- Tesla is set to report earnings for the third quarter after the closing bell on Wednesday.
- Investors are expected to approach the results with caution after the electric automaker reported disappointing vehicle production numbers earlier this month.
- There will also be a focus on margins as the company struggles to climb back to profitability.
- Here's what Wall Street analysts are saying ahead of Tesla's third-quarter report.
- Watch Tesla trade live on Markets Insider.
Tesla is scheduled to release third-quarter earnings after the market close on Wednesday, and investors will be keen to see how close the automaker is to returning to profitability.
Wall Street is expecting Tesla to post a roughly $52 million loss on $6.45 billion in revenue for the period. During the same quarter last year, the company reported a profit of $343 million on $6.82 billion in sales. Tesla last reported a profit in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Some analysts are warning this quarter's results might not be pretty following disappointing vehicle production data reported earlier this month.
Tesla said it produced 96,155 vehicles and delivered 97,000 during the third quarter. That set a company record, but still fell at the low end of consensus analyst estimates ranging from 95,000 to 100,000.
The news sent shares falling about 7% as investors grew concerned the company might miss its ambitious goal of delivering between 360,000 and 400,000 cars in 2019.
The combination of profitability and delivery concerns has weighed heavily on the stock this year. Shares were down 23% year-to-date through Tuesday's close, compared to the S&P 500's gain of close to 20% over the period.
Wednesday's results will be critical for the company to prove to investors it can shrink losses and meet delivery targets.
Here's what Wall Street analysts are saying about Tesla's path to profitability and delivery estimates ahead of its third-quarter earnings report:
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