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Tesla and GM earnings surprises reshape investor debate
Tesla reported lower year-over-year profits and saw operating margin drop to 1.41%, while GM delivered higher revenue even as U.S. unit sales fell 4%.
Tesla’s second-quarter results came in below Wall Street’s year-over-year expectations, with profits falling instead of rising, according to analysis by Yahoo Finance. The stock is down 30% so far this year.
The article says Tesla’s operating margin slipped from 4.1% a year ago to 1.41% this quarter, and free cash flow turned negative for the first time in two years despite vehicles selling out of inventory. Yahoo Finance also notes Tesla ended the quarter with $43.5 billion in cash and its largest order backlog since 2023, and that trailing-twelve-month revenue topped $100 billion for the first time.
On the outlook, Yahoo Finance reports Tesla’s 2026 CapEx guidance is above $25 billion, near triple last year’s $8.5 billion, and the company is lining up another $30 billion in debt to fund it. It also says auto gross margin fell from 19.2% to 16.3% in a single quarter, while energy margin dropped from 39.5% to 20.4%.
The piece contrasts that with Tesla’s progress in areas such as energy storage, which deployed 13.5 GWh, and robotaxi operations running in 7 U.S. markets, where service margins reached 14.1%. It then turns to General Motors, where revenue rose even as U.S. unit sales fell 4%, attributing the surprise to higher average vehicle prices of about $52,000.