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Tesla beats Q3 earnings estimates as AI spending weighs on profits

Tesla beats Q3 earnings estimates as AI spending weighs on profits

Tesla logo (public domain) via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla posted non-GAAP earnings of $0.48 a share on flat revenue of $28.05 billion, while heavier AI and robotics spending cut operating income to $718 million.

by Estefano Gomez

2 min read

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Tesla Inc. beat third-quarter profit estimates on Wednesday as margins recovered from a weak second quarter, though rising spending on artificial intelligence and robotics more than halved its operating income.

The company reported non-GAAP earnings of $0.48 a share, above the roughly $0.45 analysts expected but down from $0.50 a year earlier.

Revenue was $28.05 billion, flat year over year and in line with consensus. In the second quarter, Tesla had missed estimates with earnings of $0.33 a share.

Total gross margin rose to 19.6% from 18.0% a year earlier and 16.8% in the second quarter. Automotive gross margin excluding regulatory credits was 18.1%. Revenue from regulatory credits, once a reliable source of profit, fell 73% to $113 million.

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Operating income dropped 56% to $718 million, a 2.6% operating margin. Operating expenses rose 39% to $4.78 billion, driven by research and development on AI and the Optimus humanoid robot.

GAAP net income fell 43% to $787 million, or $0.22 a share. That figure included a $288 million unrealized gain on Tesla’s bitcoin holdings and a $142 million unrealized loss on its stake in SpaceX.

Free cash flow was $1.53 billion, down from $3.99 billion a year earlier but up from negative $1.09 billion in the second quarter. Capital expenditures reached $4.73 billion. Tesla ended the quarter with $45.4 billion in cash and investments.

Energy generation and storage revenue fell 16% to $2.88 billion even as deployments rose 10% to 13.7 gigawatt-hours. The segment’s gross margin improved to 33%.

Tesla’s tokenized shares rise in after-hours trading

Tokenized Tesla shares and perpetual contracts tracked the stock’s after-hours moves following the earnings release, with no unusual divergence.

The Tesla perpetual on Hyperliquid briefly jumped to $395.32 after the release before giving back the gains to trade at $385.87. xStocks’ TSLAx traded at $387.88 on Kraken. Tesla shares were last trading at about $385 in after-hours trading, according to Yahoo Finance data.

About 260,600 addresses hold tokenized Tesla across xStocks, Binance’s bStocks and Ondo, worth $138.8 million combined, according to Token Terminal data.

Tesla Inc. and its peers

Company PriceMarket capP/E (trailing)Forward P/EAnnual revenue (USD)Annual revenue growthAnnual net income (USD)Operating margin
Tesla Inc. TSLA · Price dated Nov 9, 2026 · tokenized TSLAx $378$1.5T415.4Unavailable$94.8BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K−2.9%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K3,794,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K4.6%FY ended 2025-12-31
General Motors Co GM · Price dated Nov 9, 2026 $90$75.6B19.6Unavailable$185.0BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K−1.3%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K2,697,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K1.6%FY ended 2025-12-31
Ford Motor Co F · Price dated Nov 6, 2026 $12$49.7BNot meaningfulLoss, diluted EPS −1.98
to 2026-09-30 · SEC filing		Unavailable$187.3BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K+1.2%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K−8,182,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, available to common stockholders · 10-K−4.9%FY ended 2025-12-31
Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN · Price dated Nov 6, 2026 $14$19.9BNot meaningfulLoss, diluted EPS −2.26
to 2026-09-30 · SEC filing		Unavailable$5.4BFY ended 2025-12-31 · 10-K+8.4%FY ended 2025-12-31 vs 2024-12-31 · 10-K−3,646,000,000FY ended 2025-12-31, attributable to the company · 10-K−66.5%FY ended 2025-12-31

Missing figures stay unavailable. Forward P/E requires a dated source. Annual revenue, revenue growth, net income and margin come from each company's own 10-K, in US dollars, and each row shows that fiscal year. Revenue growth compares the fiscal year with the prior year stated in the same 10-K. Net income is the full year amount attributable to the company, or available to common stockholders where the filing states only that, or consolidated net income. Each row names its basis. Trailing P/E reads "Not meaningful" when the dated trailing diluted EPS is a loss or zero. An operating margin appears only when the filing states both the operating income and the revenue for the same year.

Sources: SEC filings, Gloria daily closes, CoinGecko and Databento. Oldest record refresh: Nov 9, 2026, 8:31 AM EST. Refresh is not a price or filing date. Each row shows its price date and its annual fiscal period. Peers use industry code and company size, or editorial selection. Market cap multiplies that row price by the company share total the latest SEC filing states for every share class together. Trailing P/E divides it by trailing diluted earnings from SEC filings. Rolled earnings per share are approximate because share counts can change between periods. Both appear only when the SEC data carries its date, so they are estimates at one price date, not synchronized filing valuations. Not investment advice.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

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