Why Tesla Stock Plummeted Today

(NASDAQ: TSLA) stock lost ground Thursday following the publication of the company's fourth-quarter earnings results. The electric vehicle (EV) company's share price closed out the daily session down 12.1%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Tesla's Q4 report arrived with some concerning results for shareholders. The company posted non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings of $0.71 per share on revenue of $25.17 billion in the fourth quarter. The average analyst estimate had called for the company to report adjusted per-share earnings of $0.74 on sales of roughly $25.76 billion.

While Tesla's revenue grew approximately 3.5% year over year in the fourth quarter, this growth came in significantly below the market's expectations. Performance in the period signals a significant shift in the EV market. While free cash flow (FCF) grew roughly 45% year over year to reach approximately $2.06 billion in the period, future FCF growth won't be so strong unless the company can re-energize its sales momentum.

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Source Fool.com