Rivian Automotive has lowered its profit forecast for this year after falling short of Wall Street’s third-quarter expectations, including a sharp decline in sales.
Here’s how the company performed for the quarter compared to average estimates compiled by LSEG:
Loss per share: 99 cents adjusted, 92 cents expected Lost earnings: $874 million, $990 million expected
Rivian said it now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be a loss of $2.83 billion to $2.88 billion. This compares with prior guidance of a loss of approximately $2.7 billion.
But Rivian on Thursday reaffirmed its plan to achieve “moderately positive gross margins” in the fourth quarter of this year, a move that is being closely watched by Wall Street.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Thursday that “our core focus is to drive toward increased profitability.” “As we look to the fourth quarter, we will continue to guide our gross margin improvement.”
The company reported negative third-quarter gross profit of $392 million. This compares to a loss of $477 million in the same period last year.
Stock prices of electric car companies Rivian, Lucid, and Tesla in 2024.
Rivian stock rose about 2% in after-hours trading Thursday after initially falling. Shares closed Thursday at $10.05, up 3.5%.
Tom Narayan, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said the company’s ability to maintain its gross profit target should benefit the stock. “We thought there was a possibility that the target could be withdrawn. Based on that, the stock price could rise.” He said this in a note to investors on Thursday.
The company’s net loss narrowed to $1.1 billion year over year from $1.37 billion in the third quarter of 2023. The company’s revenue, which included $8 million in regulatory credit sales, was down 34.6% year-over-year due to supplier disruptions. company production.
“This has been a tough quarter for us,” Scaringe told investors Thursday regarding supplier issues. “We see this as a short-term issue.”
Last month, Rivian lowered its annual production forecast from 57,000 to 47,000 to 49,000 vehicles due to the disruption. That range was reaffirmed Thursday.
The supplier disruption comes as the automaker prepares to launch its second-generation R1 car. The redesign for the 2025 model year includes significant changes to the vehicle’s internal components.
Separate from its third-quarter results, Rivian on Thursday announced a “significant strategic partnership” with LG Energy Solutions, which will supply U.S.-manufactured battery cells for the company’s next R2 vehicle in 2026.
