Rivian (RIVN) Stock Falls After Earnings Despite Better-Than-Expected Q1 Loss

TLDR

• Rivian stock fell ~4% in premarket Friday after Q1 earnings, despite beating loss estimates
• Q1 revenue hit $1.38B, up 11% YoY; loss per share of $0.33 beat the $0.72 estimate
• R2 production has started in Normal, IL; customer deliveries expected “later this spring”
• DOE loan revised down from $6.6B to ~$4.5B, but Georgia plant capacity increased 50% to 300,000 units
• One investor warns RIVN is overvalued at $20B market cap with R2 demand still unproven

Rivian stock (RIVN) dropped around 4% in premarket trading Friday after the EV maker posted its Q1 2026 results. The stock closed at $16.40 on Wednesday before slipping to $15.76 in early Friday trading.

Rivian Automotive, Inc., RIVN

The numbers were actually better than feared. Revenue came in at $1.38 billion, up 11% year over year. The loss per share of $0.33 crushed the $0.72 Wall Street had expected.

Rivian posted a gross profit of $119 million — its third consecutive quarter of gross profit. The software and services segment was a standout, delivering $180 million in gross profit, nearly 60% higher than a year ago.

But adjusted EBITDA still came in at a loss of $472 million. The company isn’t profitable yet, and investors know it.

Rivian produced 10,236 vehicles and delivered 10,365 in Q1. The company held firm on its full-year 2026 delivery guidance of 62,000 to 67,000 units.

The R2 is now in production at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois plant. CEO RJ Scaringe said customer deliveries will begin “later this spring,” with the bulk of the ramp happening in Q3 and Q4.

Georgia Plant Gets a Rethink

Rivian also updated plans for its upcoming Georgia assembly plant. Initial capacity will increase 50% to 300,000 units, with construction starting in 2026.

The DOE loan supporting that facility has been revised down from $6.6 billion to around $4.5 billion. But Rivian will now start drawing on it in 2027, earlier than the previous 2028 timeline.

Liquidity Holds, But One Investor Stays on the Sidelines

Rivian ended Q1 with $4.83 billion in cash and $5.39 billion in total liquidity, down from $6.59 billion at the end of Q4. The decline reflects ongoing spending as the company scales.

Scaringe pointed to a broader liquidity picture of $13.6 billion when including the Volkswagen JV investment, the Uber deal, and the DOE loan. Earlier this year, Rivian unlocked an additional $1 billion from Volkswagen after the two companies successfully tested the VW ID.EVERY1, built using Rivian software and platform technology.

The Uber deal, announced in March, will see Rivian supply up to 50,000 autonomous R2 EVs in exchange for $1.25 billion in investment.

Not everyone is convinced. Investor ValueAnalyst rates RIVN a Sell, arguing the $20 billion market cap already prices in R2 success — before key details like mileage and pricing are even known. Those figures won’t be clear until late 2027, and over 11% of outstanding stock is currently held short.

Wall Street sits at a Moderate Buy consensus, with 10 Buys, 8 Holds, and 4 Sells. The average 12-month price target is $17.91.

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