Nikola’s CEO said the company is “laser-focused” on delivering vehicles to customers and generating revenue.
Courtesy Nikola
Stock in the electric and hydrogen-electric truck maker Nikola is dropping even though the company reported a smaller-than-expected fourth-quarter loss.
Nikola (ticker: NKLA) stock was down 6.7% in premarket trading as markets slid broadly in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Futures on the S & P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Jones were down 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively.
The company reported an adjusted loss of 23 cents a share from, essentially, no sales. Wall Street was looking for a 32-cent loss from $2.2 million in sales.
Although the results look OK, sales and earnings aren’t particularly meaningful at this stage in Nikola’s development. The company has just started to deliver products to customers.
“During the fourth quarter, we began delivering Pre-Series Tre [battery electric vehicles] to customers and dealers, and we are ramping up production in Coolidge,” said CEO Mark Russell in the company’s news release. Coolidge is the company’s manufacturing facility in Arizona.
“We anticipate beginning series production of the Tre BEV on March 21. We are laser-focused on delivering vehicles and generating revenue,” Russell said.
Wall Street projects sales will hit about $134 million in 2022.
In addition to delivering some battery-electric vehicles, Nikola started a pilot program for its hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered electric trucks with beer maker Anheuser-Busch. Two trucks are in daily service in Anheuser’s southern distribution network.
Coming into Thursday trading, Nikola stock was down about 31% year to date. Rising interest rates, inflation and the Russia-Ukraine conflict has made some investors less willing to hold more speculative growth stocks.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
