Tesla Abruptly Moves Up Quarterly Earnings Call, Bullish News Expected

Stock prices surged Wednesday morning in anticipation of Tesla potentially posting a profit.

byRob Stumpf|
Tesla Abruptly Moves Up Quarterly Earnings Call, Bullish News Expected
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Tesla announced Monday that it will report its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday afternoon; more than a week earlier than the company has done in the past. Since the announcement, stock prices have soared nearly 16 percent (from $255 to $294) in anticipation of good news and potentially the hint of profitability.

Historically, the automaker has hosted its third-quarter earnings call during the first week of November. Analysts and media outlets alike are anticipating that Telsa's abrupt announcement of moving its earnings report ahead of schedule could indicate that the automaker has good news for its investors regarding the company's performance amid both production and logistic hells.

Bloomberg reported that the consensus of interviewed analysts deem that Tesla is not expected to post a profit, however, the automaker's own expectations during its last quarterly earnings call indicated that the automaker is hoping to be in the black for its third-quarter earnings. During the last few days of September, CEO Elon Musk noted that the company was "very close" to profitability and accelerated its efforts for an end-of-quarter push. Should Tesla not post a profit for last quarter, the automaker may be staging the possibility to move its expectations towards the year's end with the introduction of its moderately priced mid-range Model 3.

"From an operating plant standpoint, from onwards I really want to emphasize our goal is to be profitable and cash flow positive for every quarter going forward," said Musk during the company's last earnings call.

Musk hasn't dropped any hints on Twitter regarding the company's financial standing since the beginning of the automaker's fourth quarter, likely due to the recent $40 million in combined settlements with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that Musk violated his fiduciary duties as CEO by falsely claiming that he had secured funding to take the company private. In a settlement separate from the CEO's, Tesla paid out an identical $20 million for failing to previously police Musk's tweets.

Part of the settlement, which was accepted by a federal judge earlier this month, was that Musk must step down as chairman of Telsa's board. This opens up the possibility of the new chairman being announced during the call, or potentially the names of the individuals who will fill the two new seats required by the SEC.

Despite the spat with the SEC, Tesla has been pushing forward with record production numbers. Its newest electric sedan, the Model 3, has been outselling most cars in its class over the past several months, making it one of the most popular vehicles of 2018 overall.

As it has previously, the earnings call will be broadcasted online, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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