What happened
There's good reason why Rivian Automotive (RIVN 2.44%) shares are soaring to start the holiday-shortened trading week. As of 11 a.m. ET, Rivian stock was higher by 12.6% after starting the day up by as much as 16.4%.
So what
Rivian shares are down by more than 80% since the start of 2022. That's because the company disappointed investors when it cut its production goal in half early last year. But Rivian said it expected to rebound from its production struggles, and the market is rewarding it today after it just reported second-quarter deliveries that soared 60% over the first quarter.
Now what
Rivian said it delivered 12,640 of its electric pickup trucks, SUVs, and delivery vans in the second quarter. It also produced almost 14,000 and reiterated it is on track to produce 50,000 electric vehicles (EVs) for the year.
Maybe more importantly, the gap between production and deliveries narrowed versus the first quarter. That helps squash fears that demand is a problem for Rivian. Even with a recovery in production growth, simply putting those vehicles in inventory wouldn't satisfy investors.
So today's stock move comes as somewhat of a relief rally driven by production results as well as indications of continued strong demand. The next important update for Rivian investors will come on Aug. 8 when it reports its full second-quarter financials.
Investors will want to see if the scale from higher production and sales levels helps lower expenses. Rivian held about $12 billion in cash and equivalents as of March 31, but it expects about $2 billion in capital expenditures this year. Investors will want to see improvements in its financials along with operations to continue to drive the stock higher. But today's production and delivery data is a good start, and investors are buying shares as a result.
