Photo: Courtesy of rivian.com

Rivian (RIVN) stock got hammered after hours Thursday after releasing its first public earnings report. Shares continued their slide by around 10% in pre-market Friday, erasing roughly $10 billion in value from the company's market cap. Rivian is a captivating company looking to expand quickly in the ultra-lucrative, rapidly-growing 100% EV segment. However, with a valuation that's still floating close to $100 billion, Rivian's stock may be in for a rocky ride before the company can prove that it's capable of ramping up mass production capacity to meet perpetual demand for its vehicles at a significant profit.

While the market may be overreacting to Rivian's quarterly earnings announcement, the stock will likely remain volatile and could trend moderately lower in the near term. Nevertheless, Rivian offers unique market-leading products, has a solid strategy, and is preparing to ramp up production significantly in future years. Demand for Rivian's vehicles should not be an issue, and the company will likely become increasingly profitable over time.

Rivian's First Public Earnings Announcement

Investors were displeased with Rivian's first earnings announcement. The company reported an operating loss of $776 million and a net loss of $1.23 billion. While these losses may seem staggering, they were in line with analyst expectations. However, the company's per-share loss was substantially higher than expected, $12.23 vs. estimates for $5.52. Revenues were in line at $1 million. Another disappointment was that Rivian said it would fall short (a few hundred vehicles) of its 1,200 vehicle production forecast for 2021.

The good news is that the company's R1 vehicle reservations climbed to 71,000 as of Dec. 15, up by 28% from the recent 55,400 number recorded in November. Another piece of positive news was the company's progress toward a second facility. Rivian's $5 billion plant in Georgia should support the production of 400,000 annual vehicles and should be ready to begin rolling out cars in 2024.

Continue Reading on Seeking Alpha.