Fisker Stock Dented by Q1 Results, Production Woes

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A disappointing first quarter coupled with decreased production forecasts have put Fisker Inc.’s stock on a largely downward trajectory. So far this year the Manhattan Beach-based electric vehicle maker’s stock has decreased by nearly 11%. It closed at $6.14 a share on June 1.

On May 9, the electric vehicle manufacturer reported a net loss of $121 million (-38 cents a share) for the quarter ending March 31, compared with a net loss of $122 million (41 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue, however, increased by 1,550% from the first quarter of the prior year to $198,000. 

But according to financial website the Motley Fool, analysts had been expecting revenue of $14.4 million and earnings of -30 cents a share.

The day the quarterly results were released, the stock price of the Manhattan Beach company closed at $6.15 or 7.1% lower than it had the day before when it closed at $6.62. 

Another reason why the stock dropped that day was the management’s revised 2023 production forecast, the Motley Fool hinted. 

“Instead of the 42,400 vehicles (Ocean SUV) that it had originally provided for in its 2023 production forecast, management now expects production volume to fall between 32,000 units and 36,000 units,” the website said. 

In a May 9 research report, Pavel Molchanov, a research analyst with Raymond James & Associates Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida, also noted the change in the production of the Ocean SUV and said that production delays are “ubiquitous” among EV startups and that the culprits in the case of Fisker are routine issues: delayed official approval timing and slower supplier ramp-up. 

“This is a textbook example of a situation where getting it done right is more important than getting it done quickly, but there is no escaping today’s steep drop in the stock,” Molchanov wrote in the report.

On May 5, the company delivered its first electric Ocean SUV to a customer in Copenhagen, Denmark, Molchanov noted in his report.

“After a delay, regulatory approval in the U.S. market is on deck, with first deliveries expected in June,” he added. 

He anticipated that top line financials will become meaningful in the second quarter based on deliveries of 1,200 vehicles, which compares to the guided production of 1,400 to 1,700, he wrote.

“We forecast deliveries of 23,000 (this year), with 95% of this coming in the second half, followed by 52,000 (next year),” Molchanov said in the report. 

During a conference call with analysts to discuss first quarter earnings, Chief Executive Henrik Fisker said that if by the end of year he has produced 36,000 cars, he would have liked to deliver 35,500 of them, adding, “That’s what we’re going to push for.”

“I think this is really key here is a seamless process where we make money (and) where we get fantastic products out to our consumers,” Fisker continued.