By
Tolu Ajiboye
December 14th, 2023
Rivian stock fell after the company posted fourth quarter financial earnings projecting a less-than-expected number of vehicles for 2022.
Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ: RIVN) saw its stock plunge 10% in after-hours trading on Thursday, March 10th following its Q4 release. The company, which also posted its full-year financial results for 2021, missed the general consensus estimate for its fourth-quarter earnings.
For the fourth quarter, Rivian logged an adjusted loss per share of $2.43 versus the $1.97 expectation by Wall Street. Furthermore, the EV manufacturer realized a revenue of $54 million for the same period compared to the consensus estimate of $60 million.
For the year 2021, Rivian also reported an adjusted operating loss of $2.8 billion – including $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter. This represents a substantial increase in losses compared to the same period a year ago. Furthermore, the EV company’s net loss for 2021 was $4.7 billion, which included $2.5 billion from the fourth quarter.
Currently, Rivian shares are trading down further at 13% after the EV company initially hit a new 52-week low on Thursday.
Rivian Forecasts an Underwhelming Production Outlook for 2022
Furthermore, Rivian also stated that it expects to produce no more than 25,000 vehicles this year – compared to analysts’ forecast of 40,000. The relatively low forecast is due to supply chain challenges and internal production bottlenecks. In a letter to shareholders, the EV maker said:
“Through the first half of Q1 2022, we experienced several headwinds and other factors impacting our production ramp, including a planned 10-day shutdown to fine-tune our production lines, significant supply chain limitations, a large spike in COVID-19 cases likely attributable to the Omicron variant, and severe winter weather in Central Illinois.”
Highlighting the pervasive supply chain constraints currently impacting the automobile industry, Rivian further explained:
“In the immediate term, we are not immune to the supply chain issues that have challenged the entire industry. Those issues, which we believe will continue through at least 2022, have added a layer of complexity to our production ramp-up.”
The projected production number of vehicles for this year represents just half of the number forecast in 2021 to investors at Rivian’s IPO roadshow.
Furthermore, the EV maker says it has produced 1,410 vehicles in 2022 as of March 8th, and 2,425 vehicles since production started. Rivian also said that reservations for its vehicles have hit 83,000, up from 71,000 in December last year. By the end of 2021, the California-based EV manufacturer had produced 1,015 vehicles and delivered 920.
To What Extent Will Rivian Stock Be Impacted by the 2022 Production Scale?
A planned increase in production for this year will incur an adjusted operating loss of $4.75 billion. According to the Q4 report, this will come alongside capital expenditures of $2.6 billion for the same period. Refinitiv consensus estimates forecast a $4.95 full-year adjusted loss per share and $3.16 billion in revenue. However, Rivian has not provided revenue guidance for 2022.