Rivian Q3 Revenue Rises 38% as R2 Leads Vehicle Volume
Rivian’s third-quarter revenue rose 38% to $2.155 billion as deliveries reached a record 19,248 vehicles and the smaller R2 became the company’s best-selling model by volume.
The electric-vehicle maker reported the results on October 29, 2026. Consolidated gross profit increased to $176 million from $24 million a year earlier, while the net loss attributable to common stockholders narrowed to $913 million from $1.173 billion.
R2 lifts volume, but Rivian withholds the model split
Rivian delivered 19,248 vehicles in the quarter, up 46% year over year, after producing 19,751 at its Normal, Illinois, factory. The company says R2 outsold both its R1 vehicles and the commercial delivery van during the quarter, making it Rivian’s volume leader.
That is an important milestone for the lower-priced R2, but Rivian did not publish deliveries by model. The release therefore does not establish exactly how many R2 vehicles reached customers or how its mix compared with individual R1T, R1S and van totals.
- Total revenue: $2.155 billion, up 38% from $1.558 billion.
- Automotive revenue: $1.550 billion, up 36%.
- Software and services revenue: $605 million, up 45%.
- Consolidated gross profit: $176 million, up from $24 million.
- Net loss attributable to common stockholders: $913 million, improved from $1.173 billion.
Consolidated profit does not mean the vehicle business was profitable
Rivian’s automotive segment still posted an $80 million gross loss, though that was $50 million better than the $130 million loss a year earlier. Higher delivery volume, better per-vehicle economics, regulatory-credit revenue and a tariff-refund receivable helped offset costs associated with ramping R2 production.
The distinction matters because Rivian’s positive consolidated gross profit includes software and services. That segment generated $605 million in revenue, and $354 million—59% of the segment total—came from Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies, the companies’ software joint venture.
Rivian also recognized $81 million of regulatory-credit revenue. Those credits are real revenue under the company’s accounting, but they are not the same as revenue earned by selling vehicles to customers. The company’s adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to $435 million from $602 million; adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure and should not be confused with net income.
Cash use remains a pressure point
Net cash used in operating activities was $758 million, compared with $26 million of cash generated in the year-earlier quarter. Rivian attributed the reversal mainly to working-capital changes, including lower deferred revenue and inventory purchases supporting the R2 launch.
After $366 million in capital spending, free cash flow was negative $1.124 billion. Rivian ended September with $5.502 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. It reported $6.095 billion of total liquidity, rising to a pro forma $7.095 billion after including a $1 billion Volkswagen Group loan funded in October.
Rivian raises the bottom of its delivery outlook
Full-year delivery guidance is now 67,000 to 70,000 vehicles, compared with the previous 65,000-to-70,000 range. Rivian also improved its adjusted EBITDA outlook to a loss of $1.75 billion to $1.85 billion and reduced its capital-spending forecast to $1.40 billion to $1.50 billion.
The results add financial context to Rivian’s growing market presence. Chiefs Review recently reported that Rivian ranked second in a corrected U.S. EV sales table. The software contribution also helps explain why the Volkswagen Group relationship matters beyond vehicle sales.
Featured image: Rivian R2 in Launch Green, photographed in Palo Alto, California, on May 15, 2026. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Lcaa9, used unchanged under CC BY-SA 4.0; source file and attribution details.