Tesla and Mercedes-Benz earned almost exactly the same last year. Their stock-market valuations are slightly different.

The numbers are in, and the earnings last year from Tesla and Mercedes-Benz are almost identical. The German automaker said it earned €14.26 billion ($15.47 billion) in 2023, a decline of 1.7% from last year. Tesla, meanwhile, earned $15 billion, a 19% improvement.What’s different of course is valuation. Heading into Thursday, Mercedes MBG, +4.83%was valued at €71 billion, or about $78 billion. Tesla TSLA, +0.52%,meanwhile, is valued at $617 billion, even with a 22% stock price d