Tesla Q4 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Miss, EPS Miss, Model Y A Global Bestseller, Next-Gen Vehicle Update And More

Electric vehicle leader Tesla Inc TSLA reported fourth-quarter financial results after market close Wednesday.

Here are the key highlights.

What Happened: Tesla reported fourth-quarter revenue of $25.17 billion, which was up 3% year-over-year. The revenue missed a Street consensus estimate of $25.62 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Automotive revenue totaled $21.56 billion, which was up 1% year-over-year.

The company reported earnings per share of 71 cents, which missed a Street consensus estimate of 74 cents per share.

Tesla said revenue and earnings were impacted by growth in vehicle deliveries that have lower average selling prices.

Operating margins were 8.2% in the fourth quarter, which was down 784 basis points year-over-year, but an improvement on the 7.6% reported in the third quarter.

The company reported 41 MW of solar deployed in the fourth quarter, which was down 59% year-over-year. Energy storage of 3,202 MWh was up 30% year-over-year.

For the full fiscal year, Tesla posted revenue of $96.77 billion, which was up 19%.

The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling vehicle globally in 2023, according to the company.

"For a long time, many doubted the viability of EVs. Today, the best-selling vehicle on the planet is an EV," the company said.

The company previously reported fourth-quarter production and delivery figures. Tesla reported deliveries of 484,507 units and production of 494,989 units. This represented year-over-year increases of 19.55% and 12.57%, respectively.

Global production hit a record annualized run rate of around 2 million vehicles in the fourth quarter.

Tesla ended the fourth quarter with $29.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

Related Link: Trading Strategies For Tesla Stock Before And After Q4 Earnings

What's Next: Tesla said it is between growth waves, with the first wave being the expansion of the Model 3 and Model Y and the next one being the global expansion of a next-gen vehicle.

"In 2024, our vehicle volume growth rate may be notably lower than the growth rate achieved in 2023, as our teams work on the launch of the next-generation vehicle at Gigafactory Texas," the company said.

Tesla said it remains focused on growing its output.

"We are focused on bringing the next-generation platform to market as quickly as we can."

The ramp of Cybertrucks is expected to take longer than previous Tesla models due to its "manufacturing complexity."

The company said it has cash to fund its product roadmap and long-term expansion plans.

TSLA Price Action: Tesla shares are down 3% to $201.95 in after-hours trading Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $138.07 to $299.29. Shares of Tesla are up 44% over the last year as of Wednesday's close.

Read Next: Here’s How Many Vehicles Tesla Has Delivered, Produced In Each Quarter Since 2019

Photo courtesy of Tesla.