Rivian Reaffirms Production Outlook despite Supply-Chain Snags, Boosting Stock

Rivian Automotive Inc. stock rose nearly 6% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the electric-vehicle maker kept its 2022 production outlook intact and tried to assure investors about it was on the right track amid a recent selloff of its shares.

"We couldn't be more confident in the path that lies head," Chief Executive RJ Scaringe told investors on a call after the first-quarter results.

Rivian has $17 billion in cash, the capacity to build 150,000 vehicle units, and sees "incredible demand" for its EVs, including a cheaper vehicle in the future, "ensuring we are positioning ourselves for significant growth in the coming years," Scaringe said.

Rivian made 2,553 vehicles in the quarter and delivered 1,227, generating $95 million in revenue, the company said.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected the EV maker to report an adjusted loss of $1.49 a share on sales of $133 million.

The gap between produced and delivered vehicles in the quarter was strictly on timing, not quality issues, Scaringe said.

Rivian has taken a page from Tesla Inc. and also sells its vehicles directly to consumers, bypassing dealerships.

The company has worked with suppliers so they can ramp their production and Rivian can meet its demand, Scaringe said. Suppliers have "leaned in," and that was in part what gave the company the confidence to keep its production goals, the CEO said.

"We remain focused on ramping production throughout 2022," the company said in its letter to shareholders.

Rivian went on to describe production problems that included ongoing shortages of semiconductor chips as well as other parts, stoppages and bottlenecks.

Supply-chain "constraints" will continue to limit production, but based on the "latest understanding of the supply-chain environment," Rivian reaffirmed its guidance to make about 25,000 vehicles this year.

The EV maker said it had more than 90,000 preorders for its electric vehicles from consumers in the U.S. and Canada, including 10,000 orders after it increased model prices in March that averaged more than $93,000 apiece.

Rivian said it ended the quarter with about $17 billion in cash and equivalents.

The stock ended the regular trading day down 9.6% to a record-low close of $20.60, after news that Ford Motor Co. and other major backers had sold shares as soon as the post-IPO lockup period ended.

The stock is down 80% so far this year, compared with losses of around 17% for the S&P 500 index .