trade following the report.
Tesla announced earnings per share of 76 cents on revenue of $8.77 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of 55 cents on revenue of $8.26 billion.
The growth on the top line was underpinned by "substantial growth in vehicle deliveries as well as growth in other parts of the business," Tesla said.
Margin growth topped estimates even as vehicle average selling price declined slightly compared to the same period last year, as the automaker shifts forecast from Model S and Model X to the more affordable Model 3 and Model Y.
Automotive margin grew to 27.7% from 25.4% in Q2 and above consensus of 24.1%.
Model 3/Y deliveries rose 60% to 128,044 and Model S/X deliveries increased 4% to 16,992 for the quarter from a year earlier.
Looking ahead, the company said its ability to hit its 500,000 vehicle deliveries target for this year, would "primarily demand on quarter over quarter increases in Model Y and Shanghai production, as well as further improvements in logistics and delivery efficiency at higher volume levels."
"Our most recent capacity expansion investments are now stabilizing with Model 3 in Shanghai achieving its designed production rate and Model Y in Fremont expected to reach capacity-level production soon," it added.
Tesla has notched five consecutive quarters of profit.