Lucid misses revenue expectations after EV deliveries disappoint

Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Group reported that its second-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street’s expectations after it delivered fewer of its Air luxury sedans than expected during the period.

But a recent capital raise has extended the EV maker’s runway by a year, into 2025. The company also said it has begun to ship vehicles to Saudi Arabia. That country’s Ministry of Finance agreed last year to buy at least 50,000, and up to 100,000, EVs from Lucid over the next decade.

Here are the key numbers from Lucid’s second-quarter report, together with Wall Street consensus estimates as reported by Refinitiv:

• Loss per share: 40 cents. It was not immediately clear if that was comparable to Wall Street expectations of a loss of 33 cents, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $150.9 million vs. $175 million expected.

Lucid shares rose more than 3% in extended trading.

Lucid’s net loss for the quarter was $764.2 million, or 40 cents per share. A year ago, Lucid reported a net loss of $555.3 million, or 33 cents per share. Revenue in the second quarter rose to $150.9 million from $97.3 million in the same period in 2022.

Lucid said on in July that it delivered 1,404 Air sedans in the second quarter. That was about 600 fewer than Wall Street had expected. The company delivered 1,406 vehicles in the first quarter of 2023, and 679 vehicles in the second quarter of 2022.  

Lucid ended the second quarter with $6.25 billion in available liquidity, including $5.5 billion in cash and the remainder in available credit lines, enough to last into 2025, CFO Sherry House said.

Lucid had $3.4 billion in cash and an additional $700 million in available credit lines as of March 31, which it said at the time was sufficient to fund its operations into the second quarter of 2024. It raised about $3 billion in a stock offering at the end of May.

Lucid reaffirmed the production guidance it provided in May, when it said that it expected to produce “over 10,000” vehicles in 2023. It had originally estimated 2023 production of between 10,000 and 14,000 vehicles in February, despite a claimed “more than 28,000 reservations” for the Air at that time.

Lucid hasn’t provided an update on Air reservations since, but there have been signs for months that the company faces a lack of demand for the well-reviewed but pricy sedan.

In a bid to spur demand following price cuts from Tesla and other EV rivals, Lucid on Saturday said that it will trim Air prices by as much as $12,400. The company reduced the price of the base-model Air Pure by $5,000, to $82,400.

It cut the price of the higher-end Touring and Grand Touring by $12,400 to $95,000 and $125,600, respectively.

The lower prices apply both to vehicles in Lucid’s inventory and those being built to order now. The lower prices on existing vehicles will be valid while supplies last, Lucid said.

A Lucid spokesperson declined to say how many vehicles are currently in its inventory.

Lucid confirmed on Monday that it still expects to launch new versions of the Air later this year, and a second model — a luxury SUV called Gravity — in 2024.

Lucid said in June that it struck a deal to supply Aston Martin Lagonda with electric-vehicle powertrains, battery systems and related technology. In return, it said at the time, Lucid will receive about $232 million in phased payments and a 3.7% stake in the British supercar maker.

Correction: Lucid’s May capital raise totaled $3 billion. A key point in this story previously misstated that number.