Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates Neutral on Rivian

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard reiterated a Neutral rating on Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ: RIVN).

“Rivian (RIVN, N) announced that deliveries, order invitations, and demo drives for its R2 have begun rolling off the production line at its manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois.

Rivian is first launching deliveries of its R2 Performance with Launch Package (at a starting price of $57,990), with plans to launch its Premium trim ($53,990) in late 2026 and a Standard trim ($48,490) in early 2027.

In our opinion, Rivian’s R2 deliveries are the most material catalyst for the company, and we expect the R2 line will materially boost sales for the company (driven largely by the competitive price point and the recently unveiled autonomy features), while also capturing additional EV market share.

Recall that in Q1, RIVN reaffirmed its FY26 delivery outlook of 62,000-67,000 vehicles (includes EDV deliveries), and in our estimates, we currently model 65,000 deliveries for this year.

Additionally, we continue to expect combined R1 and EDV annual volumes to be relatively flat compared to last year, with R2 volumes accounting for the delta.

More specifically, we currently model ~21,000 R2 deliveries in FY26, followed by ~58K units in FY27, as we want to remain conservative in our initial assumptions.

Overall, we continue to believe that RIVN benefits from a differentiated product offering (R1, EV charging, EDVs, & R2), a commercial partnership with Amazon (AMZN, OW), and a strategic joint venture with Volkswagen.

However, we remain Neutral in the near term, as we await a better entry point and granularity on the company’s monetization plans for autonomy..”