Rivian Automotive Inc ( RIVN ) shares are trading higher on Thursday. Investors set up ahead of the company's first-quarter earnings release after the close.

Rivian Automotive ( RIVN ) stock is among today’s top performers. What’s behind RIVN gains?

Wall Street expects a quarterly loss of 72 cents per share on revenue of $1.37 billion, but the stock is benefiting from renewed optimism following Rivian's last earnings update and growing confidence in the company's next phase of scaling.

The move higher is tied to Rivian's strong fourth-quarter and full‑year 2025 performance, which showed a meaningful shift in profitability. The company delivered $120 million in consolidated gross profit in the fourth-quarter and $144 million for the full year, a more than $1.3 billion improvement from 2024.

Rivian's fourth-quarter numbers underscored the company's progress. Production reached 10,974 vehicles and deliveries hit 9,745. Consolidated revenue came in at $1,286 million, with software and services revenue jumping to $447 million, up 109% year‑over‑year.

For the full year, Rivian generated $5,387 million in revenue and posted a dramatic improvement in gross profit, moving from a $(1,200) million loss in 2024 to a $144 million gain in 2025. Software and services gross profit surged to $576 million, reflecting the growing importance of Rivian's technology and service ecosystem.

The Chart Says "Constructive," The Range Says "Undecided"

Technically, Rivian is still living inside a debate. The stock sits in the middle of its 52-week range ($11.57 to $22.69), a wide band that captures how quickly sentiment can swing between "EV comeback" and "not yet." In the near term, price action has a slightly friendlier posture: shares are trading 2.8% above the 20-day simple moving average (SMA). But the intermediate trend still hangs overhead, with the stock 0.3% below its 100-day SMA, enough to remind traders that rallies can still run into supply.

Momentum indicators are also flashing a little caution. The moving average convergence divergence (MACD) shows the MACD line below the signal line with a negative histogram, a setup that typically suggests momentum is cooling and that buyers may be meeting sellers sooner than they'd like, even if price is holding up.

Zooming out, the longer view is improved but hardly serene: Rivian is up 21.49% over the past 12 months. The 52-week high came in December 2025 and the 52-week low was set in August 2025, underscoring a stock that's been more sentiment-driven than trend-driven.

Key levels remain the market's shorthand for conviction:

Key Resistance: $18.00 — an area where upside attempts have tended to stall.

Key Support: $14.00 — a level where buyers have previously shown up to defend pullbacks.

RIVN Shares Are Climbing

RIVN Price Action: Rivian shares were up 3.55% at $16.63 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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