Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson at Nasdaq MarketSite as Lucid Motors (Nasdaq: LCID) begins trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange following the completion of a business partnership with Churchill Capital Corp IV in New York City , New York, July 26, 2021.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Investors holding the battered electric vehicle stock are gearing up for a series of first-quarter earnings reports, due out in the next few days.
The asset class has had a rough patch, with the S&P Kensho Electric Vehicle Index down 25% since the start of 2022 and down 43% from its February 2021 peak. The index tracks electric vehicle makers like such. Tesla and Honda’s motobike as well as major suppliers in the automotive industry such as Visteon and Delete.
Some of the best-known stocks in the industry are even worse. They mostly claim little or no minimum sales and production, if any – and three of them report earnings within two days.
First word, Fisker
California-based electric vehicle startup Fisker reported after the market close on Wednesday that it lost $122.1 million in the first quarter, or $0.41 per share. It was a minor omission: Analysts polled by Refinitiv had predicted a loss of $0.39 per share.
Fisker shares fell about 1.5% in after-hours trading following the news.
Fisker has more than 45,000 pre-orders for the upcoming Ocean, a sleek electric SUV that starts around $38,000.
Fisker does not have a factory of its own; global auto supplier Magna International will build Ocean at its contract manufacturing facility in Austria. Production is expected to begin in November.
Last year, Fisker announced plans for a second cara lower-cost model codenamed PEAR will be built by a Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Corporation start in 2023. And earlier on Wednesday, Fisker announced a third model, a sports car called the Ronin, scheduled for late 2024.
Fisker said Wednesday that Magna has begun building Ocean prototypes for testing and that it is still on track to begin building vehicles for customers in November, CEO Henrik Fisker told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau. that Fisker and Magna now plan to triple Ocean’s production from 50,000 vehicles in 2023 to 150,000 vehicles per year by the end of 2024.
Fisker has about $1 billion in cash on hand, it said, enough to see that past the early stages of Ocean production.
To date, the company’s stock is down about 33% at Wednesday’s close and down 63% from its February 2021 high of $28.50.
Production planning in Nikola
Electric heavy duty truck manufacturer Nikola Motors will report before market open on Thursday.
Nikola, based in Phoenix, is perhaps best known for the scandals that led to The sudden departure of founder Trevor Milton in September 2020. Milton is currently facing federal charges of Allegations that he deceived investors about Nikola’s tech status – but after paying the deal to the US government, his former company moved forward.
Under Milton’s successor, Chief Executive Officer Mark Russell, Nikola simplified its go-to-market plan, built a number of key partnerships, and began production of a battery-electric version of the pickup truck. Heavy Bamboo. A longer-range version of the Bamboo, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, is expected next year.
Nikola said Monday it has raised about $200 million from the private sale of convertible bonds. Its current cash balance — believed to be around $1 billion — and expected funding needs are likely to stir questions during Thursday morning’s earnings call.
Shares of Nikola are down about 27% year-to-date through Wednesday and are down 91% from a high of $79.73, set in June 2020.
Clarity from Lucid
Unlike Nikola and Fisker, Lucid there will be some revenue to report when it releases first-quarter results after the market close on Thursday. Arizona-based luxury electric vehicle maker started production of its first modelthe Air sedan, last fall.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson served as the Model S chief engineer.
The reviews were all very good: among other awards, the Air was Engine Trends Car of the Year. But Lucid has struggled to ramp up production amid ongoing global supply chain disruptions. In February, it cut production target in 2022 from 20,000 vehicles coming from 12,000 to 14,000 units.
Lucid’s production surge is likely to be a hot topic on Thursday’s earnings call.
Shares of Lucid are down about 47% this year through Wednesday and are down 65% from their February 2021 peak of $58.05.
