Al Root

Lucid stock rose despite weaker-than-expected quarterly sales. But the outlook didn't change. Tariff impacts look manageable, and a new car is on sale. That looks to be enough for investors.

Tuesday evening, Lucid announced first-quarter sales of $235 million. Wall Street was looking for $243 million. Lucid reported sales of $173 million in the first quarter of 2024.

Shares of the electric vehicle maker were up 1.3% in after-hours trading at $2.36 apiece. Lucid stock dropped 1.3% in regular trading, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% and 1%, respectively.

"We continued to build momentum in the first quarter as we achieved yet another delivery record, further strengthened our market position and executed against operational priorities," said CEO Marc Winterhoff in a news release. "Lucid Gravity is beginning to arrive in more customers' driveways and at our studios, and combined with our progress toward future initiatives, our company is well positioned for future success."

Gravity is Lucid's second vehicle, an SUV, that follows on its Air sedans.

Lucid sold 3,109 vehicles in the first quarter, up from 1,967 sold in the first quarter of 2024.

Looking ahead, Lucid still expects to produce 20,000 vehicles in 2025. (Production and sales should roughly align.) Lucid produced 9,029 in 2024.

The company ended the quarter with $5.8 billion in liquidity, sufficient to get the company through the first half of 2026.

Through Tuesday trading, Lucid stock was down about 23% year to date. Slowing EV sales and auto sector tariffs have weighed on investor sentiment.

Lucid assembles the cars it sells in the U.S. domestically. It still faces some tariffs on imported parts. The company didn't quantify tariff impacts in its news release, saying, "A thorough analysis of tariffs, supply chain, and related macroeconomic uncertainties is ongoing."

Overall, the quarter looks fine. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard noted new hires that should help improve self-driving, manufacturing, and marketing capabilities.

"New hires included Jason Ryska as Vice President of Global Manufacturing Engineering, Dr. Kay Stepper as Vice President of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Driving (AD), and Akerho Oghoghomeh as Senior Vice President of Marketing," wrote Sheppard.

He rates Lucid stock Hold and has a $3 price target for shares.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 06, 2025 17:41 ET (21:41 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.