Fisker has released its Q1 earnings report, and much like earnings from other EV startups this week, it’s a bloodbath.
Lucid Motors was the first domino to fall this week, releasing its Q1 earnings report, which showed investors weakening demand, a flimsy financial position, and a disheartening production forecast. Now, Fisker has released its Q1 earnings, and it is much of the same, indicating the EV startup segment as a whole may be in for one hell of a week.
Fisker’s earnings report was chock full of bad news for investors and reservation holders alike. Foremost, the automaker announced a production cut to its incredibly optimistic 2023 forecast. Previously, Fisker aimed to produce 42,400 vehicles this year, but the company now plans to produce between 32,000 and 36,000. Even with this cut, it is easily the most aggressive production ramp in the industry, considering the company has just recently delivered its first units in Europe.
More specifically, Fisker plans to produce between 1,400 and 1,700 vehicles during all of Q2 and subsequently ramp to 6,000 units per month for the rest of the year. If everything goes according to plan, Fisker will produce more units in the final three quarters of its first year of production than Rivian and Lucid did during all of 2022.
On top of the negative production report, Fisker’s earnings and cash reserves weren’t remotely close to investor expectations. Fisker reported total revenue of $190,000 for all of Q1, which missed revenue expectations by more than 90%. Investors expected the firm to pull in $2.52 million. This earnings miss is also reflected in earnings per share (EPS), reporting a loss of $0.37 per share, compared to the $0.27 expected by investors.
The cherry on top of Fisker’s financial report was news of dwindling cash reserves. Fisker now has $652.5 million in cash and cash equivalents. It remains unclear how long this funding will last for the production-hungry business.
Following the whirlwind of bad news, Fisker’s stock offering crumbled 12% in premarket trading and continues to do so in the early hours of market trading.
Despite the dire financial situation surrounding his business, Fisker founder Henrick Fisker remains optimistic regarding getting vehicles into the hands of reservation holders. “It has been a fantastic weekend to have kicked off customer deliveries and opened our flagship Lounge in Munich yesterday. Now we are entering into a new era, becoming a revenue-generating car company!”
Fisker’s weak earnings report follows a disturbing trend within the EV startup segment, with numerous businesses seeming to be holding on by a thread. Besides the aforementioned Lucid, commercial truck maker Nikola has also slashed production, and smaller companies like Arrival and Faraday Future have even issued financial warnings about their ability to continue operations.
William is not an investor in Fisker Inc.
What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!
