By Kara Carlson, Bloomberg
After a brutal year for the US electric-vehicle industry, Rivian Automotive Inc. handed investors a rare reason for optimism.
The EV manufacturer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and its first-ever annual gross profit, a key milestone after years of consistent losses. The signs of progress come as the company prepares to begin selling its R2 midsize SUV, a lower-priced EV that Rivian hopes will appeal to a broader swath of car buyers.
“For the stock itself, nothing matters more than a timely launch for the R2 SUV,” Alexander Potter, an analyst with Piper Sandler, said in a note. In this regard, Rivian “remains essentially on track.”
Share rose as much as 28% in New York Friday. If that holds, it would nearly erase the year-to-date loss of 29% through Thursday’s close.
The fourth-quarter results also marked a rare bright spot in an otherwise bleak US electric vehicle industry. Sales have been in a tailspin since a $7,500 US tax credit for EV buyers expired in late September, fueling questions about what true demand for battery-powered cars will be without those subsidies.
The business of producing EVs grew even harder still in other ways. Republican-led moves to unwind EV-friendly US policies essentially killed demand for regulatory credits — a source of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue for EV makers Rivian and Tesla Inc.
Mainstream automakers including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV have each announced billions of dollars in write-downs as they dialed back their EV ambitions.
Despite those industry challenges, Rivian reported an adjusted loss of 54 cents a share in the fourth quarter, better than the 69-cent deficit expected by Wall Street. Revenue of $1.29 billion narrowly topped Wall Street’s prediction.
Gross profit was $120 million in the fourth quarter, helping the company post a positive full-year result by that measure after a $1.2 billion loss in 2024. The profit was helped by software and services, including its venture with Volkswagen AG, which more than offset ongoing losses from its automotive sales.
The company also cut more than $7,200 in costs per vehicle delivered in the fourth quarter compared with the prior-year period. The company saw reduced material costs tariff impacts during the year.
With the R2 in its lineup, Rivian expects to deliver between 62,000 and 67,000 vehicles this year, compared with about 63,400 expected by analysts.
The company said the R2 will go on sale in the second quarter, initially with a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive configuration. Its first manufacturing validation builds for the vehicle were completed in mid-January at its factory in Illinois.
The company has not specified the vehicle’s initial starting price when it first goes on sale. Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe has said the vehicle would launch with equipment and at a price point that would make “the most people the most happy.” The vehicle’s starting price is expected to be about $45,000 at some point after sales begin.
Still, the company’s expected to continue to see losses this year, forecasting a 2026 adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1.8 billion to $2.1 billion. The midpoint of that range slightly exceeds the roughly $1.8 billion loss on that basis expected by analysts.
(Updates with analyst comment and share move from the third paragraph.)
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