Tesla Is Now Bigger Than JPMorgan and Procter & Gamble. Next Up: Walmart -- Update

By Gunjan Banerji 

Tesla Inc.'s shares vaulted toward another record Monday, continuing a head-spinning rally for the electric-car maker that has made it more valuable than many of the titans of American industry.

The company's shares jumped 13% Monday to $1,744.11 and have more than quadrupled in value in 2020. The stock has climbed in nine of the past 10 sessions, rising nearly 30% in the past three trading days alone.

In comparison, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are sitting on small losses this year and the U.S. economy has entered a recession as the pandemic put a halt to business activity around the country.

How big has Tesla gotten? Tesla's recent surge puts its market value of roughly $321 billion above that of JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest bank in America; Procter & Gamble Co., and UnitedHealth Group Inc. The electric-car maker is also bigger than Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. combined, according to FactSet data.

The rally has been driven in part by optimism surrounding the company's coming earnings report on July 22. Some investors are expecting the car maker to deliver a surprise profit. That would make the company eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500 index, potentially driving even more activity around its shares. At least $1.6 trillion of mutual and exchange-traded funds track the index, according to Morningstar Direct data. A company must report an accumulated profit over four consecutive quarters to be included in the index. Tesla's profits over the past three quarters have marked its longest run of profitability so far.

If it were in the S&P 500, it would be the 10th-biggest company in the index, slightly behind Walmart, whose market value is about $374 billion.

The rally is a remarkable feat for one of the most hotly debated stocks in the market. Equally passionate bulls and bears have pounced on Tesla -- buying its shares or shorting the stock in a wager that the shares will tumble. The shares' rapid ascent has evoked memories of the 1990s tech bubble for some investors. Others compare Tesla to a technology company such as Apple Inc. that is sure to change the world.

So far, the bulls are winning.

Write to Gunjan Banerji at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 13, 2020 13:45 ET (17:45 GMT)

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