Zacks Research Has Negative Forecast for Tesla Q1 Earnings

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Tesla in a report released on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the electric vehicle producer will earn $0.18 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.34. The consensus estimate for Tesla’s current full-year earnings is $2.56 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Tesla’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.28 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.01 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.34 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $0.96 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $0.53 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on TSLA. Phillip Securities dropped their target price on Tesla from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. New Street Research boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tesla has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $408.09.

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of Tesla stock opened at $410.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.16. Tesla has a 52-week low of $214.25 and a 52-week high of $498.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $443.10 and a 200-day moving average of $416.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 380.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tesla

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Networth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Tesla during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Tesla by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 61 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,637 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.93, for a total value of $1,170,643.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,107,145.01. The trade was a 16.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total transaction of $26,724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 577,031 shares in the company, valued at $257,009,607.40. This trade represents a 9.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,457 shares of company stock worth $53,501,145. 19.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Tesla News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rollout of xAI’s Grok assistant to European vehicles expands Tesla’s in‑car AI feature set—could support user engagement and upsell opportunities. Tesla (TSLA) Stock Inches Higher as Grok AI Expands to European Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Elon Musk reaffirms Cybercab production starting in April (no pedals/steering) — a concrete step toward the robotaxi vision that underpins long‑term upside for TSLA’s autonomy strategy. Musk Reaffirms Tesla ‘Cybercab Starts Production in April’
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts highlight AI and robotics as the primary growth drivers, supporting bullish long‑term narratives and occasional buy ratings/price targets. Tesla’s (TSLA) Growth Outlook Hinges on AI, Not Just EV Sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla ended the one‑time FSD purchase option — this shifts more buyers to subscription or deferred revenue models; could stabilize recurring revenue but may reduce up‑front cash flows. Tesla pulls the plug on one-time purchases of FSD
• Neutral Sentiment: Large ongoing investments (reported multi‑billion commitments to autonomy/robotics and xAI) keep optionality high but raise near‑term capital intensity and margin pressure. Tesla Makes Its Largest Investment Bet Yet in Its Own Vision
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of 14 robotaxi crashes in Austin and a separate FSD incident (car reportedly steered toward a lake) raise safety and regulatory concerns that could slow deployments and invite scrutiny. Is a Tesla Robotaxi Actually More Likely to Crash than a Human?
• Negative Sentiment: European regulatory probes into xAI/Grok create legal and deployment risk for Tesla’s in‑car AI features in key markets. Tesla adding Grok AI chatbot to its cars in the UK, Europe amid regulatory probes
• Negative Sentiment: Labor tensions in Germany escalated as IG Metall filed a criminal complaint against a factory manager—another sign of strained relations that could disrupt European operations or invite political scrutiny. German union files defamation complaint against Tesla factory manager

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.