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Lordstown chose Endurance for the name of its all-electric pickup.
Courtesy Lordstime
Lordstown Motors
reported fourth-quarter figures on Wednesday evening. Revenues don’t matter that much, though, as the electric truck manufacturer doesn’t sell anything yet. But spending does – and that’s what investors keep an eye out for, especially after a tough few days for the stocks.
Lordstown (ticker: RIDE) expects to spend about $ 250 million to $ 275 million on capital goods this year, putting the factory that bought it from General Motors (GM) ready to produce its all-electric pickup called Endurance . The company also expects to spend an additional $ 220 million in spending. That would leave Lordstown with about $ 200 million by the end of 2021.
Spending appears to be higher than Wall Street expects, based on Bloomberg aggregated projections. Higher-than-expected cash outflows are likely to put stocks under pressure on Thursday. Shares fell about 3.8% in after-hours trading.
Still, it is difficult to say what exactly will happen to the stock price. Shares are already down about 15% since Friday, when a short seller released a negative research report on Lordstown. Hindenburg Research argued that the company’s backlog is not as solid as investors think. Lordstown is reporting more than 100,000 preorders for its electric truck.
The company issued a brief statement on Monday, saying that only management was aware of the report and would respond in due course. Lordstown also said, reiterating in its earnings release Wednesday, that it is on track to start producing the Endurance in September.
Management spoke a little more about the short-seller’s report during the earnings conference call. “We have also received a request for information from the SEC and we are cooperating with that investigation,” said CEO Steve Burns. “In addition, the Board of Directors has formed a special committee to review these matters.”
Investors will have to wait to get more clarity on the issues addressed in the negative report. Until then, they’re looking at the Endurance’s development timeline.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]