Wall Street is falling deeper in love with Tesla
A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here.
It’s a good time to be Elon Musk. Tesla — now the second most valuable carmaker in the world — has reported its first annual profit, easily topping Wall Street’s expectations for the final three months of 2019.
For Musk, who’s faced significant skepticism in the past as his company burned through cash and missed targets, it’s a moment of victory. And with the CEO pledging that profitability is the new normal, investors are buying in.
Shares of the company are up 10% in premarket trading. They closed Wednesday at $581, a more than 80% rise over the past three months.
Know this stat: Tesla is now valued at $104.7 billion, more than Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler combined.
The path forward won’t be easy. The company has pledged to deliver more than 500,000 vehicles in 2020, an increase from 367,500 last year. To do this, it will need to lean on its recently opened plant in Shanghai.
Tesla also plans to start delivering its new SUV, the Model Y, later this quarter. The company struggled to ramp up production for its last big launch, the Model 3.
But analysts sound bullish as the company continues to defy its critics. Tesla reported more than 112,000 deliveries in the final quarter of 2019, a record. Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities called the results “potentially game changing.”
Not so lucky: Facebook, which also reported results after US markets closed on Wednesday. The company said it brought in about $21 billion in revenue during the final three months of 2019, a 25% increase from the same period a year earlier. But the company’s shares are off 7% in premarket trading.
Slowing revenue growth (two years ago, it was at 47%) has disappointed investors, who pushed shares higher recently. The stock finished Wednesday at a record level.
More businesses are shutting their doors in China
As the deadly coronavirus continues to spread, the list of companies temporarily closing in China is growing. The latest: Ikea will shutter all stores across the country.
“We will pay close attention to the epidemic situation, and the stores will be closed until further notice,” an Ikea spokesperson said. The company has 30 stores across China, including one in Wuhan, my CNN Business colleague Sherisse Pham reports.
Ikea joins restaurants such as McDonald’s, Starbucks and Yum China-owned KFC and Pizza Hut, which have closed thousands of stores across the country. Tesla said Thursday that Model 3 production at its new factory in Shanghai would be delayed by at least a week due to a government-required shutdown.
Virus tracker: At least 170 people have died and more than 7,700 cases have been confirmed in mainland China, where nearly 60 million people remain on full or partial lockdown. More than 100 cases have been confirmed outside China.
“We expect the outbreak to have a temporary impact on China’s economy,” Moody’s analysts told clients this week. They still expect GDP growth for the year to come in at 5.8% — while conceding that forecast could change. “There is a still a high level of uncertainty around the length and intensity of the outbreak,” they said.
Markets respond: Global markets are exhibiting signs of stress as the crisis drags on. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 2.6% on Thursday, bringing its two-day losses to 5.4%. China’s yuan weakened below the key level of 7 per US dollar in offshore trading for the first time in 2020.
The Church of England backs a climate-friendly stock index
The Church of England is investing £600 million ($779 million) in a climate-friendly stock index it helped design. Shell is in; Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP are not, my CNN Business colleague Hanna Ziady reports.
The index launched Thursday on the London Stock Exchange. It rewards companies that have emissions targets aligned with the Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
“The message is clear to all publicly listed companies: Put in place targets and strategies aligned to Paris and be rewarded with inclusion in the index, or work against the long-term interests of beneficiaries and wider society, and be excluded,” Adam Matthews, director of ethics and engagement for the Church of England Pensions Board, said in a statement.
It’s a strong statement from the church, which has £2.8 billion ($3.6 billion) under management in its pension fund for clergy.
Up next
Coca-Cola, UPS, Blackstone, Hershey Foods, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Royal Dutch Shell and Verizon report results before US markets open. Amazon, Levi Strauss, US Steel, Visa and Wynn Resorts follow after the close.
Also today: The first look at US GDP growth for the last three months of 2019 arrives at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Coming tomorrow: A busy week for earnings closes out with Caterpillar, Chevron and ExxonMobil.
