RIVN Stock Heats Up as CEO Eyes New Partnerships

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  • Rivian (RIVN) beat estimates but still lost $1.35 billion for the quarter.
  • The EV maker is trying to scale production in Illinois.
  • It hopes its cost-cutting leads to profit when it opens its Georgia factory in 2026.
RIVN stock - RIVN Stock Heats Up as CEO Eyes New Partnerships

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Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) stock rose 9% overnight after earnings beat estimates.

The electric vehicle (EV) company lost $1.35 billion, $1.45 per share, on revenue of $661 million. It said it was on track to make 50,000 vehicles in 2023.

Still, Rivian’s market capitalization rose $1 billion overnight after CEO R.J. Scaringe said he hopes for more partnerships beyond the 100,000 delivery van deal Rivian has with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Fighting the Shakeout

The EV market is going through a shakeout, with weaker companies threatened with bankruptcy as they all fight to scale production.

Some analysts have assumed Rivian would be among the losers, but the latest results offer hope. Rivian’s losses were less than analysts feared, a contrast with Lucid Motors (NASDAQ:LCID), Fisker (NYSE:FSR) and Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA), all of which missed the mark.

Rivian’s deal with Amazon is as defining as Lucid’s with Saudi Arabia. It helped the company land billions of dollars in incentives to build a new plant along I-20 in Georgia, which will be supplied by batteries made in a plant along I-85 to its north. Currently, Rivian operates a factory in Normal, Illinois.

Rivian’s products are primarily pickups, SUVs, and delivery vans made for the U.S. market. The company had an alliance with Ford (NYSE:F), but Ford backed away after seeing it as a competitor. Ford expects to build 55,000 EVs this year.

Scaringe said his company is learning how to cut costs in Normal, which will let it begin producing a car called the R2 in Georgia starting in 2026. Among the innovations are a new motor built in-house and a new battery pack. “In the not-too-distant future, everything will be electric,” he said. “Being electric alone isn’t a sufficient differentiation point.”

RIVN Stock: What Happens Now?

Scaling to survive is the key for EV makers right now.

At its May 10 price, RIVN stock is trading at $15/share, down nearly over 85% from where it first traded on its November 2021 initial public offering (IPO).

On the date of publication, Dana Blankenhorn held a long position in AMZN. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2023/05/rivn-stock-heats-up-as-ceo-eyes-new-partnerships/.

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