Tesla, GM, and Ford Had a Huge Week. Take a Look at the Numbers.

Starting with earnings,

Tesla

generated $1.2 billion in operating profit in the first quarter, or about $3,000 per vehicle sold.

Ford

generated $2.8 billion in operating profit, or about $2,700 per vehicle sold.

General Motors

had the best quarter, generating $3.9 billion in operating profit, or about $4,300 per vehicle sold.

In the first quarter of 2022, when EV prices were close to a peak, Tesla generated an operating profit of $3.6 billion. Ford and GM generated operating profits of $2.3 billion and $4 billion, respectively, in that period.

Ford and GM earned more in the latest quarter. But their shares haven’t been able to match Tesla stock this week. Coming into Friday, Tesla shares have risen 16% for the week. Ford and GM shares have gained 7% and 8%, respectively. As of Friday intraday trading, Tesla shares were down 1%, GM was up 0.3%, and Ford was down 0.6%.

The gains still leave Tesla stock down about 32% this year. Slowing battery-electric vehicle, or BEV, sales growth has weighed on investor sentiment for months. Retail sales of BEVs in the U.S., Europe, and China totaled some 1.7 million units, up almost 7% year over year. That growth was solid but less than the 20% growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Tesla’s first-quarter sales fell almost 9%. The EV giant ended the first quarter with about 20% of the market for BEVs in the U.S., Europe, and China, down from about 25% share in the first quarter of 2023.

Tesla ended the quarter with a 49% market share, the first time it had less than half of the BEV market share in the U.S.

The American BEV market has been getting more competitive. On Thursday, Toyota and Honda announced new BEV spending. Honda will be investing $11 billion in Ontario for assembly and battery facilities. Toyota plans to invest another $1.4 billion at its plant in Princeton, Indiana.

Honda and Toyota shares were down about 1% for the week through early Friday trading. Both stocks have had good years, up about 9% and 23% year to date—measured in U.S. dollars.

While the market is getting more competitive, EV batteries are getting better. At the Beijing Auto Show on Thursday, the largest EV battery maker in the world,

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.
,

better known as CATL, announced a battery that can get about 375 miles of range from 10 minutes of charging and go more than 600 miles on a single charge.

Those specs are music to the ears of Tesla, or any other company looking to sell BEVs.

CATL shares are up about 3% since its Beijing battery presentation.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com