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Rivian Gears Up to Report Q1 Earnings: Here's What to Expect

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Key Takeaways

  • RIVN to report Q1 2026 with estimates of $1.37B revenue and 60-cent per-share loss.
  • Rivian deliveries rose to 10,365 units, supported by cost cuts and operational efficiencies.
  • RIVN's higher 2026 capex for expansion may pressure first-quarter cash flow.

Rivian Automotive, Inc. (RIVN - Free Report) is slated to release first-quarter 2026 results on April 30, after the closing bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s loss per share and revenues is pegged at 60 cents and $1.37 billion, respectively.

For the first quarter, the consensus estimate for Rivian’s loss has widened by a penny in the past 30 days. Its bottom-line estimates imply 46.34% decline from the year-ago reported numbers. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RIVN's quarterly revenues implies year-over-year growth of 10.2%. The company's earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, delivering an average surprise of 12.55%. This is depicted in the graph below:

Rivian Automotive, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Rivian Automotive, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Rivian Automotive, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Rivian Automotive, Inc. Quote

Q4 Highlights

In the fourth quarter of 2025, RIVN incurred adjusted loss per share of 54 cents, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 69 cents but wider than the loss of 52 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. The company reported net sales of $1.29 billion, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.26 billion. The top line also declined 25.8% year over year.

Things to Note

In the first quarter of 2026, Rivian delivered 10,365 vehicles, up from 8,640 units in the year-ago quarter.

The automaker is benefiting from engineering optimizations, supply chain savings and lower commodity costs. The second-generation R1 models have reduced material costs, while operational efficiencies at the Normal plant further support cost-cutting efforts. Last year marked the first full year of positive gross profit for the company, primarily due to strong software and services performance, higher average selling prices and reductions in cost per vehicle. Rivian expects gross profit to witness a year-over-year uptick in 2026. A rise in year-over-year deliveries and cost-cutting efforts is likely to have boosted the company’s top-line and margin growth in the first quarter of 2026.

However, the company forecasts capex in the band of $1.95-$2.05 billion in 2026, up from $1.7 billion spent in 2025, primarily to complete R2 construction and tooling, begin vertical construction at its new Georgia plant and expand its sales, service and charging network. High capex is likely to have strained Rivian’s first-quarter cash flow.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Rivian for the quarter to be reported, as it does not have the right combination of the two key ingredients. A positive Earnings ESP, combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: RIVN has an Earnings ESP of -5.15%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are some players from the auto space that, per our model, have the correct ingredients to post an earnings beat this time around.

Magna International (MGA - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +8.56% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter 2026 results on May 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MGA’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings per share and revenues is pegged at $1.01 and $10.09 billion, respectively. Magna beat earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, the average surprise being 8.85%.

Lear Corporation (LEA - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.02% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter 2026 results on May 1. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LEA’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings per share and revenues is pegged at $3.37 and $5.84 billion, respectively. Lear beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise being 14.26%.

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