What happened
Shares of the electric automaker Lucid Group (LCID 2.65%) were sliding this morning after the company reported its first-quarter results. Despite results beating Wall Street's average top- and bottom-line estimates, investors may have been disappointed with the company's vehicle deliveries in the quarter.
The electric vehicle (EV) stock was down by as much as 7.5% today and had fallen 3.1% as of 1:08 p.m. ET.
So what
Lucid's loss per share of $0.05 in the quarter easily beat analysts' consensus estimate of a loss of $0.30 per share. Additionally, the EV company's revenue of $57.7 million -- up from only $330,000 in the year-ago quarter -- was better than Wall Street's average estimate of $55.6 million.
Image source: Lucid Group.
"We continued to make progress in the first quarter of 2022 despite on-going global supply chain challenges. We are nearing completion of deliveries of Lucid Air Dream Edition, and we began deliveries of Lucid Air Grand Touring," Lucid's CEO Peter Rawlinson said in a press release.
But some investors may have been less than thrilled that the company only delivered 360 vehicles in the quarter. Lucid has plans to ramp up production this year and reiterated its full-year vehicle delivery guidance -- of between 12,000 to 14,000 vehicles -- that it issued back in February.
Still, investors may be concerned that if the company doesn't increase production rapidly, then Lucid could miss its vehicle delivery estimates.
Additionally, investors may have been concerned that management also said that it's increasing the price of its vehicles beginning on June 1. Lucid will honor previous vehicle pricing for all reservations made up until that date.
Rawlinson said, "The world has changed dramatically from the time we first announced Lucid Air pricing in September 2020," but added that the company is "intently focused" on ramping up production.
Lucid currently has 30,000 vehicle reservations, which it says reflects "potential sales" of $2.9 billion. The company also announced at the end of April that the government of Saudi Arabia has agreed to purchase up to 100,000 vehicles over the next 10 years.
Now what
Lucid's share price has plummeted 55% over the past six months as investors have fled high-growth stocks on fears of rising inflation.
That doesn't mean that Lucid's stock can't eventually bounce back, but investors should understand that buying the EV stock right now comes with significant risks as the electric vehicle market grows, competition rises, and supply chain constraints could potentially impact EV production.
