By Al Root

Electric vehicles have been making a comeback — sort of.

Rivian stock rose Thursday after the electric-vehicle startup reported better-than-expected second-quarter deliveries, prompting the company to raise its full-year outlook.

Rivian reported on Thursday second-quarter deliveries of 12,194 vehicles, up from 10,661 a year ago. Wall Street was looking for about 11,000 vehicles.

Now, the company is looking to deliver 65,000 to 70,000 cars in 2026, up from prior guidance of 62,000 to 67,000. Wall Street projects 64,000 vehicles.

Rivian also started delivering its new lower-priced R2 vehicles in the quarter, which Cantor analyst Andres Sheppard calls a catalyst for the stock.

"We continue to 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," he wrote on Thursday. Still, he rates shares Hold and has a $19 price target.

Rivian stock added 8.4%, closing at $18.63, while the S&P 500 was flat and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%.

Rivian's solid numbers come as Tesla reported second-quarter sales of 480,126 vehicles, well above the 406,000 Wall Street analysts projected, and up about 25% from the roughly 384,000 vehicles delivered in the second quarter of 2025.

Part of the reason for the rebound was gasoline. Benchmark prices reached $4.60 a gallon in May, up about $1.60 after the war in Iran disrupted global oil supplies.

Still, selling EVs has been a struggle since the loss of the $7,500 federal EV purchase tax credit in September, which made EVs less affordable for American car buyers.

The gas-price-induced rebound didn't impact everyone equally. General Motors sold about 29,000 EVs in the second quarter, down 37% year over year. GM, however, sells to dealers. Rivian and Tesla sell directly to end consumers, so there could be a lag in GM data.

Overall, EV penetration of new car sales in the U.S. remains between roughly 5% and 10%. That isn't likely to change. That doesn't mean, however, that there is no room for Rivian and Tesla to grow.

Coming into Thursday, Rivian stock has fallen 13% this year but has gained 33% over the past 12 months.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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