It might seem like investors in Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) can't catch a break these days. After years of disappointing results, slow delivery growth, and production hiccups and delays, the young electric vehicle (EV) maker finally seemed to have momentum and growth on its side.
But despite announcing the best quarter of deliveries in its history, the stock was sliding this past week. What gives?
A delivery record
During the first quarter, Lucid delivered 3,109 vehicles, the highest quarterly total in the young company's history and right in line with Wall Street estimates. It produced 2,212 vehicles and had 600 additional vehicles in transit to Saudi Arabia for final assembly.
Despite the strong results, however, it's clear that investors are worried about much more than near-term deliveries. Lucid also announced it would raise $1 billion in convertible debt, and capital raises can often lower the value of a company's shares. Its offering of $1 billion in 5% convertible senior notes due 2030 will settle on or about April 8.
The move to raise capital shouldn't come as a huge surprise; the company ended 2024 with roughly $6.13 billion in total liquidity, and Wall Street estimates the company will use about $3.5 billion in 2025 alone.
Weak guidance
After posting record deliveries during the first quarter, investors might think the company was poised to beat estimates heading toward its May earnings report. That doesn't appear to be the case, however, as it guided for first-quarter sales of roughly $234 million, and Wall Street was expecting closer to $250 million.
Even if Lucid falls short of Wall Street expectations, missing estimates for one quarter can generally be taken with a grain of salt. That said, having record deliveries during the first quarter and weaker revenue guidance suggests weaker pricing or a less lucrative mix of vehicle models sold -- neither is great news.
The elephant in the room
Maybe the largest drag on the stock could be President Trump's recent tariff announcement that, at the very least, raised uncertainty for Lucid's supply chain. It does produce a vast majority of its EVs in the U.S., which would avoid the recently enacted 25% tariff on imported vehicles, but it also imports automotive parts that will be subject to a similar tariff next month.
It's also possible that investors were spooked in the near term by the recent management transition when founder Peter Rawlinson stepped aside, and Marc Winterhoff was appointed CEO.
What it all means
It's understandable that these three developments landing at the same time would weigh on the stock price and offset any optimism gained from record first-quarter deliveries. But there's no reason for investors to panic. Lucid simply was going to need to raise capital again, slightly weaker guidance might not be a trend throughout 2025, and tariffs could end up hurting competitors more than Lucid.
Throwing these developments to the side for now, investors' focus can turn to the May 6 earnings date as well as the ramp up of its Gravity SUV sales, which should provide a huge boost to the company's deliveries and top line.
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Daniel Miller has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
