Rivian Automotive just reported what could be considered its most important quarter ever. It went well.

After Thursday's market close, the EV startup reported a second-quarter gross profit of $179 million from sales of $1.7 billion. Wall Street was looking for gross profit of $71 million from sales of $1.5 billion. A year ago, Rivian reported a gross loss of $206 million from sales of $1.3 billion.

In after-hours trading, the stock was up 1.7% at $17.11. At the close of the regular session, shares were up 3.1% and the S&P 500 gained 1.7%.

Sales grew on increased deliveries. Rivian sold 12,194 cars in the second quarter, up from 10,661 a year ago. Rising gasoline prices helped make EVs a little more attractive than traditional cars. Curiously, the September expiration of the $7,500 EV purchase tax credit might have helped Rivian too. Pure-play EV makers -- Tesla and Rivian -- had strong second quarters, while traditional auto makers saw EV declines. Tesla's second-quarter global unit sales jumped 25%. Ford Motor and General Motors' U.S. EV sales dropped about 41% and 37%, respectively.

The loss of credit has affected U.S. car buyers' behavior, though. Overall, Americans bought about 247,000 all-electric cars in the second quarter, down 21% year over year.

Rivian also had the benefit of new models. It began shipping its lower-priced R2 family of vehicles. The strong delivery result led the company to increase 2026 delivery guidance to between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles, from 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles.

Rivian has reported higher quarterly gross profits, but prior results in late 2024 and early 2025 were helped by higher regulatory credit sales, which are dwindling amid U.S. policy changes. Tesla and Rivian sell zero-emission vehicle credits to automakers that didn't produce their fair share of zero-emission cars.

The gross profit, net of credit sales, the new R2 vehicles -- which unlock more of the auto market -- and growth amid stagnant U.S. EV sales are important for the company and the stock in the future.

"I believe R2 will be a game changer for our customers and a driver of Rivian's long-term growth and profitability. This quarter we also hosted over 57,000 demo drives, a Rivian record," said CEO RJ Scaringe in a news release. "The U.S. automotive marketplace is starved for high-quality EV choice, and I believe R2 is an attractively priced option for everyday adventures that will resonate with a broad set of consumers."

Coming into Thursday trading, Rivian stock was down 17% year-to-date but up 25% over the past 12 months. Trading has been volatile as investors evaluate the future of the U.S. EV industry amid reduced policy support.

Rivian isn't profitable yet. It expects a loss of about $1.9 billion in 2026 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebidta. That is a touch smaller than guidance of a $1.95 billion loss provided in the first-quarter report. Capital spending will also be a little lower than expected this year. Rivian plans to spend about $1.75 billion, down from prior guidance of about $2 billion.