By Kim Khan
Investing.com - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported a strong quarter and a surprise profit in the first quarter Wednesday, despite facing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
The company reported a profit of $1.24 per share on revenue of $5.99 billion
Analysts were looking for a loss of 25 cents per share and revenue of $6.16 billion, according to forecasts compiled by Investing.com.
Shares rose 6.7% in after-hours trading.
Revenue was a little light, but the numbers still indicated resilience at a time when the company had to shut down its factories.
“Although impacted by inefficiencies related to the temporary suspension of production and deliveries in many locations, our gross margin remained strong,” Tesla said in a statement.
“Despite the expiration of various government incentives at the end of last year, Q1 was pacing to be the strongest quarter of deliveries until our operations were interrupted in March,” the company said. “As a result, we remain confident in growing global production capacity as quickly as possible.”
“Looking at the powerful rally in Tesla stock, it’s quite obvious that the Street is looking beyond 2020 which is a big abnormality for car makers and other industrial companies,” Investing.com’s Haris Anwar said.