Rivian's stock sale triggers worst rout for the shares in nearly two years

By Claudia Assis

Rivian's stock sinks 18% as Wall Street frets about the EV maker's cash troubles

Rivian's share sale would raise about $1.5 billion for the EV maker.

Rivian Automotive's stock suffered its worst drop in 20 months on Tuesday, following a share offering that made investors question whether the electric-vehicle maker's equity moves would be enough in face of continued cash troubles.

Rivian's stock (RIVN) fell more than 18%, for its largest one-day percentage drop since Nov. 14, 2024, when it fell 14%. Tuesday's drop has also flipped the stock's performance for the year into negative territory. It's now down 16% over the course of 2026 to date, whereas it was up 2% on a year-to-date basis through Monday's close.

Rivian late Monday filed to sell 75 million shares, plus an option for underwriters of an additional 11.25 million shares, to be used to fund equity contributions connected to an Energy Department loan. At Monday's closing price of $20.14, the main share sale would raise about $1.5 billion.

Rivian "is loss making and cash burning," HSBC analyst Neil Churchill said in a note. Cash and equivalents plus short-term investments are at about $4.8 billion, while debt is at around $6.5 billion, he said.

In addition to the $1.5 billion capital raise, there is a $1 billion Volkswagen (XE:VOW3) equity investment and a smaller Uber equity investment, he noted.

"The question is whether these equity investments are enough considering the consensus forecasted cash burn and whether [Volkswagen] would participate in the capital raise to maintain its stake/influence," Churchill said.

In the Monday filing, Rivian also tweaked expectations for its second-quarter sales, saying they are likely to come in between $1.65 billion and $1.55 billion.

That's higher than sales of $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025, mostly on an increase in unit sales, offset in part by lower average selling prices, Rivian said.

FactSet consensus expectations call for revenue of $1.46 billion in the quarter. Rivian is slated to report second-quarter results after the bell on July 30.

The EV maker last week reported better-than-expected quarterly unit sales and raised its deliveries outlook for the year to between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles, up from a previous forecast of 65,000 vehicles.

Related: Why Tesla's stock sank to its worst day in a year despite blowout delivery numbers

-Claudia Assis

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07-07-26 2035ET