Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for Tesla Earnings

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) – Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Tesla in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the electric vehicle producer will post earnings per share of $0.26 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.28. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Tesla’s current full-year earnings is $2.56 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Tesla’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.25 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.97 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.21 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.19 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.32 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $0.94 EPS and Q1 2028 earnings at $0.26 EPS.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.05. Tesla had a return on equity of 4.86% and a net margin of 4.00%.The firm had revenue of $24.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on TSLA. Tigress Financial started coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. DZ Bank reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Tesla from $439.00 to $438.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $520.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $403.98.

Tesla Stock Up 2.6%

TSLA opened at $381.26 on Thursday. Tesla has a twelve month low of $214.25 and a twelve month high of $498.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 353.02, a PEG ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $404.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $428.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.16.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.56, for a total transaction of $10,692,774.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,173,649.64. This represents a 56.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.03, for a total transaction of $898,875.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,188,625.18. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 87,995 shares of company stock worth $38,315,650. 19.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Networth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Tesla during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Tesla by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 61 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: China-made EV sales rose 8.7% year?over?year in March to 85,670 cars, extending a multi?month recovery at Tesla’s Shanghai plant — a near?term demand positive for revenue and supply?chain utilization. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: European registrations showed strong signs of recovery: French monthly registrations more than tripled in March and Spain sales rose ~25% YoY — evidence demand is rebounding in key markets after last year’s share loss. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Uber’s CEO said he hopes to integrate Tesla robotaxis onto Uber’s platform when FSD becomes safer — a validation of Tesla’s autonomous/robotaxi opportunity that supports the long?term revenue narrative. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Rivian’s U.S. sales fell for a fourth straight month ahead of its R2 launch — this competitor weakness is a modest relative positive for Tesla in the near term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX reportedly filed confidentially for an IPO — a major market story given Elon Musk’s stakes in both companies; outcome could shift investor focus or capital flows but the direct near?term impact on TSLA is uncertain. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Elon Musk says FSD 14.3 is set for a broader release this week — if rollout goes smoothly it could re?accelerate the autonomy story; results and regulatory reaction will determine market impact. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut estimates and moved Tesla to a “Strong Sell” with lower Q2/FY outlooks — another analyst downgrade that increases short?term selling pressure and highlights earnings risk versus lofty valuation. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/industry criticism persists — Euro NCAP and safety scrutiny of supervised Full Self?Driving remain headwinds that could slow deployments or invite oversight, adding execution risk to the robotaxi thesis. Read More.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean?energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company’s stated mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla’s automotive business includes a lineup of battery?electric vehicles and related services.