Lucid earnings for the third quarter came in well below views late Tuesday as the luxury EV startup spent heavily to expand production and meet ambitious delivery goals. LCID stock plunged Wednesday.
Lucid also said it may raise up to $1.5 billion through share sales to fund future operations. The Saudi-backed startup revealed fundraising plans after disclosing a worse-than-feared Q3 loss. But it remains on track to produce 6,000-7,000 electric vehicles in 2022, the Lucid earnings release said.
However, Tuesday night's release noted "over 34,000 reservations" for the Lucid Air electric sedan, down from the 37,000 reported earlier.
Lucid Earnings
Estimates: Analysts polled by FactSet expect Lucid to narrow its net loss per share in Q3 to 31 cents, from 43 cents a year ago. Revenue is seen reaching $209.4 million, up from $232,000 a year ago and $97.3 million in Q2.
Results: Lucid lost 40 cents per share on revenue of $195.5 million.
The company's capital expenditures more than tripled to $290 million in the third quarter vs. a year earlier, as it expanded production. It ended the quarter with $3.85 billion in cash and cash equivalents, down from $4.6 billion at the end of Q2.
Lucid produced 2,282 EVs in Q3, more than triple from Q2. It delivered 1,398 EVs to customers, more than double from Q2.
Outlook: For the full year, Wall Street now expects Lucid to lose $1.11 per share vs. a loss of $6.41 in 2021.
LCID Stock, RIDE Stock, EV Stocks
Shares of Lucid dived nearly 17% to 11.21 amid a broad decline on the stock market today. Lucid stock tumbled to the lowest since January 2021. LCID stock has been in a downtrend since December, ending Tuesday more than 76% below its 52-week high.
Rivian, which reports Q3 numbers late Wednesday, sank almost 12%. RIVN stock has a bottoming base with a 40.66 buy point, but is below the 50-day line.
Nikola fell more than 9% Wednesday after tumbling 7.5% last week on its delivery warning. Fisker shed 9.8% after sliding 3.6% last week on a big Q3 loss.
Lordstown Motors lost 6.9% after reversing a 25% surge to a 5.4% loss on Tuesday. Late Monday, Lordstown announced an expanded partnership with Taipei-based contract manufacturer Foxconn, which will see the companies jointly build an electric vehicle. But early Tuesday, Lordstown posted a far-worse-than-feared Q3 loss while reaffirming the Q4 start of deliveries of its Endurance electric pickup truck.
China's Nio, which reports Thursday before the open, tanked 12.4% Wednesday. Nio stock surged 20.5% last week, but that was after plunging to a two-year low.
Tesla gave up 7.2% Wednesday. Shares hit a 17-month low Monday after tumbling 9.2% last week.
Lucid Stock Sale
The Lucid share sale would involve two separate transactions, according to a separate news release Tuesday.
In the first sale, Lucid's majority shareholder, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund would buy up to $915 million in a series of private placements. And up to $600 million may be sold to other investors.
Lucid Air Production, Deliveries Ramp Up
Earlier in October, preliminary data from Lucid had already showed that Lucid produced 2,282 EVs in Q3 and delivered 1,398 EVs.
Lucid delivered 360 EVs in Q1 and 679 EVs in Q2. That means LCID will have to keep ramping sharply in the current quarter to meet its lowered target for 2022.
On Tuesday, the Saudi-backed startup maintained previously lowered guidance to build and deliver 6,000-7,000 electric vehicles in 2022. Lucid has struggled amid chip shortages and other supply challenges, tied in part to Covid-19 factory shutdowns in China.
Like other automakers, Lucid confronts other headwinds, from rising interest rates to fears of a global recession.
Lucid Expanding EV Lineup
On Nov. 15, Lucid will unveil two more affordable versions of its luxury, award-winning Lucid Air electric sedan. The Lucid Air EV has been favorably compared to Tesla cars. It's sometimes seen as a Model S rival.
The upcoming models will include the $87,400 Lucid Air Pure and $107,400 Air Touring, the company announced on Nov. 3. The Lucid Air Grand Touring model, which is already being sold, costs $154,000 for an EPA-estimated range of 516 miles.
Lucid also plans a luxury SUV, sharing the same proprietary EV technology as the Air.
