What happened
Shares of electric-car maker Tesla (TSLA 12.06%) jumped higher on Thursday, climbing as much as 6.1%. Shares, however, pulled back after their initial surge higher. By 10:50 a.m. EDT, the stock was up only about 2%
The volatility in the stock price on Thursday follows Tesla's second-quarter earnings report on Wednesday afternoon, which largely impressed analysts. But with the growth stock up more than 500% in 12 months, there's good reason for shares to take a breather.
Image source: Tesla.
So what
Tesla's top- and bottom-line performance for its second quarter came in well above analysts' average forecast. Revenue and adjusted earnings per share were $6.04 billion and $2.18, respectively. Analysts, however, were expecting revenue of $5.37 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $0.03.
One analyst, however, pointed out that the company's stronger-than-expected earnings per share during the period was driven by sales of zero-emission regulatory credits. Nevertheless, the results were impressive given that the company's main automotive factory was shut down for about half of the quarter.
A strong second quarter, however, was arguably already priced into Tesla's stock price, explaining why a pop in the share price may have been shortlived on Thursday.
Now what
Looking out to the rest of the year, Tesla management is optimistic. The company reinitiated its guidance for half a million vehicle deliveries this year after withdrawing that view at the time of its first-quarter update, when Tesla's California factory was shut down.
