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- Major companies reported Q3 earnings this week, with Coca-Cola and General Motors beating estimates and raising guidance, while Netflix underperformed due to rising costs and competition.
- Coca-Cola’s sales and profits rose on rebounding demand while GM raised its 2025 outlook due to reduced tariff impacts.
- Tesla’s earnings missed estimates despite strong revenue growth, while Netflix faced a 10% tax from Brazilian entities, leading to weaker earnings.
Early enthusiasm for Q3 earnings season took a step back as traders digested a mixed bag of results this week.
With major companies reporting, some beat expectations and raised forward guidance, while others missed their forecasts, citing high costs and disputes.
Coca-Cola and General Motors saw some gains, while Netflix and Tesla delivered mixed performances. These reports explain to investors how these firms handled demand, tariffs, taxes and AI trends.
Coca-Cola’s Improving Demand
Coca-Cola beat both earnings and revenue forecasts. The company reported earnings of $0.82, above the forecast of $0.78, with revenue coming at $12.41 billion, also above the forecast of $12.39 billion.
CFO John Murphy said that demand for beverages remained soft but is gradually recovering. Net sales rose 5% to $12.46 billion, with unit-case volume increasing by 1%, outperforming the previous quarter’s drop. ⁽¹⁾
Coca-Cola kept its full-year forecast. It expects comparable earnings per share to rise 3% and organic revenue to grow between 5% to 6%. For 2026, it sees a small boost from currency changes. ⁽²⁾
Source: TradingView Coca-Cola Chart
General Motors Boosts Guidance
General Motors beat analysts’ estimates, with earnings coming in at $2.8, above the $2.31 forecast. Revenues were reported at $48.59 billion, also over the $45.27 billion forecast. GM raised its 2025 guidance after strong performance in Q3 and also cut expected tariff impacts. ⁽³⁾
GM CEO Mary Barra said that the guidance update showed confidence, with tariff impacts now expected to reach between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion, down from the earlier estimate of $5 billion. North American profits were over $2.5 billion, but margin fell to 6.2% from 9.7%. Operations in China and internationally improved. ⁽⁴⁾
GM’s new outlook signals strength for the automaker heading into the fourth quarter, beating Wall Street analysts’ current expectations for the last three months of the year.
Source: TradingView General Motors Chart
Netflix Gets Punched with a Tax Penalty Amid Weak Earnings
Netflix faced a setback after being hit with a tax penalty from Brazilian entities, contributing to its weak performance. Earnings came in at $5.87, missing the forecast of $6.97, while revenue matched estimates at $11.51 billion. ⁽⁵⁾
The 10% tax from Brazilian entities on foreign operations wasn’t included in Netflix’s forecast. Instead, they decided to pay it in Q3 rather than entering a legal battle, which Netflix itself said they would probably lose.
Despite the weak numbers, Netflix said it posted its best quarter for advertising sales, with co-CEO Greg Peters noting that the company is on track to more than double its ad revenue this year. ⁽⁶⁾
Source: TradingView Netflix Chart
Tesla’s Revenue Sees Growth, but Profits Drop
Tesla reported a mixed performance in Q3, with earnings coming in at $0.5, below the forecast of $0.54, but reported revenue growth of 12% YoY at $28.1 billion. Automotive revenue increased 6% to $21.2 billion from $20 billion YoY. ⁽⁷⁾
The end of the quarter coincided with the expiration of federal tax credits for electric vehicles, which were eliminated with President Donald Trump’s spending bill. That pulled sales forward into the quarter as consumers rushed to take advantage of the tax credit before it was terminated.
Despite the return to growth, Tesla’s Q3 performance was also impacted by a continuing sales decline in Europe, driven by strong competition and consumer controversy against Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Tesla plans volume production of the Cybercab, Semi trucks, and Megapack 3 in 2026. Optimus robots are set to start in Q1.
Earlier this month, Tesla reported deliveries of 497,099 vehicles for the third quarter, a record, on total production of 447,450 vehicles. However, through the first three quarters of 2025, deliveries stood at around 1.2 million, down about 6% compared to the same period of 2024. ⁽⁸⁾
Source: TradingView Tesla Chart
Looking Ahead
The week’s bag of mixed results could suggest that markets are staying cautious as they assess the rising prospects of higher costs and policy shifts heading into Q4.
The earnings lineup for next week includes Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and Boeing, who will all report their Q3 earnings on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, Apple and Amazon take the spotlight, hopefully giving markets a better idea of how tech and other sectors performed in the third quarter.
