Tesla’s Margins, Free Cash Flow Swell in Third Quarter

Image: Tesla has returned to a free cash flow rich entity. By Brian Nelson, CFA Tesla (TSLA) reported solid third quarter earnings on October 23. Total revenues increased 8%, while gross profit increased 20% in the quarter, as gross margins expanded nearly 200 basis points. Income from operations was up 54% thanks to more than a 320 basis-point improvement in its operating margin. Adjusted EBITDA advanced 24% in the quarter on a year-over-year basis thanks to a 240 basis-point improvement in its EBITDA margin. Non-GAAP net income increased 8% year-over-year, while non-GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 9% year-over-year. Tesla’s total production was 469,796 in the quarter, up 9%, while total deliveries increased 6%, both on a year-over-year basis. Management … Read more

Tesla Is A Net-Cash-Rich, Free-Cash-Flow Generating, Secular-Growth Powerhouse

Image: Tesla is generating billions and billions of dollars in free cash flow. By Brian Nelson, CFA The cash-based sources of intrinsic value (and the trajectory of growth in them) are the most important considerations when it comes to assessing the attractiveness of an equity. Two of the most important cash-based sources of intrinsic value are net cash on the balance sheet and future expected free cash flows, and in these two areas, Tesla (TSLA) excels. Though we won’t be adding Tesla to any of the newsletter portfolios anytime soon, we like it within a diversified basket of large-cap growth equities, of which the Best Ideas Newsletter in some ways approximates. When Tesla reported its second-quarter 2023 results July 19, … Read more

Tesla Registers Record Total Deliveries in Second Quarter 2023

Source: Tesla By Brian Nelson, CFA At the start of 2023, Tesla’s (TSLA) price-to-fair value ratio stood at just 0.39, revealing a stock that was severely undervalued and one of the most undervalued stocks in our coverage universe. Shares of Tesla have rocketed higher more than 150% so far in 2023, and while we highlighted it as one of our favorite stocks to start this year, it never made it into the newsletter portfolios. We’re not too worried about that though given how well the newsletter portfolios were positioned with respect to exposure to large cap growth, which, itself, is up more than 35% so far in 2023. On July 2, Tesla noted that it delivered a total of 466,140 … Read more

Big Changes in the Auto Industry as Chip Shortages, Supply Chain Issues, and Rising Input Costs Complicate Matters; Tesla and Ferrari Our Two Favorite Names

Image: Ferrari’s fundamental momentum has been strong of late. Image Source: Ferrari N.V. 2022 Globe Newswire By Brian Nelson, CFA The auto industry perhaps has changed more than any other industry the past five years. First, it was Ford (F) that said it wouldn’t make passenger cars anymore, except for its iconic Mustang. Then, the European Union said that it would eventually end the internal combustion engine (ICE) by 2035. Then, Tesla (TSLA) reached over $1,200 per share and over a $1 trillion market capitalization. Can you imagine a world where Ford is not making sedans, the once modern-marvel of the internal combustion engine is dying, and where one car maker is worth as much as the next nine car … Read more

Net Cash Rich Tesla Reports Solid Free Cash Flow, Closes Out 2021 on a High Note

Image Shown: A look at Tesla Inc’s new ‘Gigafactory’ manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas, that is currently under development. Image Source: Tesla Inc – Fourth Quarter of 2021 IR Shareholder Deck By Callum Turcan On January 26, Tesla Inc (TSLA) reported that it had produced ~306,000 vehicles and delivered ~309,000 vehicles during the final quarter of 2021. The electric vehicle (‘EV’) and battery maker beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates in the fourth quarter as it continued to successfully ramp its production capabilities. We plan to fine-tune our cash flow valuation model covering Tesla to take its latest earnings report into account, but we still expect the point fair value estimate to be below where shares are trading at … Read more

Shares of Dividend Growth Idea Qualcomm Surge Higher

Image Shown: Shares of dividend growth idea Qualcomm Inc have skyrocketed since the start of November in the wake of its latest earnings update and favorable guidance put out during a recent investor day event. By Callum Turcan Over the next decade, dividend growth idea Qualcomm Inc (QCOM) expects its addressable market opportunity will grow by $100 billion, reaching $700 billion, according to guidance put out during a big Investor Day event held on November 16. We appreciate Qualcomm’s ever-expanding growth runway and include shares of QCOM as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. On November 3, Qualcomm reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 earnings (period ended September 26, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Additionally, Qualcomm … Read more

Tesla Scaling Up Nicely

Image Shown: Tesla Inc is steadily working towards bringing another manufacturing facility online in the US, this time near Austin, Texas. Image Source: Tesla Inc – Shareholder Letter Covering the First Quarter of 2021 By Callum Turcan Electric vehicle (‘EV’) giant Tesla Inc (TSLA) continues to impress as it smashed past consensus top- and bottom-line estimates when it reported first quarter 2021 earnings on April 26. The company delivered 184,800 vehicles (182,780 Model 3/Y variants and 2,020 Model S/X variants) and produced 180,338 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, though we note that Tesla only produced Model 3/Y variants last quarter and Model S/X vehicle deliveries were met via its inventory. In the first quarter of 2021, Tesla’s … Read more

In the News: Dividend Growth Still on Hold at General Mills After Strong Quarter, Avoiding FedEx and BMW After Warnings on Bottom-Line Weakness, and a Biogen as a Prime Example of Risks to Avoid in Biotech

General Mills raised bottom-line and free cash flow conversion expectations for fiscal 2019, but we’re not interested in shares as it continues to prioritize deleveraging over dividend growth in a slow growth environment. International corporations continue to weigh the impact of slowing macroeconomic activity and global trade tensions, as evidenced by FedEx and BMW slashing bottom-line expectations, and shares of Biogen have been rocked by news that it terminated two late-stage studies of a key Alzheimer’s treatment. By Kris Rosemann General Mills Turns in Positive Organic Sales Growth and Operating Margin Expansion Food products giant General Mills (GIS) turned in better-than-expected results in its fiscal 2019 third quarter report, released March 20, as organic sales growth advanced 1% on a … Read more

Automakers Gain on Potential Tariff Easing

Image Source: Truck Hardware A potential easing of tariffs on auto imports to China, as President Trump had previously hinted, has improved sentiment across the auto manufacturing space as investors eye up the potential for more free exchange of autos between the world’s two largest economies. By Kris Rosemann US equities continue to be quite sensitive to US-China trade talk reports, and the auto manufacturing space has been the most recent beneficiary of potentially favorable developments. China (FXI) is reportedly considering a reduction of its auto import tariff to 15% from 40%, a win President Trump had pointed to as a positive development resulting from his meeting with Chinese officials during the recent G20 summit. The month of November marked … Read more

BMW’s Profit Warning Hits Automakers; General Motors Still Attractive

Image Source: Ya, saya inBaliTimur BMW became one of the first auto manufacturers to note a tangible negative impact of the US-China trade war, and its reduced expectations have impacted investor confidence in the near-term profit levels of other automakers, including simulated newsletter portfolio idea General Motors. By Kris Rosemann Simulated newsletter portfolio idea General Motors (GM) continues to fight through near-term challenges, but we remain fans of its longer-term outlook thanks to its initiative to expand its North America EBIT-adjusted margin to 10% as well as the positioning of its GM Cruise division, which received a nice injection of capital earlier this year via a partnership with SoftBank’s (SFTBY) Vision Fund. The company’s shares are trading at a miniscule multiple … Read more