By Akash Sriram and Abhirup Roy
(Reuters) -Rivian Automotive surpassed third-quarter revenue expectations on Tuesday, fueled by strong deliveries as U.S. consumers rushed to grab a federal tax incentive on electric vehicle purchases before its expiry.
Shares of the Irvine, California-based company rose more than 4% after the bell.
The company said last month it delivered 13,201 vehicles in the third quarter, up 32% from the year earlier, but lowered the mid point of its full-year forecast marginally to around 42,500 units, as it braced for lower demand from the lapse of the $7,500 federal tax credit.
“October is going to be a bit of a funky month, because you had so much pull forward. But in the fullness of time, we think it (demand) looks the same way we thought it looked before,” CEO RJ Scaringe told Reuters.
Early indicators suggest U.S. EV sales slowed in October after a record-setting September, market research firm Edmunds said, adding that average prices rose to nearly a record $65,021, indicating that October buyers were more committed to EV adoption than bargain-hunting.
Rivian also expects partial relief from the Trump administration’s 3.75% tariff offset for U.S.-made EVs, which should help ease cost pressures.
Tariff costs on newly built vehicles are expected to fall to a few hundred dollars per vehicle as policy changes take effect, down from about $2,000 currently, Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough said.
Rivian’s revenue for the third quarter stood at $1.56 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $1.5 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company posted an adjusted net loss of 65 cents per share, smaller than the estimate of 72 cents per share.
Rivian said it remains on track to start production of its more affordable R2 SUV in the first half of next year.
Last month, the company laid off about 4.5% of its workforce, or more than 600 employees, and agreed to settle a 2022 class-action lawsuit for $250 million as it focuses on the launch of R2.
Also on Tuesday, Rivian unveiled Mind Robotics, an industrial robotics startup that it set up this month with $110 million in external funding.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
