Tesla's Earnings Twist: Short Seller Jim Chanos Says Q2 Beat Was 'Entirely' Due To This Surprising Factor

Electric vehicle pioneer Tesla, Inc. TSLA reported a record quarterly revenue and an earnings beat as gross margin contraction was not as worse as expected.

The stock, however, fell in reaction after the results.

Tesla skeptic and short seller Jim Chanos did some number-crunching to highlight what was potentially skewed about the earnings beat.

See Also: Everything You Need To Know About Tesla Stock

Chanos noted that the beat was entirely due to an almost $400 million swing in the "other income" component, which reversed from a negative $48 million in the first quarter to $328 million in the second quarter.

Tesla in its earnings report said this “was positively impacted by FX movements on certain intercompany balances.”

He noted that operating income from the core business was down 3% year-over-year and 10% quarter-over-quarter.

He noted that the energy generation and storage segment saw revenue dipping from $1.53 billion to $1.51 billion, among the core revenue segments.

Tesla bulls, however, gushed over the results, with Wedbush's Daniel Ives calling the performance a “Goldilocks quarter,” with margins exceeding expectations. Much of the optimism of the bulls is premised on the long-term prospects.

Price Action: Tesla closed Wednesday's session down 0.71% at $291.26 and lost another 4.19% in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Read Next: Ford Worried About Tesla’s Cybertruck, Says Analyst After F-150 Lightning Price Slash: ‘Now Both Models Start At…’

Photo by Vitaliy Karimov on Shutterstock

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Posted In: Analyst ColorEarningsEarnings BeatsEquitiesNewsShort SellersMoversTrading Ideaselectric vehiclesEVsExpert IdeaJim Chanosmobility
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