Luxury EV startup Lucid earnings miss the estimate for the second quarter but is ready to join price war with Tesla and also declares its key goal. Lucid maintained its annual EV production target late Monday while badly missing earnings and revenue estimates for the second quarter. Lucid EV stock wobbled in extended trading, near a 52-week low.
Startup peer Rivian is due late Tuesday. The U.S. EV startups emerged in recent years, hoping to be the next Tesla.
On Saturday, Lucid air sedan prices were cut by as much as $12,400 as part of an offer. The price cuts of Lucid air sedan came amid rising EV competition and a price war led by Tesla.
Lucid earnings estimates
Analysts expected a 34-cent loss, a penny more than a year ago, according to FactSet. They saw revenue surging 87%, year over year, to $181.6 million.
The Lucid earnings release Friday did not provide an update on Air reservations, though an update may come on the Lucid earnings call. But Saturday’s price cuts suggest weak demand.
Lucid earnings result
Lucid posted a loss of 40 cents, far worse than expected. Revenue swelled 55% to $150.9 million, also falling well short of views. That marked a slowdown from triple-digit revenue gains in the prior two quarters. The company had previously disclosed 1,404 EV deliveries in the second quarter.
Company ended Q2 with $6.25 billion in total liquidity, according to Lucid earnings release late Monday. The company ended Q1 with about $3.4 billion in cash and $4.1 billion in total liquidity. The current cash balance should be enough to fund operations “into 2025” vs. until Q2 2024 earlier, the release showed.
Lucid EV stock outlook
Wall Street sees Lucid losing $1.34 per share for the full year, slightly narrowing losses from $1.51 in 2022.
On Monday, Lucid said it was on track to produce more than 10,000 EVs in 2023. “But we recognize we still have work to do to grow our customer base,” the release said. The startup had originally targeted 10,000-14,000 EVs.
Lucid EV stock update
Shares tried for a gain in late trade after falling 3.2% to 6.41 in Monday’s regular stock market action.
Lucid EV stock has cratered since November 2021 and has tumbled nearly 7% year to date. It remains not far from the 52-week low set on June 23. The Lucid EV stock rallied starting in late June on an EV technology partnership with Britain’s Aston Martin, but has given up nearly all of those gains.
Other EV stock update
Rivian stock shed 5.6% with earnings due late Tuesday.
TSLA stock slumped 3.8%, breaking below its 50-day line. Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn has stepped down after four years in that position, the EV giant disclosed Tuesday.
Lucid EV Deliveries, Targets
On July 12, Lucid, a maker of premium EVs, disclosed that it produced 2,173 EVs during Q2 and delivered 1,404 EVs during the same period.
In Q1, Lucid produced 2,314 Air sedans and delivered 1,406. It blamed soft sales on a slow January and changes to the U.S. EV tax credits but has also struggled with demand concerns. Reservations had fallen as of May, a sign of flagging demand.
The luxury Air EV now starts at $82,400, down from $87,400. A cheaper Lucid Air variant is expected soon.
That also compares with a starting price of $88,490 for the Tesla Model S, a direct Air competitor. Tesla has slashed Model S prices multiple times in 2023, with substantial additional discounts for inventory vehicles.
Lucid plans to start producing a large electric SUV called Gravity in late 2024. It will reveal the Gravity in November, the company said Monday.
