On August 8, 2023, a Rivian electric truck was parked in front of a Rivian service center in South San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Electric car maker stocks Rivian and wide awake Shares tumbled on Thursday after the companies reported disappointing results after the close on Wednesday, with fourth-quarter earnings production stalling.
As of Thursday afternoon, Rivian shares were down about 25%, and Lucid shares were down more than 15%.
Rivian forecasts it will produce 57,000 vehicles in 2024, down slightly from the 57,232 vehicles the company produced last year. Lucid said it expects production to reach 9,000 vehicles in 2024, an increase of about 7% from the 8,428 vehicles produced in 2023.
A survey of analysts by LSEG (formerly known as Refinitiv) showed that Rivian’s revenue for the quarter was $1.32 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations, but a net loss of $1.36 per share was worse than expected. The company also announced on Wednesday that it would lay off 10% of its employees.
“Our business is not immune to existing economic and geopolitical uncertainties, particularly historically high interest rates, which are negatively impacting demand,” Rivian Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said on Wednesday’s earnings call.
Analysts surveyed by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) said Lucid reported quarterly revenue of $157.2 million, below expectations, and a net loss of 30 cents per share, in line with expectations.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said the macroeconomic environment and higher interest rates also affected the company. He said the company had to learn to operate in new locations with different market dynamics, such as Saudi Arabia.
Even though companies have invested billions of dollars in electric vehicles, sales are growing slower than expected. As of December, electric vehicle sales accounted for approximately 976,560 units, accounting for 6.9% of sales, an increase of 1.7 percentage points from total sales in 2022.
Rivian and Lucid account for only a fraction of EV sales compared with industry leader Tesla. Cox Automotive Analysis The study found that Rivian will account for a little more than 4% of electric vehicle sales in 2023, while Lucid will account for 0.5%. Tesla controls about 55% of the market.
Rivian’s stock price has fallen about 40% in the past year and is down 85% from its initial public offering price of $78 per share in November 2021. Lucid’s stock price has fallen about 70% over the past year, and is down more than 75% from $78 per share in November 2021. The IPO price in October 2021 is $14 per share.
Rivian and Lucid weren’t the only electric vehicle makers Wall Street was watching Thursday.
Electric truck manufacturers Nikola Revenue reported Thursday was lower than expected and earnings per share were slightly better than expected. The stock was trading little changed on Thursday, having lost almost all of its value since hitting an all-time high of $93.99 in June 2020.
—CNBC’s Michael Wayland contributed to this report
Svlook
