This article first appeared on GuruFocus .
Rivian ( NASDAQ:RIVN ), the electric-vehicle and autonomy developer, climbed 9% to $13.26 at 10:10 a.m. ET on November 2 as UBS upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, keeping its $17 target. That gives investors a fresh reason to revisit the company after its recent selloff. The earnings mix still deserves scrutiny: consolidated gross profit is positive, while making vehicles remains a money-losing business.
Rivian's October 29 results put that challenge in numbers. Automotive revenue reached $1.550 billion, producing an $80 million gross loss and an implied gross margin of negative 5.2%. Software and services generated $256 million in gross profit, lifting the consolidated total to $176 million. That segment includes Volkswagen joint-venture development work and repair income, so treating its entire profit as evidence of an autonomy subscription breakthrough would overstate the case.
The GuruFocus snapshot adds a caution flag: Rivian's GF Score of 57 out of 100 combines stronger value and momentum readings with weak profitability and growth readings. The rally may reflect renewed appetite for the opportunity, but sustained progress in vehicle margins remains the key test as R2 scales. December's Autonomy and AI Day could offer another product catalyst; closing the manufacturing profit gap will require evidence from the automotive business itself.
