Rivian Q2 net loss widens to $1.46 billion despite sales gains, cost cutting

Rivian Automotive reported a net loss of $1.46 billion in the second quarter despite higher vehicle sales and cost cutting. Rivian's net loss was 21 percent greater than its $1.2 billion loss in the same period last year.

Second-quarter revenue was $1.16 billion, a 3.3 percent increase compared with $1.12 billion in the year-earlier period, according to the automaker's earnings report.

Shares in Rivian fell nearly 6 percent to $13.93 in after-hours trading.

The Irvine, Calif., automaker said second-quarter sales rose 9 percent to 13,790 vehicles despite a factory shutdown in April to retool for lower production costs and to freshen the R1T pickup and R1S crossover for the 2025 model year.

CEO RJ Scaringe said in May that the cost cutting won't be fully reflected until the third quarter.

Second-quarter production costs represent a mix of mostly 2024 model-year vehicles along with some freshened 2025 models with the lower cost structure, Scaringe said.

Rivian has been burning through cash since starting vehicle production in late 2021. It also makes delivery vans for Amazon, its largest shareholder.

Rivian said it ended the second quarter with $5.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents compared with $7.9 billion at the end of the 2023 calendar year.

For the first quarter, Rivian reported a net loss of $1.4 billion. It reported a net loss of $5.4 billion for the 2023 calendar year.

Rivian said it lost $32,705 per vehicle delivered in the second quarter, compared with a $32,595 loss per vehicle in the same period last year.

Despite the cash burn, Rivian is on a path to profitability, executives said at a June investor event, bolstered by a $5 billion investment from Volkswagen Group. Part of the money will be used for a joint venture to incorporate Rivian's electrical architecture into future VW Group vehicles.

Rivian is also using the new architecture, which it developed for the freshened R1 models, on lower-cost vehicles of its own beginning in 2026.

While Rivian's current R1 vehicles start at more than $70,000 with shipping, the EV maker is preparing its Normal, Ill., factory for the launch of a smaller crossover, the R2, that will start around $45,000. It plans an even lower-cost R3 model but hasn't given a timeline or price target for it.

Rivian reaffirmed its guidance to build 57,000 vehicles in 2024. Vehicle deliveries are expected to fall slightly in the third quarter as Rivian rebuilds its inventory after its April plant shutdown, Scaringe told Reuters.

On the Aug. 6 earnings call with Wall Street analysts, Scaringe said that Rivian is looking for additional buyers for its commercial vans beyond Amazon. He said the sales process is complicated because fleet customers must plan for charging infrastructure and test out the Rivian vans in the real world before deciding on an order.

Scaringe also addressed Rivian’s rising incentives on its R1 consumer vehicles in the second quarter. He said the non-freshened 2024 models had attractive pricing in order to clear out inventory prior to the arrival of the freshened 2025 models. “We don’t look at that as a long-term shift in pricing,” Scaringe said. The 2025 models, he added, include more expensive top trims that will support higher overall average transaction prices.