Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q4 behind us, let’s have a look at Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and its peers.

Much capital investment and technical know-how are needed to manufacture functional, safe, and aesthetically pleasing automobiles for the mass market. Barriers to entry are therefore high, and auto manufacturers with economies of scale can boast strong economic moats. However, this doesn’t insulate them from new entrants, as electric vehicles (EVs) have entered the market and are upending it. This has forced established manufacturers to not only contend with emerging EV-first competitors but also decide how much they want to invest in these disruptive technologies, which will likely cannibalize their legacy offerings.

The 7 automobile manufacturing stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 5%.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 13.5% since the latest earnings results.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)

Originally founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an electric vehicle company accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

Tesla reported revenues of $25.71 billion, up 2.1% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 6%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter for the company: its revenue and operating income fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. These misses were driven by underperformance in its Automotive and Energy segments, as Services (which includes full self-driving) actually beat analysts' revenue expectations. However, Services is Tesla's lowest margin business line - it had an extremely bad gross margin of 5.8% for the trailing 12 months, and it fell to 4.2% this quarter.

The stock is down 26.9% since reporting and currently trades at $283.72.

Read our full report on Tesla here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Ford (NYSE: F)

Established to make automobiles accessible to a broader segment of the population, Ford (NYSE: F) designs, manufactures, and sells a variety of automobiles, trucks, and electric vehicles.

Ford reported revenues of $48.21 billion, up 4.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.5%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ sales volume and EBITDA estimates.

The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 2.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $10.27.

Is now the time to buy Ford? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Winnebago (NYSE: WGO)

Created to provide high-quality, affordable RVs to the post-war American family, Winnebago (NYSE: WGO) is a manufacturer of recreational vehicles, providing a range of motorhomes, travel trailers, and fifth-wheel products for outdoor and adventure lifestyles.

Winnebago reported revenues of $625.6 million, down 18% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 6.9%. It was a slower quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ Motorhomes revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Winnebago delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 33.4% since the results and currently trades at $34.57.

Read our full analysis of Winnebago’s results here.

Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN)

The manufacturer of Amazon’s delivery trucks, Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) designs, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles and commercial delivery vans.

Rivian reported revenues of $1.73 billion, up 31.9% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 22.4%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also put up an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Rivian scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is down 9.9% since reporting and currently trades at $12.24.

Read our full, actionable report on Rivian here, it’s free.

Lucid (NASDAQ: LCID)

Founded by a former Tesla Vice President, Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) designs, manufactures, and sells luxury electric vehicles with long-range capabilities.

Lucid reported revenues of $234.5 million, up 49.2% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 10.8%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ sales volume and EPS estimates.

Lucid delivered the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 7.7% since reporting and currently trades at $2.41.

Read our full, actionable report on Lucid here, it’s free.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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