SpaceX Lights a Fire Under Tech
Blowout SpaceX results lifted a swath of AI names, sending the Nasdaq up over 1%.
Double Down
I double downed on my $SPY short at $772.97 after the close and upon closer analysis of the Tesla ($TSLA) and Meta ($META) releases.
Position: Short TSLA (S), SPY (M)
Wednesday After-Market Trading
After the market closed I added to my $SPY short after more clearly analyzing over the $META and $TSLA releases.
As I mentioned (first time long time!) I took a TSLA short-term rental in the after-hours about $394. (I should have done the same with META!)
Position: Short SPY (S), TSLA (S)
Tesla Shares Higher After Surprise Positive Cash Flow But Then Turn Lower
Tesla ($TSLA) shares are up a little over 1% after beating on the bottom line and reporting $1.5 billion of positive free cash flow versus expectations for a loss of $5 billion, assuaging some concerns surrounding the firm’s increased investments into robotics and AI. In that regard, capex was well under expectations at $4.73 billion (vs $2.25 billion the year-ago period). $7.95 billion was expected according to Bloomberg.
Gross margin also beat at 19.6%, while adjusted EPS of 48 cents topped estimates. Weakness was seen though in operating income which fell 56% from the year-ago quarter.
Revenue in Tesla’s core automotive business declined 3% from a year earlier, and while positive, free cash flow was down 62% year-over-year.
Active full self-driving (FSD) subscriptions rose to 1.74 million, up from 1.48 million in Q2.
The full slide deck presentation is here.
Bloomberg also has an ongoing live blog for Tesla.
Update: Tesla shares turned lower after Travis Axelrod, Tesla’s head of investor relations opened up the conference call with “We will not be addressing any questions today on a potential merger with SpaceX ($SPCX).”
Good News for Tesla and Meta, But Good Enough to Attract New Buyers?
Mark Zuckerberg said his company hit major milestones toward what he calls personal super intelligence.
Taking a Small Short in Tesla
After a quick look at the EPS release (revenues in line) I am taking a small trading short rental in Tesla ($TSLA) at $394.34.
This is a low conviction trade.
Position: Short TSLA (S)
Speculative SpaceX Price Target as Tesla Rumor Boosts Stock
Elon Musk’s space firm topped Wall Street expectations.
The AI Selloff Looks Like a Bear Trap. Follow the Bottleneck Instead.
One stop remains in our AI series, and it’s the one folks rarely think about.
VIDEO: Construction, Meta and Your Other Office Hours Questions Answered
Plus, Microsoft, SpaceX and why we’re not chasing the obvious names.
Netflix Down, SpaceX Up: Upside/Downside Movers in the A.M.
Upside
– $SMCI +12% (preliminary fiscal Q1 revenue outlook was raised well above expectations, with gross-margin upside)
– $SPCX +8.2% (Q3 revenue and profit crushed expectations, marking its first quarterly profit since the IPO, while special committees evaluate a potential TSLA merger)
– $CRDO +7.2%, $VRT +6.7%, $DELL +6.9%, $LITE +5.6%, $HPE +5.0%, $COHR +4.6% (AI-infrastructure suppliers rise as the SMCI outlook and SPCX AI-compute results reinforce data-center demand)
– $WDC +4.0%, $SKHY +3.7%, $SNDK +3.7%, $STX +3.6%, $MU +3.1% (memory and storage names gain on the stronger AI-infrastructure demand read-through)
– $APLD +4.0% (Texas AI data-center agreement and bullish analyst action)
– $INTC +2.3%, AMD +2.1%, $NVDA +2.0% (chip stocks rise as strong AI-compute and server demand updates lift the broader complex)
– $TSLA +1.4% (special committee formed with SPCX to evaluate a potential merger ahead of earnings)
Downside
– $TKNO -30% ($40M primary offering priced at $5 per share, a steep discount to the prior close)
– $NFLX -7.0% (Q3 profit beat, but the Q4 sales outlook missed and the 2026 advertising-revenue forecast was cut to $2.7B from $3B)
– $ISRG -6.7% (Q3 beat, but U.S. procedure growth slowed, instrument pricing reductions were outlined and the high end of the procedure-growth outlook was cut)
– $T -5.6% (Q3 beat and FY EPS guidance was raised, but postpaid phone additions missed expectations amid satellite-competition concerns)
– $DHR -3.6% (Q3 beat and FY EPS guidance was raised, but the Q4 core-growth outlook remained modest with a respiratory-revenue headwind)
– $TMO -3.0% (sell-the-news reaction after a Q3 beat and raised FY guidance)
– $ACN -1.5% (Baird downgrades to Neutral from Outperform on valuation and slower organic growth)