Shares of electric vehicle manufacturers Rivian and Lucid experienced a significant decline on Thursday following the release of their fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday. Rivian saw its shares plummet by approximately 25%, while Lucid’s stock sank nearly 17% during Thursday’s trading session.
In terms of production forecasts, Rivian projected that it would manufacture 57,000 vehicles in 2024, slightly lower than the 57,232 vehicles it produced the previous year. On the other hand, Lucid anticipated producing 9,000 vehicles in 2024, reflecting a modest increase of about 7% compared to the 8,428 vehicles manufactured in 2023.
While Rivian’s quarterly revenue of $1.32 billion exceeded Wall Street estimates, its net loss per share of $1.36 was worse than analysts had anticipated. Additionally, the company announced plans to reduce its workforce by 10%, citing challenges posed by economic and geopolitical uncertainties, notably the impact of historically high-interest rates, which have adversely affected demand, as highlighted by Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe during the earnings call.
Similarly, Lucid reported lower-than-expected revenue of $157.2 million for the quarter, while its net loss per share of 30 cents aligned with analyst expectations. CEO Peter Rawlinson attributed these results to the macroeconomic environment and higher interest rates, noting the company’s adaptation to operating in new markets such as Saudi Arabia, which presents different dynamics.
Despite substantial investments in electric vehicles (EVs), sales growth has been slower than initially projected. EVs accounted for 6.9% of total sales as of December, representing approximately 976,560 units, marking a modest increase of 1.7 percentage points compared to 2022 total sales.
Rivian and Lucid, though prominent in the EV sector, command a fraction of the market share compared to industry leader Tesla. Rivian accounted for slightly over 4% of EV sales in 2023, while Lucid captured 0.5% of the market, with Tesla dominating approximately 55% of the market share, according to a Cox Automotive analysis.
Over the past year, shares of Rivian have declined by approximately 40%, plummeting 85% from their initial public offering (IPO) price of $78 per share in November 2021. Similarly, Lucid’s stock has dropped around 70% in the past year, falling over 75% from its IPO price of $14 per share in October 2021.
Meanwhile, the electric truck manufacturer Nikola also reported its earnings on Thursday, with worse-than-expected revenue and a slightly better-than-expected loss per share. Nikola’s stock remained relatively flat on Thursday and has drastically depreciated since reaching an all-time high of $93.99 in June 2020.
