Rivian Stock Jumps On Reports Of Higher-Than-Expected Q1 Deliveries

Rivian is expected to exceed 8,000 registrations in the first quarter, exceeding expectations by a thousand units.

By: Dan Mihalascu

Mar 30, 2023 at 5:18am ET

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Rivian shares jumped significantly on March 29 on reports that the EV startup will report higher-than-expected deliveries for the first quarter.

The stock bounced back from an all-time low of $12.90 on March 28 to $14.38 on March 29 as new data indicates Rivian will end the quarter with more deliveries than initially forecast.

According to state registrations data compiled by Cox Automotive, Rivian had 8,145 registrations in the first quarter of 2023, easily beating the Wall Street consensus of 7,167 units, as reported by Benzinga.

This is obviously good news, especially after the EV startup disappointed with its 2023 production forecast of 50,000 vehicles – way below analysts' expectations of 60,000 to 65,000 units.

The rise in stock value may also have something to do with a recent report that Rivian is planning to move engineers closer to its factory in Normal, Illinois, or its headquarters in Irvine, California in order to boost production.

The company has implemented several cost-cutting measures in recent months to improve capital efficiency and increase production, including laying off 6 percent of its non-manufacturing staff in February.

Last year, Rivian was unable to meet its production goal of 25,000 vehicles, even though it had cut it in half twice from the start of the year. Still, the carmaker only missed the final estimate by a small margin, manufacturing 24,337 units.

Another encouraging sign for Rivian is the fact that Kelley Blue Book noted in a report that first-quarter used vehicle data showed that fewer Rivian vehicles were on sale compared to the Ford F-150 Lightning, which is a direct competitor to the Rivian R1T pickup truck, or Lucid Air.

This can be interpreted as a sign that demand for Rivian vehicles is there and the R1S and R1T spend less time on dealer lots than some competitor vehicles or models from EV startups like Rivian, a company Rivian often gets compared to.

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From a financial standpoint, Rivian is losing money on every vehicle it sells. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company posted a net loss of $1.7 billion and negative gross profit of $1 billion.

According to an SEC filing earlier this month, Rivian was looking to raise $1.3 billion in cash via green convertible notes, despite previously claiming to be funded through 2025.