Rivian Automotive Fell While Sales Rose - Simply Wall St
By Google News Motors ·
Volkswagen’s move to lift its stake to 15.9% turned Rivian Automotive into the German group’s biggest EV bet, while fresh deals around the R2 platform and autonomy kept headlines busy through 2026. For Rivian Automotive shareholders, the loss from the start of the year was 29.9%, including dividends. If you had bought on 1 January, trusting the earlier bullish and bearish research on R2, how should all this new capital and robotaxi ambition now be judged?
Rivian Automotive has already moved. See which of 39 high quality undervalued stocks still trade below our estimates.
The shares cost US$19.71 at the start of the period, and anyone looking at Rivian Automotive then had to choose between two very different but plausible scripts for the next few years.
On the bullish side, the earlier narrative put fair value at US$21.83. This was a price level implied by its assumptions rather than a stated fact, built on the idea that the R2 platform, in-house software and autonomy stack could drive margin improvements and new high-margin software revenue. Supporters were willing to underwrite high expenses as the cost of eventually reaching industry-leading profitability among newer manufacturers.
The later, more cautious storyline saw fair value at US$14.04. This was again an implied price based on its own model, and still acknowledged that R2 and manufacturing efficiency might lower costs. Skeptics focused on risks around policy shifts, ongoing cash burn and the possibility that reliance on a narrow product line, especially R2, could leave Rivian exposed if midsize SUV demand or pricing turned out weaker than hoped.
Rivian Automotive securing Volkswagen’s 15.9% stake, a US$1b loan, and up to US$1.25b from Uber directly backed the bullish script that capital and partnerships…
Originally published by Google News Motors
