What happened
Tesla (TSLA 2.39%) is expected to publish its second-quarter delivery figures any day now, and investors are getting nervous about those numbers. This skittishness was reflected in the stock's performance on Thursday; it closed the day nearly 2% lower, against the under 1% decline of the S&P 500 index.
So what
The second quarter wasn't easy on a great many companies, and Tesla wasn't spared that unease. The hardest blow came from across the Pacific where coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns hobbled production at the company's Shanghai gigafactory. Meanwhile, Tesla's manufacturing in general was affected by the supply chain difficulties currently plaguing industrial companies throughout the world.
Recently, a clutch of analysts have revised their estimates for Tesla deliveries in the quarter. It's a common belief among that crowd that the electric vehicle (EV) maker's numbers will be notably lower than the highs posted in trailing quarters.
One of those analysts is Wedbush's Daniel Ives, who wrote in a new research note on Thursday that he anticipates a figure of roughly 250,000 units. That's on the low side of the general range of estimates which, according to a recent FactSet poll cited by Investors Business Daily, reach up to 272,000.
Now what
Even the upper part of that range wouldn't come close to the record Tesla notched in Q1, which was just over 310,000. More discouragingly, if those muted expectations are met, Q2 would represent the first sequential decline for the EV king since the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.
That said, there is still plenty of bullish sentiment on Tesla's near-term future among both investors and analysts. In Ives' new note, the Wedbush prognosticator wrote hopefully that "While June delivery numbers will be ugly and nothing to write home about the Street will be focused on the trajectory for 2H and the overall demand picture staying firm."
