Diamonds and Dogs

8/2/18

Tesla (TSLA) moving closer to profitability. The electric car maker is up 13% following earnings. Tesla actually missed earnings estimates as revenues rose 43.5% year over year to $4 billion. But apologizing for past incendiary remarks to an analyst and promising profitability before year end has shareholders in a buying mood. Musk reiterated a target of producing 6,000 Model 3 sedans per week by late August. After Tesla produced 5,000 per week in July following several delays in reaching that target, analysts were concerned whether it could maintain the production rate. Tesla had a record loss of $718 million in the second quarter, but investors and analysts focused on the positives.

TripAdvisor (TRIP) spending too much time on vacation. The Internet travel website is down 12% to two month low following earnings. TripAdvisor actually beat estimates, but sales misses as revenues only rose 2.1% year over year to $433 million. TripAdvisor has had trouble finding the growth that shareholders expect. Revenue was down 4% in the hotel area compared to year-ago levels. Operating earnings growth of 6% lagged behind the rest of TripAdvisor's businesses. It took strength from the non-hotel side, where revenue soared 22% and adjusted operating earnings were higher by 18%, to salvage overall gains for the company.