RIVN: Rivian Stock Seesaws After Light Guidance Distracts from First Gross Profit

Electric truck maker achieved its first-ever gross profit. The figure made it in the black thanks to selling regulatory credits and software.

🎁 First Gross Profit Unlocked

• RIvian stock RIVN powered higher by as much as 8% in after-hours trading but later gave up that advance as traders apparently reconsidered their bets. The electric truck maker’s earnings results for the fourth quarter were a mixed bag of good and bad, although the good part outweighed the bad.
• For the December quarter, Rivian delivered 14,183 cars from 13,972 a year earlier. The increased sales number helped lift the bottom line — Rivian booked its first gross profit of $170 million against expectations of $64 million.

🍂 Rivian Goes Light

• The figure was assisted by $299 million in sales of regulatory credits and $214 million in software and related services. Revenue also outpaced expectations coming in at $1.7 billion against $1.5 billion. All that is actually pretty good but the guidance that followed knocked the share price off kilter.
• It’s light. Instead of using these strong numbers as the jumping-off point, Rivian was conservative looking ahead. For the full 2025, the company led by RJ Scaringe projected deliveries of 46,000 to 51,000.

✒️ A Look Ahead

• The forecast undershot Wall Street expectations of 55,000 but — what’s worse — indicated a shrinking business. Rivian delivered 51,579 cars in 2024. On the bright side, the company said it expects to turn a “modest gross profit” for the year.
• Shares of Rivian have been a rollercoaster ride for investors and traders. The company’s relatively small market cap of $14 billion make it a fairly easy target for speculators, resulting in seesawing action. For the year, the stock is up by less than 2% not without lots of zigging and zagging throughout.