Rivian stock dropped after revenue was short of Wall Street forecasts

Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) stock dropped in Tuesday’s afterhours trading, losing over 7% to $13.68, after the electric vehicle brand reported second-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations.

It generated $1.158 billion, versus an analyst consensus forecast pitched at $1.165 billion.

The vehicle maker, that’s part-owned by Amazon, highlighted strides towards improved profitability, most notably reduced material and manufacturing costs. And, it pointed to the recently unveiled technology partnership with Volkswagen which is expected to deliver $5 billion to Rivian by 2026.

In the meantime, however, Rivian reported a net loss of $1.46 billion up from $1.45 billion in the preceding three-month period.

On a per share basis, though, Rivian’s loss (adjusted) was better than anticipated at $1.13 compared to estimates pitched at $1.20.

Some 9,612 Rivian EVs were produced, and 13,790 were delivered.

The company noted that, as previously communicated, production volumes in the quarter were reduced due the downtime needed for retooling upgrade in its plant – and it said that operations were now ramping back up in volumes.

“During the second quarter we took significant steps towards our profitability targets through some of the changes we made … We expect to start seeing the impact of these changes in the second half of the year and expect to reach a modest gross profit in the fourth quarter of this year.,” the company said in a letter to shareholders.

Rivian meanwhile told investors it anticipates annual production to reach 57,000 units, and result in an earnings loss of $2.7 billion – with its capital spending budget expected to amount to $1.2 billion.

Amazon owns a stake of just over 18% in the EV maker, and through a supply deal for EV trucks the e-commerce giant is a cornerstone Rivian customer.