Tesla (TSLA) Slid Over Capex Concerns

Soumya Eswaran

Wed, May 20, 2026 at 9:48 AM EDT 4 min read

Loomis Sayles, an investment management company, released its “Global Growth Fund” investor letter for the first quarter of 2026.  A copy of the letter is available to download here. The fund reported -13.09% in the first quarter, lagging the MSCI ACWI Index Net's -3.20% return. Stock selection in the financials and information technology sectors contributed positively to relative performance. The Firm maintained a long-term investment strategy, concentrating on high-quality businesses with sustainable competitive advantages and profitable growth when available at discounts to intrinsic value. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.

In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund highlighted Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA). Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is a global leader in manufacturing of electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems, and also focuses on actively investing in AI technologies and robotics. On May 19, 2026, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) closed at $404.11 per share. One-month return of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) was 4.28%, and its shares gained 20.77% over the past 52 weeks. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion.

Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund stated the following regarding Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:

"Founded in 2003, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is a global leader in the design, manufacturing, and sales of high performance fully electric (battery) vehicles (EVs). The company’s automotive unit sells its products directly to customers through its website and retail locations and continues to grow its customer-facing infrastructure through a global network of vehicle service centers, mobile service technicians, body shops, Supercharger stations, and Destination Chargers to accelerate widespread adoption of its products. Tesla also designs, manufactures, sells, and installs solar energy generation and energy storage products to residential, commercial, and industrial clients through its energy generation and storage unit. The company generated over 90% of its sales from its automotive segment and under 10% from its energy generation and storage segment in its 2025 fiscal year. From a geographic standpoint, the US and China are the company’s two largest markets and accounted for approximately 50% and 22% of 2025 sales, respectively, while the rest of the world collectively accounts for under 30%.

A fund holding since the first quarter of 2022, Tesla reported quarterly financial results that were better-than-expected for revenues and operating margins, driven by improving software sales and strong performance in its energy generation and storage system business. Shares may have responded negatively to the company’s plans to more than double its capital expenditures as it invests substantially in new factories and AI-computing infrastructure. While vehicle deliveries declined for a second straight year in 2025, Tesla reported record vehicle sales in Asia Pacific and average selling prices increased 4% year over year due to the higher-priced new model Y. We believe the concurrent pullback in EV investments by many traditional auto manufacturers will enable Tesla to extend its product and technology advantages, driving even further differentiation as consumers consider the full suite of Tesla products. The company also highlighted its rapid evolution from a hardware-centric company to one focused on physical AI and enabling autonomy. There is no change to our long-term structural investment thesis for Tesla, which continues to trade at a significant discount to our estimate of intrinsic value..." (Click here to read the full text)