However, the automaker still expects to make a hefty loss in 2025
American electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) has reported revenue figures exceeding its costs for the first time, even as the Trump administration attempts to stifle the United States’ EV industry.
The California-based automaker reported strong fourth-quarter 2024 earnings on Thursday, with a gross profit of $170 million being the standout figure. Crucially, the firm also eliminated $31,000 in overheads per vehicle throughout the quarter.
According to RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO of Rivian, the “focus on cost efficiency” has been “critical” for the company’s forthcoming launch of its new flagship vehicle, the R2.
“I believe the combination of capabilities and cost efficiencies along with the amazing level of excitement from customers will make R2 a truly transformational product for Rivian,” Scaringe said in an official company statement.
Despite these encouraging results, Rivian stock dipped more than 5% in early morning trading on Friday, most likely owing to some more worrying aspects of the Q4 figures, including weaker guidance for 2025.
“In our view, this was a mixed release”, said CFRA research analyst Nelson Garrett in an interview with MarketWatch. The 2025 guidance “implies that its cash burn will continue”, he added.
“Drill, baby, drill”
But market conditions could get worse still for Rivian, with the Trump administration pledging to put the brakes on EV development in the United States.
Crucially, the recently-elected president has vowed to reverse his predecessor Joe Biden’s ambitious target to make 50% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. battery-powered by 2030.
“We will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American auto workers,” Trump said in his inaugural address. “In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice.”
Such a move would go hand-in-hand with Trump’s broader shunning of climate commitments, with the 47th president having formally withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement in January, calling it a “ripoff”.
On the same day, Trump also declared a “national energy emergency”, vowing to embark on new oil and gas exploration projects, another u-turn on a Biden-era policy.
“We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top, and export American enegy all over the world,” he told a White House audience at the time. “We will drill, baby, drill.”
