Rivian posted quarterly revenue above $2 billion for the first time as its R2 crossover ramped up, but its gross margin narrowed and its car business still lost money on every vehicle it sold.
Revenue rose 38% from a year earlier and 30% from the second quarter to $2.155 billion in the third quarter, the company said in its earnings presentation on Thursday. Deliveries rose 46% to 19,248 in the R2’s first full quarter on sale.
Gross profit was $176 million, up from $24 million a year earlier but slightly below $179 million in the second quarter. The gross margin fell to 8% from 11% in the second quarter, after 2% a year earlier.
The net loss attributable to shareholders narrowed to $913 million, or 63 cents a share, from $1.173 billion, or 96 cents, a year earlier. Excluding stock-based compensation and other items, the adjusted loss was 48 cents a share, against 65 cents.
Revenue by Segment
Automotive revenue rose 36% to $1.550 billion. Rivian said a higher mix of R2 and commercial van deliveries lowered the average selling price.
That works out to about $80,500 of automotive revenue per vehicle delivered, down from about $93,700 in the second quarter, by EV’s calculation. The R2 Launch Edition costs $58,000.
Regulatory credits, which Rivian sells to other carmakers that fall short of emissions rules, brought in about $81 million, against roughly $1 million a year earlier, by EV’s calculation from the presentation. In July, Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough had said credits would largely be absent in the second half after $164 million in the first.
Excluding credits, automotive revenue was $1.469 billion, up 29% from a year earlier.
The software and services segment, which includes the joint venture with Volkswagen Group, grew revenue 45% to $605 million and 17% from the second quarter. Rivian said the growth came from electrical architecture and software development work for the venture, repair and maintenance, and Autonomy+, its paid driver-assistance package, which it began charging for in April.
The company said it had expanded the venture to license elements of its AI voice assistant technology. Rivian expects to recognize revenue from the venture’s development work through about mid-2028.
Where the Margin Went
The automotive segment posted a gross loss of $80 million, a margin of minus 5%. That compares with a $130 million loss, or minus 11%, a year earlier, and a $36 million loss, or minus 3%, in the second quarter.
Rivian said it recognized about $120 million of extra cost from the R2 ramp, up from about $100 million in the second quarter. Without that cost, the car business would have posted a gross profit of about $40 million, by EV’s calculation. Without the regulatory credits as well, it would have been roughly break-even.
The company said automotive cost of goods sold per vehicle improved by more than $12,000 from the second quarter, citing the higher R2 mix and spreading fixed costs over more vehicles. That works out to about $84,700 per delivered vehicle, from $96,700, by EV‘s calculation.
Rivian lost about $4,200 on each vehicle at the gross level.
Software and services posted a $256 million gross profit, a 42% margin, up from $154 million and 37% a year earlier. That was $80 million more than Rivian’s total gross profit, meaning the software business covered the car losses and then some.
Depreciation and amortization in cost of revenue rose to $166 million from $138 million in the second quarter as more R2 tooling came into use, the presentation shows.
The result keeps a pledge from July in focus. “We continue to expect that R2 will achieve a positive gross profit as part of our exit rate for 2026,” McDonough told Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney then. The presentation did not repeat that target.
Operating Costs and EBITDA
Research and development expenses rose 7% to $485 million, and selling, general and administrative expenses rose 3% to $572 million. Excluding depreciation and stock-based compensation, operating expenses rose to $799 million from $731 million in the second quarter.
The operating loss narrowed to $881 million from $983 million a year earlier.
The adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $435 million, better than the $602 million loss a year earlier but wider than the $379 million loss in the second quarter.
The nine-month net loss of $2.160 billion included a $506 million gain from the outside funding round and deconsolidation of Mind Robotics, the industrial robotics spinoff that hired Doug Field as President this month.
Cash and Funding
Rivian burned $1.124 billion of free cash flow in the quarter, against $421 million a year earlier and $849 million in the second quarter. Operating cash flow was negative $758 million and capital spending $366 million.
Inventory rose to $1.779 billion from $1.594 billion at the end of 2025, and accounts payable rose to $1.038 billion from $595 million. Rivian built 503 more vehicles than it delivered in the quarter.
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments rose to $5.502 billion from $5.310 billion at the end of June, lifted by the July share sale of 86.25 million shares at $15.50 each. Shares outstanding reached 1.46 billion at the end of September, up from 1.24 billion at the end of 2025.
Including the $1 billion Volkswagen loan funded on October 7 and $593 million available under its asset-based credit line, Rivian put its pro-forma liquidity at $7.095 billion.
Rivian raised its 2026 delivery forecast to 67,000 to 70,000 vehicles from 65,000 to 70,000 and improved its adjusted EBITDA loss forecast by $100 million at the midpoint to $1.75 billion to $1.85 billion.
It cut its capital spending forecast by $300 million at the midpoint to $1.40 billion to $1.50 billion.
The Stock and Analysts
The results came after the market closed. Rivian shares ended Wednesday at $11.67, down 40.8% from $19.71 at the end of 2025, after hitting a 14-month low earlier this month.
Analysts tracked by Price Target, EV‘s sister publication that archives Wall Street analyst research on the EV, AI and semiconductor industries, are divided. Cantor Fitzgerald rates the stock ‘Neutral’ with a $19 target in an October 2 note. Yorkville Ives started coverage at ‘Outperform’ with a $20 target in an October 7 note.
The call is McDonough’s last. She leaves on Friday to become Chief Financial Officer of GE Vernova, and Derek Mulvey, Vice President of Finance, is expected to serve as Interim Chief Financial Officer, according to Rivian’s August 27 announcement.
