Rivian has quietly delayed its profitability target on Thursday, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed.
The profitability revision was not included in the accompanying press release announcing the Uber robotaxi deal.
Additionally, it wasn’t disclosed by CEO RJ Scaringe during multiple public appearances this week — including interviews with CNBC, Inc., and an on-stage appearance at SXSW in Austin — where he discussed the R2 launch, the Volkswagen joint venture, and the company’s autonomous driving ambitions
Under Regulation Fair Disclosure (FD) — which requires public companies to share material information with all investors simultaneously — Rivian announced two key updates in its March 19, 2026 SEC filing.
It first mentioned its strategic partnership with Uber, detailed in an accompanying press release.
Later in the filing, Rivian revealed that it no longer expects to reach profitability in 2027 — abandoning a target it had maintained since its first Investor Day in June 2024.
“The Company no longer expects to be adjusted EBITDA positive in 2027 due to an expected increase in R&D spend associated with the acceleration of its autonomy roadmap,” the statement read.
According to Rivian‘s fourth quarter earnings report, the company spent $1.7 billion on research and development in 2025, a 6% increase from $1.6 billion the prior year.
Profitability Goal
Rivian first set its 2027 profitability target at the company’s inaugural Investor Day on June 27, 2024.
During the presentation, management outlined a path to positive adjusted EBITDA by 2027, supported by long-term goals of roughly 25% gross margins and 10% free cash flow margins.
The 2027 guidance was since reiterated multiple times.
In mid-2025, during the company’s second quarter earnings call, management acknowledged that policy headwinds such as the loss of regulatory credits had “risen the bar” for hitting the target.
However, Rivian maintained its commitment to the 2027 timeline.
Last month — and just five weeks before Thursday’s reversal — CFO Claire McDonough told analysts that reaching production of roughly 4,000 R2 units per week at the company’s Normal, Illinois plant would put Rivian “in a strong position to achieve our adjusted EBITDA goals.”
She did not signal that the target was under review.
The production rate implies annual output exceeding 200,000 vehicles — well above its 2026 delivery guidance of 62,000 to 67,000 units, and of which only 20,000 to 25,000 are expected to be R2s.
Manufacturing operations of the model are scheduled to pick up in the second half of the year.
Rivian’s founder and CEO RJ Scaringe told CNBC last month that “R2 is really instrumental for driving the business to positive cash flow and overall profitability.”
Cash Burn
The Irvine EV maker’s cumulative cash burn has exceeded $24 billion by the end of 2025, as it reported an additional $2.5 billion in negative free cash flow last year.
The company invested roughly $1.7 billion in capital expenditures last year, with expanded manufacturing capacity and product development, as it prepares for the launch of its mid-size SUV, the R2.
Questioned about the cash burn rate recently, Scaringe said they “wouldn’t be building a business if we didn’t plan for the business to make money.”
The CEO added that Rivian has “a very large R&D budget, and we have a very large OpEx budget for building out the infrastructure to be a company that’s much, much larger than we are.”
Financing and Stock
In mid December, when asked whether Rivian would need to raise additional capital to reach profitability, Scaringe pointed to the company’s cash reserves, as previously referenced by Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough.
“What we’ve been able to accumulate in terms of cash allows us to launch R2, ramp R2 without needing additional capital,” Scaringe said then.
According to Forbes, Rivian raised about $10.5 billion in private funding from investors including Amazon, Ford and T. Rowe Price ahead of its 2021 IPO.
The company went public on November 10, 2021, with a valuation of $90 billion — the biggest initial public offering since Facebook in 2012.
Its shares surged 29% on the first trading session, surpassing the market cap of both Detroit automakers General Motors and Ford then.
The stock reached a peak of $179.45 per share on November 16.
It has lost over 90% of its value in nearly five years.
As of press time, Rivian shares were trading at $15.69, up roughly 1% on the day, following a pre-market rally driven by the announcement of the Uber partnership.
At the same time, the company had a market cap of $19.5 billion.
EV Demand
Rivian delivered 42,247 vehicles in 2025.
It expects 2026 deliveries to be between 62,000 and 67,000 units, with the introduction of the mid-size SUV. R1 and EDV sales are estimated to remain flat.
Rivian is launching the R2 with a Performance, dual-motor trim, priced from $57,990.
The company is expected to begin deliveries of the R2 Performance in the Spring, according to its website.
Earlier this week, an executive revealed that the first deliveries will be handed out to employees, with customer deliveries coming later in June.
Two additional R2 variants are confirmed for launch in the next year and a half.
It includes a Premium trim, priced at $53,990, which is expected in late 2026, and a Standard variant, priced at $45,000, expected in late 2027.
