Rivian Automotive Inc. stunned the market with strong earnings results, proving itself an outlier in an electric-vehicle market that has been struggling with the end of government subsidies and cooling consumer enthusiasm.
Shares of the Irvine, California-based maker of high-end electric vehicles soared 27% on Friday after the company announced better-than-expected results, suggesting it may finally have found its way to profitability after years of struggling with losses.
On Thursday, Rivian reported gross profit of $144 million in 2025, compared with a net loss of $1.2 billion in 2024.
“This is a multi-year shift,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. “The last few years have been very frustrating for investors.”
Related: Survey shows electric vehicles are not first choice for consumers when considering next car
Rivian attributed the turnaround in profitability to “strong software and services performance, higher average selling prices and lower cost per vehicle.”
By comparison, Austin-based Tesla Inc. last month reported its annual profit fell for the second consecutive year, with net income falling 46% to $3.8 billion in 2025.
Rivian delivered 42,247 vehicles for the year, down from a record 51,579 vehicles in 2024, and produced 42,284 vehicles. The company still reported a net loss in auto profits of $432 million for the full year, an improvement from 2024.
The company said it expects to deliver 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles this year.
It also said Amazon currently has more than 30,000 customized Rivian electric delivery vehicles operating in the United States and parts of Europe. The vans are part of a previously announced deal that calls for the e-commerce giant to operate 100,000 Amazon-sized vehicles by 2030.
Rivian was founded in Florida in 2009 and will hold an initial public offering in 2021. It competes with Tesla and other automakers that sell all-electric vehicles at premium prices.
The companies have been under pressure to lower sticker prices as sales decline after a $7,500 federal tax credit for new electric vehicles expired in September. Last year, Tesla introduced new versions of the Model 3 and Model Y that start at about $5,000 less than more expensive versions of the same model.
Investors say the discounts aren’t enough and the vehicles, which still cost more than $35,000, remain out of reach for many consumers. There are only a handful of electric cars on the market priced under $35,000. Tesla now appears to be trying to position its Cybercab as a lower-priced entry-level car rather than the dedicated robotaxi promised by CEO Elon Musk.
Related: Elon Musk promises a $30,000 driverless Cybercab. Is this what Tesla is building?
Rivian is betting its future on the success of its low-priced R2 model, which is expected to start at about $45,000 and is expected to begin deliveries this spring.
Currently the cheapest Rivian model, the R1T pickup truck, starts at $72,990.
The company said in its earnings report that it has received positive early feedback on its R2 SUV.
“We are very excited to see the strong early reviews for pre-production versions of R2, and we can’t wait to make them available to our customers next quarter,” Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement.
Analyst Ives said R2’s popularity is critical for Rivian, which will lay off nearly 1,000 employees in 2025.
“This will be the centerpiece of their success or challenge,” he said.
Rivian shares have risen more than 33% in the past year.
“They were back on the flight path and there was still some turbulence in the air,” Ives said.