What happened
Specialty electric-vehicle (EV) maker Canoo (GOEV -6.77%) hasn't yet begun to produce and sell its lifestyle and multipurpose EVs, but it says it has strong demand for its products. The company announced its first-quarter financial update earlier this week, but there wasn't any major news.
Late yesterday, however, the company posted a tweet that suggested it has a new customer for its multipurpose delivery vehicle (MPDV). That had the stock moving higher by as much as 6.3% this morning. As of 12:05 p.m. ET on Friday, Canoo shares were still higher by 3.3%.
So what
The tweet pictured one of Canoo's MPDVs on the road with the post, "When we said multipurpose LDV, we DO it +!" But more interesting was the list of tags on the post.
Along with several previously announced customers for its EVs was the hashtag for fast-food chain Chick-fil-A. Investors are wondering if this was the way Canoo was announcing it has a new partnership with the popular restaurant chain.
A Canoo MPDV. Image source: Canoo.
Now what
Canoo already has announced nonbinding orders from Walmart to buy 4,500 commercial vans, with the potential for the retailer to more than double that volume. Walmart plans to use the vehicles for online order delivery. Canoo also has orders for more than 12,000 vehicles from a van-rental provider and a national fleet-leasing company.
But a partnership with Chick-fil-A would be important news. Canoo ended the first quarter with just $6.7 million in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet. The company has secured a factory and is installing equipment to begin production this year. Management says it hopes to be at a 20,000-vehicle annual production run rate exiting 2023 and plans to double that rate of production in 2024.
Those are lofty goals, and the company will have to prove to investors that it can successfully -- and profitably -- produce its products at scale. But if it executes well on production and sales, a partnership with a major franchise like Chick-fil-A could be a big deal. That's why some investors jumped into Canoo stock today.
