EV stocks slump: Rivian and Lucid down on weak outlook

Shares of Rivian (RIVN) and LUCID (LCID) are falling after both EV companies deliver disappointing outlooks for 2024. For Rivian, while the company did see a 167% increase in revenue in 2023, production guidance and vehicle costs have been called into question by some on Wall Street. Lucid reported a quarterly loss of $0.29 per share.

Yahoo Finance Anchors Brad Smith and Seana Smith break down the latest developments for the companies and what it could mean for the EV market moving forward.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino

Video Transcript

BRAD SMITH: Welcome back. Let's take a look at some trending tickers that we're tracking here on Yahoo Finance. You're taking a look at some EV stocks. Shares of Rivian will begin there and Lucid, hitting a speed bump after 2024 guidance falls short of Wall Street estimates. Meanwhile, Nikola edging higher after reporting a narrower loss in the fourth quarter, as the company posts higher deliveries here.

Let's zero in, first and foremost, on Rivian. This was one of the top trending tickers that we saw here when we were even going into our morning meeting this morning. They did see a 167% increase in revenue in 2023. However, the delivery of these vehicles are certainly going to be in focus here, and that the price points too. The top selling electric vehicle over $70,000 in the United States for 2023.

And so really, how they're looking across bringing some of these price points down in an era where Tesla is really initiated an all out price war and it's impacted the margins that some of the other players here within the EV landscape as well.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, it certainly has. And this all points back to the fact that we are seeing a bit of a diminishing demand when it comes to EVs. Obviously not living up to those initial expectations. As a result, the production forecast, and what many of these smaller players, smaller competitors within the marketplace are forecasting here, coming in well below of what the Street was looking for.

Obviously they don't have a heck of a ton of cash when they're not bringing in as many deliveries that they had initially anticipated or what was initially forecasted here going into some of the hype surrounding EVs. So we're seeing a bit of an adjustment here as a result. When it comes to Lucid, you had beared with their reaction saying that they're noting the fact that the company continues to grapple with what is a very challenging environment for EVs, and then you pair that with the high price points that come with Lucid and it is a challenging setup here, and one that is likely going to remain a headwind for this industry now for potentially a couple of quarters.

BRAD SMITH: Yeah. And just lastly, we'll round this out with the company that's coming in last at least as of right now year to date down 15%. It's been a troubled story for Nikola and ultimately here on the day even though you're seeing a little bit of barely a reprieve just flat barely to the upside right now, the stock trading around $0.70 a share. And for the first production here they delivered, finally, finally the first production, hydrogen fuel cell electric truck available in North America.

It's just a larger question of the scale, and [CHUCKLES] for some of the purchase orders that they had seen come through early on just what they would be able to do to even make this go from concept to an actual real thing, which is the issue that landed Trevor Milton in some hot water for this company very early on.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah, certainly we've seen a number of leadership changes there at Nikola. Now the CEO Girsky is taking over as the interim CFO so clearly Nikola's off by itself in terms of the troubles, the challenges, the headwinds that's facing Nikola. Specifically when you take a look at the stock price, the fact that it's under $1 per share year to date we're already looking at losses of 20%. Clearly a very challenging set up here for Nikola going forward.