New York, May 31, 2026, 10:05 EDT
Rivian Automotive stock picked up speed in late May, rising 7.2% Friday and climbing about 14.6% for the week. The move came after the company said its first R2 SUV deliveries will start June 9. Shares finished at $16.30 on May 29, with trading volume close to 59.3 million.
That’s relevant now with U.S. cash markets closed for the weekend and Nasdaq trading set to resume Monday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Regular hours go until 4 p.m. The next thing to watch is if buyers see Friday’s move as a flash rally or the first part of a bigger rerating ahead of Rivian’s R2 deliveries.
Rivian shares outperformed in a calm market. The Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.2% Friday. Tesla fell roughly 1.5%, Lucid gained 1.2%. Rivian’s advance looked tied to the company, not just a move across electric vehicles.
Rivian says buyers are waiting for the R2. The R2 Performance with Launch Package will be out first, while the Premium trim is coming later in 2026 and the Standard trim is set for 2027. Rivian says it will deliver cars two to six weeks after confirming the order.
TechCrunch says Rivian’s first R2 buyers get their SUVs June 9, starting just below $60,000 for the initial version. A Standard version with a $48,490 price tag is set for 2027. The move puts Rivian into the mass-market SUV mix, where Tesla’s Model Y is still the yardstick, though Rivian produces far fewer vehicles.
Rivian has aimed to give Wall Street more than just a launch date this year. In April, Rivian said it began making saleable R2 units and delivered the first batch to employees. CEO RJ Scaringe said the R2 would “dramatically expand” the company’s market potential. First-quarter revenue came in at $1.381 billion, a gain of 11%. Rivian delivered 10,365 vehicles. SEC
Rivian booked a consolidated gross profit of $119 million, but the company reported a net loss of $416 million and burned $1.075 billion in free cash flow. That cash flow figure, which tracks cash from operations minus capital spending, is closely followed by investors in newer manufacturers for a sense of how quickly Rivian is using cash.
The company is still targeting 62,000 to 67,000 deliveries in 2026, along with an adjusted EBITDA loss between $1.8 billion and $2.1 billion, and plans capital spending in the $1.95 billion to $2.05 billion range. Adjusted EBITDA, which leaves out interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and some other costs, gives a different picture than net income.
Rivian’s R2 launch is drawing mixed calls from analysts. Itay Michaeli at TD Cowen called the shares a “positive risk/reward” ahead of the rollout, but D.A. Davidson’s Michael Shlisky said Rivian needs to deliver “the best mid-size EV launch since 2021” in a market with no tax credits or mass dealer network. MarketWatch
There’s a software story next to the vehicle one. Rivian’s software head Wassym Bensaid told The Verge, “voice has the chance to be the primary interface in the car,” adding that the R2 is the first Rivian to ship using new architecture linked to its Volkswagen joint venture. Investors want to see if that software bet turns into revenue, not just sleeker dashboards. The Verge
U.S. auto safety regulators have launched a preliminary investigation into 114,922 Rivian vehicles over possible issues with the rear toe link, a part that affects wheel alignment, following two owner reports of separations while driving. One case resulted in a crash. Rivian said its own data shows the R1 toe link joints are working as designed and it is working with the regulator on the probe.
Traders head into the week focused on Monday’s open, R2 order flow, and developments in the safety review. If nothing blocks the timeline through June 9, Rivian could keep trading on the launch theme. Any sign of delay, soft first demand, a new Tesla price cut, or bigger regulatory trouble could take the energy out of Friday’s rally.
