Rivian’s third quarter delivered a record and a warning in the same set of results. The R2 crossover became the company’s best-selling vehicle in its first full quarter of deliveries, yet Rivian’s car business still lost money on every vehicle sold. The numbers below come from Electrek’s earnings report.
The headline numbers
Rivian reported revenue of $2.155 billion, up 38% from a year earlier. Electrek says the company built 19,751 vehicles and delivered 19,248, both records, with deliveries up 46% on the year and 58% on the second quarter. Analysts had expected roughly $2.02 billion in revenue, so Rivian beat that, along with consensus on per-share loss and EBITDA.
- Automotive revenue: $1.550 billion
- Software and services revenue: $605 million
- Gross profit: $176 million
- Net loss: $913 million
- Free cash flow: negative $1.124 billion
- Cash and short-term investments: $5.502 billion
Where the $8,400 comes from
The automotive segment posted an $80 million gross loss, a margin of negative 5%. That is better than the $130 million loss a year earlier but worse than the $36 million loss in the second quarter. Rivian attributes about $120 million of extra cost to ramping up R2 production compared with more normal levels.
The quarter also had help from items that may not repeat, including $81 million of regulatory credit revenue and a tariff refund receivable. Remove the credits and, per Electrek, the automotive segment lost about $161 million at the gross level. Divided across the vehicles delivered, that is roughly $8,400 each.
Signs of progress under the loss
Rivian says its automotive cost of goods sold per vehicle fell by more than $12,000 from the second quarter, helped by a higher share of R2s and better use of fixed costs. Electrek’s own calculation from the filing puts cost per vehicle at about $84,700, down from $96,700. Revenue per vehicle excluding credits fell too, to about $76,300 from $85,000, which is expected when a cheaper model grows as a share of sales.
On demand, Rivian says reservation conversion for the launch edition stayed above its expectations, a second R2 shift was added at its Normal, Illinois plant, and demo drives rose to over 103,000 from 57,000 in the prior quarter.
Volkswagen is propping up the profit line
The only reason Rivian shows a consolidated gross profit is software and services, which earned $256 million in gross profit on $605 million of revenue. About $354 million of that revenue, or 59%, came from the joint venture with Volkswagen Group, which pays Rivian for electrical architecture and software work. Rivian expects to recognize that revenue through about mid-2028.
Guidance and cash
Rivian now expects 67,000 to 70,000 deliveries in 2026, up from 65,000 to 70,000. With 41,807 delivered through September, it needs between 25,193 and 28,193 in the fourth quarter. It also lowered its capital spending range by $300 million at the midpoint to $1.40 billion to $1.50 billion, which Rivian describes as timing rather than savings. Phase 1 of its Georgia plant is still under construction. Total liquidity is $7.095 billion once a credit facility and a $1 billion Volkswagen-funded term loan are included.
Our take
This is analysis, not reporting. The R2 is clearly finding buyers, and the falling cost per vehicle matters more than the headline beat. But the beat leaned on Volkswagen payments, credits and a tariff refund rather than on the cars themselves. Whether the automotive business can break even depends on the second shift filling up and the ramp costs fading, and neither has happened yet. We would not call a margin turnaround until a quarter shows it without credits.
For buyers, none of this changes the price on the window sticker. It is a reminder that a young manufacturer is still spending more to build its cars than it earns on them, which is worth weighing if you care about long-term service and support.
Sources
Photo: Lcaa9 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source