Rivian Automotive (RIVN) stock suffered its steepest single-day decline in nearly two years on Tuesday, plunging 18% after the company announced a major public share offering.
The electric vehicle maker said it plans to sell 75 million shares of its Class A common stock in a public offering, triggering immediate and sharp selling pressure from investors.
Tuesday’s collapse marked Rivian’s worst trading session since 2024 and ranks as the fifth worst day on record for the embattled EV stock.
The announcement came during extended hours trading, following an 8.1% gain on Monday and a 19% surge the prior week that had lifted investor sentiment.
Based on Monday’s closing price of $20.14 per share, the offering is expected to raise approximately $1.51 billion for the company.
Rivian stated in a public filing that it plans to use the proceeds to fund equity contributions tied to a loan agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy.
The DOE financing is connected to Rivian’s planned Georgia manufacturing facility, a central pillar of its strategy to expand production beyond its existing Illinois plant.
Rivian expects to begin drawing from the $4.5 billion DOE loan in early 2027, making the capital raise a critical step in that financing structure.
The company also said it intends to grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 11.25 million shares on top of the base offering.
Investor concern centered on stock dilution, which reduces the ownership percentage of existing shareholders when a company issues new shares into the market.
The sell-off overshadowed a string of positive developments, including strong delivery figures and an improved revenue forecast that had been driving recent gains.
Rivian pre-released second-quarter results alongside the offering filing, estimating revenue between $1.55 billion and $1.65 billion, above the average analyst estimate of $1.45 billion compiled by LSEG.
The company’s cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments balance was estimated at $5.3 billion, up from $4.8 billion at the end of the first quarter.
The share sale also followed Rivian suspending its 2027 profitability target, citing an expected spike in research and development spending on autonomy and next-generation vehicle technologies.
Director Karen Boone filed to sell 20,000 shares worth $372,600, while the Rivian Foundation filed to sell 166,668 shares worth approximately $3.11 million, covering a combined 186,668 shares valued at roughly $3.48 million.
The offering follows a strong second quarter in which Rivian produced 12,613 vehicles and delivered 12,194 units, comfortably beating its own guidance range of 9,000 to 11,000 vehicles.
Those delivery figures also surpassed analyst expectations, prompting Rivian to raise its full-year 2026 delivery forecast to between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles, up from a prior range of 62,000 to 67,000.
