The electric vehicle market has been hammered over the past six months as the market has sold off growth and high-risk stocks. But at the same time, we're seeing electric vehicle companies show growth and strong demand as they ramp up capacity.
Could the dip in the market be a good time to jump into electric vehicle stocks? I think now is the time to reassess a lot of the hot stocks from 2021, like Rivian (RIVN 1.43%), General Motors (GM -0.94%), and Proterra (PTRA).
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Rivian
There hasn't been a lot to like about Rivian since the company went public given production delays and a disastrously handled price increase. But the company is no longer valued at over $80 billion -- it has a market cap of $24 billion, and has $17 billion of cash and equivalents on the balance sheet as of March 31, 2022.
Management reiterated guidance of producing 25,000 vehicles this year, and said the company has received 10,000 R1 pre-orders with an average price of $93,000 since raising prices during the quarter. In total, 90,000 net pre-orders are in the backlog for Rivian.
For now, Rivian's numbers seem abysmal. Gross loss was $502 million and net loss was $1.6 billion in the first quarter. But the future looks a lot brighter. Demand is picking up, and a deal with the state of Georgia will allow the company to get to about 600,000 vehicles of annual production. If it can get there in the next five years and generate the high margins we expect from trucks and SUVs, this could be a great investment at today's price.
GM
The electric vehicle revolution may be led by companies like Tesla (TSLA -3.72%), but that doesn't mean that the old guard won't play a role. General Motors management expects full-year net income to be $9.6 billion to $11.2 billion, or earnings of $5.76 to $6.76 per share. As it's churning out these profits, the company is pouring money into new electric vehicles.
The GMC HUMMER EV Pickup is available while the Cadillac LYRIQ, Chevy Equinox EV, and Chevy Silverado EV are all expected to be available to customer by the end of 2023. There's also the Cruise Origin that the company is building for autonomous driving company Cruise, which GM is the majority owner of.
Over time, GM is transitioning its business to electric vehicles, and will become one of the biggest EV makers in the world. With Cruise, there's also enormous optionally in the autonomous driving business. Given the company's market cap of $56 billion and price to earnings ratio of under six times 2022 guidance, this is a well positioned stock that's cheap for investors.
Proterra
Leading the industrial vehicle segment forward is Proterra, maker of electric buses and components for other industrial electric vehicles. The thesis here for investors is that companies won't want to develop drivetrains, batteries, and other components for each unique industrial vehicle, so they will lean on Proterra.
Business isn't booming, but it is slowly improving. First-quarter 2022 revenue was up 8% to $59 million despite part shortages causing a drop in buses delivered. For the year, management expects revenue to grow 24% to 34%, reaching $300 million to $325 million for the year.
The downside is that Proterra burned through $52 million in the quarter on operations alone. There's still $599 million in cash and investments on the balance sheet, but the company does have to improve operations quickly to survive. If it can, this stock has massive upside, with just a $1.3 billion market cap right now.
Risk vs reward
For years the electric vehicle market has been hyped, with very few companies trading at attractive valuations. I think that's turned on its head with this market downturn, and some EV stocks look downright cheap. Rivian, GM, and Proterra are three with tremendous upside as the EV market grows, and I think they have enough value to be worth the risk.
