Tesla, Inc. — 2026Q4 earnings
reported 2026-10-21
EPS $0.48 vs $0.45 est — beat
Revenue $28.0B vs $28.1B est — miss
next session -3.1% (close 2026-10-21 → 2026-10-22)
Financial flow diagram
Reported amounts; ribbons scale proportionally within each node. Negative free cash flow represents a funding gap.
Segment capital expenditure breakdown is not disclosed in the parsed statements.
View data and sources
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Revenue | 280.46 |
| Operating profit | 7.18 |
| Net income | 8.04 |
| Operating cash flow | 62.63 |
| Capex | 47.32 |
| Free cash flow | 15.31 |
| Automotive | 205.60 |
| Energy generation & storage | 28.81 |
| Services & other | 46.05 |
| Cost of revenue | 225.52 |
| Research & development | 27.61 |
| Selling & administration | 20.15 |
| Interest income | 4.45 |
| Interest expense | -0.90 |
| Other income / expense | -1.17 |
| Income tax benefit / expense | -1.52 |
| Depreciation, amortisation & impairment | 18.52 |
| Share-based compensation | 11.65 |
| Other adjustments | -1.48 |
| Working capital changes | 25.90 |
Amounts are read from the labelled quarter columns in the filing’s embedded slide text; cash flows are already quarter-only.
Net income is consolidated GAAP net income, before attribution to noncontrolling interests; it is not adjusted earnings or income attributable to common stockholders.
Source
8-K filing ↗Summary
Tesla's cash generation recovered while operating profit remained under pressure from research spending, compensation and lower regulatory-credit revenue. Strong energy-storage demand supports expansion, but future AI, fleet and robotics projects must still convert into durable profit. The call added two qualifications: energy margins benefited from tariff and warranty adjustments, and Optimus production still faces design work. Cash conversion, sustainable margins and deployment discipline provide useful checks on the longer-term ambitions.
Earnings call
Earnings call webcast ↗Review
From the report
Positive free cash flow improves near-term funding flexibility. Research spending, compensation costs and lower regulatory credits still weigh on operating profit, while future software and fleet profits remain an execution test.
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Positive free cash flow strengthened the cash position and near-term funding flexibility. It does not establish that the entire multi-year investment program can be financed without external capital. show quote
“positive free cash flow of $1.5B”
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Research projects and share-based compensation are among the stated pressures on operating income. Adjusted earnings should be assessed alongside these cost commitments. show quote
“increase in operating expenses driven by SI and other R&D projects, SBC (including 2025 CEO Performance Award) and SG&A”
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Record energy-storage orders and backlog support expansion. That demand still needs to translate into shipments and sustainable margins. show quote
“Demand for our Energy Storage business remained strong in the quarter, with our highest- ever order rate and backlog.”
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The outlook anticipates software and fleet profits supplementing hardware earnings over time. Those future profit streams should be treated as a business objective rather than established segment economics. show quote
“over time, we expect our hardware-related profits to be accompanied by an acceleration of SI, software and fleet-based profits.”
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From the call
Management emphasized funding investment from operations, while acknowledging temporary benefits to energy margins and unresolved design work in Optimus. Those caveats matter when judging durability and timing.
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The CFO attributed part of the energy margin improvement to tariff refunds and warranty adjustments. The latest margin therefore needs a check for benefits that may not recur. show quote
“tariff refunds”
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The CFO said planned investment would primarily use operating cash flow. Sustaining cash conversion remains central to that funding approach. show quote
“fund it primarily from our cash flows from operations”
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Musk cautioned that Optimus still has changing design requirements. Production ambitions remain execution targets rather than evidence of a completed manufacturing ramp. show quote
“parts of the design that are changing”
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as of 2026-10-22