Lucid maintained its annual EV production target late Monday while badly missing earnings and revenue estimates for the second quarter. Lucid stock soared off a low base Tuesday.
The luxury EV startup also said Monday that it has extended its liquidity runway.
Startup peer Rivian is due late Tuesday. The U.S. EV startups emerged in recent years, aiming to compete with Tesla.
On Saturday, Lucid cut prices of its luxury Air electric sedans by as much as $12,400. The price cuts come amid rising EV competition and a price war led by Tesla.
The easing of liquidity concerns is a positive for Lucid, CFRA analyst Garrett Nelson said in a note to clients.
But Nelson warned that Lucid continues to face "daunting headwinds, highlighting its Q2 cost of goods sold per unit of $396,000 vs. an average price realization of $107,000."
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, but Saturday's price cuts suggest weak demand.
Results: Lucid posted a loss of 40 cents, worse than expected. Revenue swelled 55% to $150.9 million, also falling 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.
Lucid ended the second quarter with $6.25 billion in total liquidity, according to its earnings release late Monday. That was up from about $3.4 billion in cash and $4.1 billion in total liquidity at the end of Q1. The current liquidity should be enough to fund operations "into 2025," the release said. It was previously expected to last at least until Q2 2024.
The company's existing sources of liquidity include cash, cash equivalents, investments, credit facilities and equity offerings.
Ludic reported long-term debt of $1.994 billion at the end of Q2, vs, $1.992 billion at the end of 2022.
Outlook: Prior to Q2 results, Wall Street expected Lucid to lose $1.34 per share for the full year. Analysts now expect a loss of $1.42 a share in 2023, slightly narrowing losses from $1.51 in 2022.
On Monday, Lucid affirmed 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 earnings release said. The startup had originally targeted output of 10,000-14,000 EVs for the year.
Lucid Stock
Shares jumped 12.2% to 7.19 Tuesday's stock market action. They had fallen 3.2% Monday, ahead of the earnings report after the market close.
Lucid stock has cratered since November 2021 but is now up about 5% year to date. It has come off the 52-week low set on June 23. The startup EV stock rallied starting in late June on an EV technology partnership with Britain's Aston Martin.
Rivian stock rose Tuesday with earnings due after the close.
TSLA stock fell Tuesday. On Monday, Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn unexpectedly stepped down after four years in that role and will be replaced with chief accounting officer Vaibhav Taneja.
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Lucid EV Deliveries, Targets
In Q2, Lucid, a maker of premium EVs, produced 2,173 Air sedans and delivered 1,404.
The prior quarter, Lucid produced 2,314 Air sedans and delivered 1,406. It had blamed soft sales on a slow January and changes to the U.S. EV tax credits. Reservations had fallen as of May, a sign of flagging demand.
After Saturday's price cuts, the luxury Air EV now starts at $82,400, down from $87,400.
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.
A slightly cheaper Lucid Air variant is expected in September.
