Tesla Nears Record Stock Price

Tesla Nears Record Stock Price

For Tesla, there’s been little light shed on what the acquisition of money-losing SolarCity will mean to the bottom line. That hasn’t stopped its shares from nearing a record high, according to Bloomberg.

Heading into the combined company’s first earnings report since CEO Elon Musk closed the controversial $2 billion deal in November, Wall Street is at a loss for how to predict the company’s results. Only a few analysts have begun to include the solar-panel installer in their financial models, while others are waiting on more disclosure.

It’s not mattered yet for shareholders, who have focused instead on Musk’s promise to unleash his most affordable car yet later this year, and on his surprising rapport with President Donald Trump. Tesla’s stock has been on a steady upward march since early December, shortly after the SolarCity acquisition closed.

“We do not know how Tesla plans to report SolarCity results in the future and it remains unclear to us how peers are incorporating (or not incorporating) SolarCity into current estimates,“ James Albertine, an analyst with Consumer Edge Research, wrote in a Jan. 31 report. “We will await further details from management before rolling the solar panel business into our model.“

Merger integration is no small feat, and Tesla has been mum about how SolarCity will fit in. One question, for example, is whether the company will be folded into Tesla Energy, which sells batteries to homes, businesses and utilities, or remain its own business unit. Tesla declined to comment on how it plans to include SolarCity in its upcoming earnings report.

Estimates for the fourth quarter results Tesla is scheduled to report Feb. 22 vary wildly, from an adjusted loss per share of $2.13 to a profit of 10 cents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Only three analysts were covering both Tesla and SolarCity prior to the acquisition that closed in November.