What happened
EV maker Polestar Automotive Holding (PSNY -2.36%) just went public in late June, but the company was different from several other EV start-ups that began trading after merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). At the time of its public debut in late June, Polestar was already in production and had more than 55,000 of its vehicles on the road around the world.
The company showed solid growth when it released its first-half 2022 earnings report today, but investors are knocking the stock down anyway. Shares were trading near the session low, down 10.1% as of 11:20 a.m. ET.
The Polestar 6 roadster is slated to launch in 2026. Image source: Polestar.
So what
Polestar -- which is jointly owned by Volvo and that automaker's Chinese parent company, Geely -- said it sold 21,185 EVs in the first half of 2022, bringing in revenue of $1.04 billion. That was nearly double the revenue versus the prior-year period. Polestar said it expects to continue to ramp up production in the second half of this year and is on track to deliver 50,000 cars in 2022.
Now what
Polestar is still squarely in growth mode, however, and operating losses also grew in the first half of the year. That said, investors selling the stock today should note that the reported operating loss of $885 million also included $372 million for a one-time expense related to the merger and public listing.
The company continues to spend money to grow its commercial sales. The Polestar 3 electric performance SUV will debut in October. It has also revealed a roadster concept vehicle dubbed the Polestar 6 that the company says has all 500 production slots already reserved.
Polestar's relationship with parent company Volvo is something that should help differentiate it from other EV start-ups. The company will utilize production lines at existing Volvo manufacturing plants to help keep capital costs down. Today's price drop likely coincides with a plunging tech sector more so than being related to Polestar's report. EV investors should keep an eye on this name and dig in to its financials further if there is a place for a new EV maker in their portfolio.
