Lucid reported its first quarter 2023 earnings, which come at a pivotal time for the EV startup business and segment in general.
When Lucid and many other EV startups entered the industry, the dollars flowing into their ventures seemed endless, but as investors have become more cautious regarding EV ventures and the market has become significantly more competitive, that money has slowed to a trickle. Now, Lucid has reported a massive earnings miss, a crucial indicator for investors regarding the business’s overall health.
According to Lucid’s earnings report, the company pulled in $149.4 million in revenue, resulting in a net loss of $779.5 million. Investor expectations were set at $209 million in revenue. Earnings per share came in at a loss of $0.43 per share.
It should be noted, despite the earnings miss, Lucid’s earnings did grow substantially year over year, up 159%.
Lucid sold 1,406 vehicles in the year’s first quarter and built 2,314. This is more bad news for the automaker, which has been battling a demand crisis since the end of last year. The company said it is still on track to produce 10,000 vehicles this year.
As for the all-important cash reserves, Lucid reported a stockpile of $3.4 billion, which equates to total liquidity of $4.1 billion. Lucid CFO Sherry House said this will be enough cash to last into the first half of next year.
“Our mission and optimism are unchanged," House added. "We are committed to an environmentally sustainable future---designing, building and delivering the best EVs on the market.”
Since posting earnings, Lucid shares plunged in after-market trading.
Looking to the future, Lucid investors will likely hope the business can dramatically improve its financial health and, perhaps more importantly, tackle its demand issues as quickly as possible. Helping achieve this will be one of its most anticipated products yet, the Lucid Gravity SUV. By entering a far more popular vehicle segment, Lucid will be poised to sell more units and be capable of pulling in significantly more revenue per quarter.
Abby Andrews