Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) announced on Monday that it will host its Investor Day this Thursday, June 27. The event will offer investors the chance to hear directly from leadership about Rivian’s growth this year and priorities heading into the second half of 2024.
What does this mean for RIVN stock?
Well, maybe not too much directly. That hasn’t stopped shares, however. Indeed, RIVN is up 23% today, up on news that Volkswagen (OTCMKTS:VWAGY) will invest as much as $5 billion in Rivian for next-generation software development as well as a financial stake in the company.
The new deal should help lift up Rivian as it endures the struggles of a not-yet-profitable startup — and allow the EV maker to sell its vehicles at a more competitive price. For context, its cheapest current offering starts at around $70,000.
As per the deal, VW will invest $2 billion into the use of jointly-owned software that will go into both automakers’ future vehicle models later this decade.
CEO RJ Scaringe said the following to investors on Tuesday, per Fortune:
“What we realized over the last few years is the enormous difficulty for incumbent existing auto manufacturers to develop their own full stack software […] I really deeply believe this is one of the hardest things for existing manufacturers to do just because of the way historically the electronics and software space has evolved within automotive.”
The remaining $3 billion will represent a stake that VW plans to take in Rivian over the next several years. This includes an initial $1 billion cash injection.
According to Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, the new funding will give Rivian the leeway to fund operations until it becomes a net-positive cash flow business.
RIVN Stock Surges Ahead of Investor Day
With this week’s gains, shares are up 36% over the past five trading sessions. Unfortunately, though, the EV maker still has some catching up to do to end the year in the green. Indeed, RIVN stock is still down about 30% year-to-date (YTD) as yet another loser of this year’s EV winter.
That said, the new VW partnership has certainly raised some hopes for what’s to come on Thursday.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
