Following a powerhouse Q4 earnings report, shares of EV maker Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) skyrocketed by over 27% in Friday's session—the stock’s largest single-day percentage gain in its history.
The rally was fueled by a rare triple beat. Rivian surpassed expectations on revenue, narrowed losses more than predicted and issued a massive 2026 delivery forecast that left Wall Street stunned.
- RIVN stock is soaring. See the chart and price action here.
Breaking the Profit Barrier
The primary catalyst for the surge was the company’s newfound profitability. For years, skeptics questioned if a pure-play EV startup could ever stop the cash burn.
CFO Claire McDonough silenced those doubts by highlighting a massive swing in the company’s bottom line.
“The improvement in unit economics in our Automotive segment, when combined with our strong software and services performance, resulted in greater than $1.3 billion of improvement in full year gross profit, making 2025 our first full year of positive gross profit,” McDonough said on the company's earnings call.
The milestone was bolstered by the high-margin revenue generated from Rivian's joint venture with Volkswagen Group, proving that Rivian is as much a software powerhouse as it is a truck manufacturer.
The R2 Era Begins
Rivian's 2025 results provided the foundation, and the 2026 outlook provided the rocket fuel.
The company guided for a 2026 delivery range of 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles—a nearly 60% jump over the previous year. The growth is centered almost entirely on the launch of the R2, Rivian's $45,000 mass-market SUV.
CEO RJ Scaringe was unequivocal about the significance of the coming months, stating “I believe 2026 will be an inflection point for our business.”
A Strategic Ramp-Up
Investors cheered the methodical production plan laid out for the R2. Rather than rushing to scale and risking quality, Rivian is taking a measured approach to ensure long-term stability.
“We expect total deliveries of approximately 9,000 to 11,000 per quarter in the first half of 2026. We plan to start production of the R2 launch variant with a single shift and expect to add a second shift towards the end of the year,” McDonough detailed on the call with analysts.
By achieving positive gross profit and clearing a path for the R2, Rivian has moved from a high-risk startup to a legitimate industry contender.
With billions in fresh capital from Volkswagen and an affordable product that targets the heart of the American auto market, this may just be the start of a much longer journey.
RIVN Price Action: Rivian stock was up 31.14% at $18.36 on Friday afternoon, on track for the stock's best day ever, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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