Rivian reported a less-than-feared loss for the first quarter late Tuesday while maintaining earnings and EV production guidance for the full year. RIVN stock rose Wednesday, but closed well off session highs.
The steady 2023 outlook — despite a strong Q1 beat — "implies a downshift coming from higher volumes at negative margins," RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan wrote in a note to clients late Tuesday. The analyst also pointed to increased competition from "well-capitalized legacy OEMs (Ford, GM, Stellantis)," which are all starting to sell similar all-electric pick-up trucks and SUVs.
Fellow U.S. EV startups Fisker, Nikola and Lucid missed estimates earlier this week and some indicated production cuts.
Rivian Earnings, RIVN Stock
Estimates: Analysts expect Rivian to lose $1.62 per share, widening from a $1.42 loss a year ago. Revenue is seen surging 599% to $664 million.
Results: Rivian narrowed losses to $1.25 a share on revenue of $661 million.
Outlook: The startup, backed by Amazon and Ford, maintained its 2023 adjusted EBTDA guidance of negative $4.3 billion. It also reaffirmed Tuesday that it is on track to make 50,000 vehicles in 2023.
Rivian had $11.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q1, down from $12.1 billion at the end of 2022.
"We continue to believe the supply chain will continue to be the main limiting factor" on production, Rivian said in an earnings release. New engineering design changes, set to take effect in the second half of 2023, will to help mitigate supply constraints, it added.
In Q1, Rivian produced 9,395 vehicles but delivered 7,946.
The startup is looking to end a deal to make electric vans exclusively for Amazon. Rivian also makes an electric truck and an electric SUV for consumers.
Shares of Rivian gained 1.8% to 14.11 on the stock market today, regaining the 50-day moving average. But RIVN closed near session lows after soaring earlier in the day to as high as 15.74.
Rivian stock collapsed in the past year, due to market conditions and execution hiccups.
Lucid Earnings, LCID Stock
Estimates: Analysts polled by FactSet expected Lucid to widen losses to 39 cents per share from five cents a year ago. Revenue was seen leaping 254% to $204.4 million.
Results: Lucid lost 43 cents a share on revenue of roughly $149 million, up 159% vs. a year earlier, but far below expectations. Sales were well below Q3 and Q4 levels.
The startup said late Monday that it ended the quarter with about $3.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents, with total liquidity of approximately $4.1 billion. That should be sufficient to fund the company at least into Q2 2024, said Lucid CFO Sherry House in an earnings release.
The luxury EV maker built 2,314 vehicles and delivered 1,406 vehicles during the quarter. It make just 7,180 of its Air electric sedans in 2022 amid the chip shortage and other production challenges.
Lucid now expects to produce "more than 10,000" EVs this year vs. prior guidance for 10,000-14,000 EVs. Reservations also have fallen recently, a sign of flagging demand.
Shares of Lucid tumbled 5.6% Tuesday and lost 1.7% Wednesday. LCID stock remains below the 10-week and 40-week moving averages after cratering in the past year.
Fisker Earnings, FSR Stock
Estimates: Analysts expect Fisker to narrow losses to 31 cents per share from 41 cents a year ago. Revenue is seen reaching $5.3 million, up from roughly 300,000 the prior quarter.
Results: Fisker lost 38 cents a share on revenue of about $198,000.
Fisker had $652 million in cash remaining as of May 31, down from $736.5 million at the end of 2022.
The startup on Tuesday announced it's cutting production guidance for the full year. Fisker now expects to build 32,000-36,000 Ocean SUVs in 2023, down from more than 42,000 EVs earlier. It began delivering its Ocean SUV in Europe May 5 and said Tuesday that it expects to begin U.S. deliveries before the end of May.
Shares of Fisker plunged 7.4% Tuesday and rose 1.3% Wednesday. FSR stock has retaken a falling 10-week average but remains below the 40-week line.
Nikola Earnings, NKLA Stock
Estimates: Analysts expect Nikola to lose 26 cents per share, swelling from a 21-cent loss a year ago. Revenue is seen reaching vaulting 583% to $12.9 million.
Results: Nikola lost 26 cents per share on revenue of $11.1 million.
The semi-truck maker had $121.1 million in cash remaining at the end of March, down from $233.4 million at the end of 2022.
Nikola said Tuesday that it's refocusing the company on North America, while exiting a European joint venture. It also expects to focus on fuel-cell trucks, though it will continue to make all-electric or battery-electric trucks.
The startup produced 63 electric trucks and delivered 31 during the quarter. It expects it to deliver 250-350 all-electric trucks and 125-150 fuel-cell trucks in 2023.
The upcoming fuel-cell version of its heavy truck is supposed to begin production in the second half of 2023. The startup built 258 trucks in 2022.
Shares of Nikola dived 13% Tuesday and shed 6.6% Wednesday. NKLA stock remains below its sharply falling 10-week and 40-week lines.
EV Startups Burning Cash
A price war in the electric-vehicle market and a bankruptcy warning from a troubled peer set the tone for the week's earnings reports.
Lordstown Motors, which in early May warned that it may go bankrupt, has not given an earnings date.
Investors are placing heightened emphasis on cash burn and production targets, amid recession fears and the Lordstown warning.
Even Tesla recently gave a cautious production outlook. Its price cuts earlier this year set off an EV price war, while adding to pressure on the startups.
Going forward, traditional auto giants such as General Motors and Ford Motor are set to significantly expand their EV output.
