Rivian ended last year by sharply increasing its revenue and posting a gross profit for the first time in the company’s history, although the electric vehicle startup still has a long journey before potentially becoming profitable on a net income basis.
The California-based company reported Thursday a gross profit of $170 million in the fourth quarter, a $776 million improvement from the same period last year. The startup also exceeded Wall Street expectations with fourth-quarter revenue of more than $1.7 billion, a 32% increase from the end of 2023.
But gross profit doesn’t account for operating expenses, so it’s not the same as a net profit. In fact, Rivian posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $743 million, a 51% decrease from the same period in 2023.
The improved revenues and trimmed losses cap off a 2024 that could redefine Rivian’s long-term future and its planned $5 billion factory with 7,500 employees an hour east of Atlanta — the second-largest economic development project in Georgia history. Rivian finalized a joint venture with Volkswagen that could be valued at up to $5.8 billion and received final approval for a roughly $6.6 billion federal loan to build its promised Georgia plant.
The factory’s timeline, however, is still clouded by questions of whether President Donald Trump’s administration will try to claw back the federal loan that was approved during the waning days of his predecessor’s administration. Legal experts raise doubts that an approved loan can legally be revoked.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe on a call with investors Thursday said his company is “working toward our new Georgia facility.”
“We’re very aligned with the (Trump) administration in the importance of creating U.S. jobs and driving technology innovation here in the U.S.,” Scaringe said.
He and other Rivian leaders effectively reiterated that statement when asked explicitly about the loan’s uncertainty.
Gov. Brian Kemp, who helped recruit Rivian to Georgia by offering some $1.5 billion in state and local incentives, told Channel 2 Action News earlier this week that he has no insider knowledge on the status of the federal loan.
“I think there’s no secret that the Trump administration is taking a look at all those things,” Kemp told the news station. “So I don’t really know where that stands right now.”
Credit: John Bazemore/AP
Credit: John Bazemore/AP
Rivian leaders credit the company’s spike in revenue, which follows a revenue decline during the third quarter, to widespread improvements in its supply chain and other manufacturing cost reductions. The company also sold regulatory credits and expanded its software and services revenue.
The company built 49,476 vehicles in 2024, slightly exceeding its revised yearlong production goal of between 47,000 and 49,000 vehicles. The automaker lowered its original goal of 57,000 in October after a disappointing third quarter hampered by a “production disruption” at its Illinois plant, which Bloomberg reported was spurred by miscommunication with a parts supplier.
For 2025, Rivian leaders project they will post a “modest gross profit.” The company still expects to lose between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion throughout the year, although it enters 2025 with $7.7 billion in reserve.
The company also expects to deliver between 46,000 and 51,000 vehicles in 2025, effectively a holding pattern with 2024. That was lower than Wall Street expectations and reflects an EV sales environment that, while continuing to see sales increase, has not met industry expectations.
Rivian’s leadership said those figures represent their “current view on potential adjustments to incentives, regulations and tariff structures” given the change in federal administrations.
Trump and his allies have been critical of what they call the “EV mandate,” laying out various policies and clean energy incentives they want to roll back. Many of those changes, including $7,500 consumer tax credits for EV sales, will require Congress to revoke.
Cox Enterprises, which owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, also owns about a 3% stake in Rivian.
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