General Motors GM and Tesla TSLA highlighted an exciting earnings lineup this week after reporting their Q4 results on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Going into the weekend investors may be pondering which of these automakers may be the better investment. That said, here’s a review of General Motors and Tesla’s Q4 reports and outlook to help get a better gauge of whether GM or TSLA should be in the portfolio.
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GM’s Q4 Results
Striving to take electric vehicle market share from Tesla and Ford F, General Motors delivered 42,000 EVs during Q4 which more than doubled from its year-ago mark of 19,305. The leap was attributed to an expanded product line of new electric models including the Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Lyric.
General Motors sold a total of 1.03 million vehicles worldwide, increasing from 943,000 in Q4 2023. Quarterly sales of $47.71 billion rose 11% from $42.98 billion a year ago and comfortably topped estimates of $44.06 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.92 per share, spiking 55% from EPS of $1.24 in the comparative quarter and eclipsing expectations of $1.85.
Furthermore, General Motors has surpassed the Zacks EPS Consensus for ten consecutive quarters with an average earnings surprise of 15.81% in its last four quarterly reports.
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Tesla’s Q4 Results
Tesla’s Q4 deliveries were at a record 495,570 vehicles compared to EV sales of 484,507 in the prior year quarter. Still, Q4 sales of $25.7 billion missed estimates of $27.5 billion despite rising 2% year over year. Coming up short on its bottom line as well, Tesla posted Q4 EPS of $0.73 with expectations at $0.75 although this was an increase from $0.71 per share in the comparative quarter.
Notably, Tesla has missed earnings expectations in three of its last four quarterly reports with an average EPS surprise of 0.79%.
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GM Full Year Results & Guidance
Rounding out fiscal 2024, General Motors total sales were up 9% to $187.45 billion. Even better, annual earnings spiked 38% to $10.60 per share versus EPS of $7.68 in 2023.
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Providing FY25 EPS guidance, General Motors expects earnings in the range of $11.00-$12.00 per share with the current Zacks Consensus at $11.27 or 6% growth.
Based on Zacks estimates, General Motors’ bottom line is projected to increase another 5% in FY26. It’s also noteworthy that General Motors’ FY25 guidance calls for adjusted EBITDA to be between $13.7 billion-$15.7 billion with adjusted automotive free cash flow to range from $11 billion-$13 billion.
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Tesla Full Year Results & Guidance
Pivoting to Tesla, FY24 sales were up 1% to $97.69 billion. However, Tesla’s EPS dipped to $2.42 from $2.60 per share in 2023. Tesla did highlight that its Model Y was the best-selling car in the world last year.
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While Tesla did not provide specific FY25 guidance, the EV leader is aiming for 20%-30% growth in vehicle deliveries. Zacks projections call for Tesla’s annual earnings to soar 35% in FY25 to $3.27 per share. More intriguing, FY26 EPS is projected to expand another 22%.
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Bottom Line
At the moment General Motors and Tesla stock both land a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). More upside in these popular auto stocks may depend on the trend of earnings estimate revisions in the coming weeks. In regards to holding positions in the portfolio, General Motors consistency is appealing and Tesla’s growth trajectory will certainly keep investors engaged.
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General Motors Company (GM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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