MW Rivian unveiled upbeat sales. Here's why the stock is still dropping.

By Claudia Assis

The electric-truck maker narrowed its 2025 sales guidance

Rivian electric trucks in Venice, Calif., in November. Rivian shares were poised to extend a losing streak despite good news for the company's sales.

A fresh worry joined old concerns about Rivian Automotive Inc. on Thursday, dragging down the electric-truck maker's stock despite quarterly sales that were above Wall Street expectations.

Rivian (RIVN) shares were falling nearly 8% on Thursday afternoon, poised to end at their lowest level in five weeks and on pace for their biggest one-day percentage decline since Dec. 18, when they fell 11%. A decline on Thursday would also stretch a losing streak for the shares to a sixth day, matching a six-session decline that ended Feb. 26. The stock has lost about 15% during the span.

See also: Tesla delivers a big sales beat, and the end of EV tax credits may not be the only reason

Rivian earlier Thursday said it had sold 13,201 electric vehicles in the third quarter and produced 10,720 at its plant in Normal, Ill. That compares with FactSet analysts' consensus for sales of 12,000 EVs, and marks a 30% year-on-year increase.

The EV maker, however, narrowed its 2025 sales guidance range to 41,500 to 43,500 EVs, from a previous 40,000 to 46,000. Rivian sold nearly 52,000 EVs last year.

The refreshed guidance reduced the midpoint by 500 vehicles. In the big scheme of things, it may not look like much, but Wall Street long has been concerned with Rivian's cash flow.

Voicing some of those concerns, CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson kept his sell rating on Rivian's stock, predicting a "material drop" in EV demand starting in the current quarter.

Rivian's cash-burn rates are "highly concerning and the construction of a new plant in Georgia should act as an even greater drag on free cash flow, which we expect to escalate balance-sheet worries and weigh on equity performance," Nelson wrote.

Rivian held an official groundbreaking ceremony in Georgia last month. The new plant is expected to be making Rivian's next-generation EVs in three years - including a midsize electric SUV and a midsize electric crossover that are likely to be significantly cheaper than Rivian's current line-up of full-size electric SUVs and electric pickup trucks built in Illinois.

Rivian recently reaffirmed that the R2, its midsize SUV, remains on track for start of production in the first half of next year, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard noted. The EV's price of $45,000 is still the goal, Sheppard said, citing meetings with Rivian executives.

Rivian's second-generation platform will be designed around an "AI-centric approach," the analyst said, adding that the company is likely to schedule an "autonomy day" to highlight its approach in in December.

The stock was holding on to gains of about 1% for the year so far, compared with an advance of about 14% for the S&P 500 index SPX in the same period.

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-Claudia Assis

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October 02, 2025 14:25 ET (18:25 GMT)

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