Electric-vehicle start-up Fisker saw two chief accounting officers depart as it filed third-quarter earnings and regulatory forms late.
Kyle Grillot/BloombergFisker stock continues to be volatile in the aftermath of accounting control issues that led to unexpected management turnover.
Shares of electric-vehicle start-up Fisker (ticker: FSR) were down about 12%, below $2 a share, in midday trading Monday while the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%.
The Monday move leaves shares right around the level they were at before the company filed its late quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
That report was delayed after the company disclosed some accounting problems that led to the departure of two chief accounting officers in recent weeks.
Fisker delayed the report of its third-quarter results and announced the departure of chief accounting officer John Finnucan on Nov. 8. Florus Beuting took over for Finnucan. Results were reported on Nov. 13. The company announced on Nov. 20 that Beuting resigned on Nov. 14.
The company eventually filed its quarterly report on a form 10-Q on Nov. 22. The report included language that the company has “material weaknesses in [its] internal controls over financial reporting.”
Not a lot of numbers changed with the filing of the 10-Q. That appears to have relieved investors, and the stock moved from to $2.23 from roughly $2 over two trading days.
Still, any numbers changing from an earnings report to a 10-Q filing is a little surprising. The operating loss reported in the Nov. 13 earnings report came in at about $100 million. The loss reported in the 10-Q on Nov. 22 was about $104 million, a few million larger.
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Some numbers were categorized too. The gross loss reported on Nov. 13 was about $12 million. The loss in the 10-Q was about $33 million. Some selling, general, and administrative expenses were shifted into the company’s cost of goods sold.
The changes highlight some of the issues the company is having with its accounting.
Investors have reacted by selling the stock. Before the earnings-report delay was announced, Fisker stock was at about $4.37 a share. Shares have fallen more than 50% in recent days.
Through midday trading Monday, shares were down about 74% over the past 12 months. It has left Fisker with a market cap of less than $1 billion.
There aren’t that many U.S. EV start-ups with a market capitalization north of $1 billion anymore. Lucid Group (LCID) and Rivian Automotive (RIVN) are the two most valuable U.S. EV start-ups with market capitalizations of roughly $10 billion and $16 billion, respectively.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
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