What happened

So it's Thursday and stock markets are tumbling once again. The S&P 500 fell another 1.1% by 10:10 a.m. ET today.  

The good news is that automotive stocks were doing a bit better than average. After initially slumping, both Ford (F 0.08%) and Tesla (TSLA 12.06%) were up about half a percentage point this morning. But the sector was being led higher by an unlikely hero: electric semi-truck maker Nikola (NKLA -2.41%), whose shares spiked early this morning.

So what

Earnings are the reason. This morning, the company announced that it beat earnings on both the top and bottom lines, delivering sales of $24.2 million and an adjusted loss of only $0.28 per share (Wall Street had expected $0.39).    

The company said it built 75 Tre battery-electric semi trucks in the quarter, delivered 63 to dealers, and signed a purchase order for 100 more in November (after the quarter closed).

Nikola also described progress it has made toward building a hydrogen energy business. It has purchasing land for a hydrogen production hub, and has tied up with a European energy company to secure hydrogen supply on the Continent. Nikola also said it wants to build 60 hydrogen fueling stations for large trucks by 2026.

Now what

In contrast, the news from Ford and Tesla wasn't so great. Yesterday, Ford announced a 10% decline in October sales, and today, Reuters is reporting that Tesla saw a 14% decline in electric vehicle (EV) deliveries from its Shanghai plant. That explains why neither of these automotive stocks were doing quite as well as Nikola was early today.  

And yet, while Ford and Tesla lacked Nikola's good-news catalyst today, here's what they both have that Nikola does not: profits.

Over the last 12 months, Tesla put up an impressive $11.2 billion in net profit from its EV business, and Ford is not far behind with $9 billion in trailing profits. In contrast, Nikola is still sitting on a $753 million net loss for the same time period. And while its adjusted profit last quarter might have been better than analysts feared, Nikola still ended up with a loss of $0.54 per share for the quarter, when calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Nikola might have the better headlines today, but I'd still rather invest in companies with profits.