Tesla reports results today after delivering 486,532 vehicles as Meta awaits earnings
Key Facts
Tesla will report its third-quarter 2026 results after U.S. markets close today, Wednesday, October 21, according to a company statement, following the release of operating figures covering vehicles and energy storage. Quarterly vehicle deliveries totaled 486,532, according to figures the company announced ahead of its financial results. Quarterly production was 464,391 vehicles, below the number delivered during the same period. In its energy storage business, Tesla deployed products with a capacity of 13.7 gigawatt hours during the quarter, alongside its vehicle production and delivery operations. Investing.com lists the same day for Meta's next earnings announcement, coinciding with Tesla's results.
Meta expects third-quarter revenue of between $61 billion and $64 billion, according to its previous earnings statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said in the statement: "We expect total revenue for the third quarter of 2026 to be between $61 billion and $64 billion." The guidance assumes a foreign exchange headwind of about 1% to annual revenue growth, according to the assumptions set out by the company. In the second quarter of the year, Meta's revenue reached $60.80 billion, according to its SEC filing. That represented an annual increase of 28%, which the company attributed to higher advertising revenue.
But second-quarter revenue growth coincided with a decline in Meta's operating profit to $18.78 billion, according to the company's financial disclosure. The decline from the same period a year earlier amounted to $1.67 billion, or 8%. Meta attributed the decline in operating profit to higher costs and expenses during the period, despite the increase in revenue. On investment, the company expects capital expenditure of between $130 billion and $145 billion during 2026, according to the same disclosure. Meta is allocating this spending to support artificial intelligence and its core businesses, under the investment plans it announced for the year.
On U.S.-Iranian negotiations, Iranian officials said the prospects of a breakthrough before the U.S. elections were slim, according to a Reuters report published on October 20. The officials attributed this to Tehran's refusal to make concessions it believes could benefit Trump politically before the elections. Iran's stated demands include lifting the U.S. naval blockade and ending hostilities on all fronts, according to comments from Baghaei reported by Anadolu Agency via Reuters Connect. Meanwhile, Investing.com cited Bloomberg as reporting that a diplomat involved in the negotiations disputed reports suggesting a deal was close. According to the account carried by the website, the diplomat "disputed reports suggesting that a deal was close."
In the oil market, Brent crude ended the session on Tuesday, October 20, at $109.11 a barrel, down 0.4%, according to Investing.com. The settlement came after crude pared its losses during the session, according to the website. In Britain, Office for National Statistics data showed annual headline inflation rose to 3.5% in September from 3.1% the previous month. Core inflation also rose to 2.8% year on year in September, according to the office's official release. The August core inflation reading was 2.6%, with the index rising alongside the acceleration in headline inflation.
Tesla's earnings announcement will be followed by a broadcast to discuss the results on the day of the announcement, according to the schedule published by the company. Tesla set the broadcast to begin at 5:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern time. The next release of British inflation data will cover consumer prices for October, according to the Office for National Statistics calendar. The office confirmed November 18, 2026, as the publication date for the data. The report will be released at 7:00 a.m., according to the time listed in the official release calendar.