Up:

  • Rivian Automotive Surges on Volkswagen Investment

Rivian Automotive's stock surged 40% premarket after Volkswagen announced a $5 billion investment in the electric vehicle (EV) startup. This significant capital injection is expected to help Rivian roll out new models and bolster its cash reserves, moving the company closer to profitability. The deal includes forming a joint venture to share EV architecture and software, which will be used by Volkswagen's brands such as Audi, Porsche, and Lamborghini. Analysts see this as a strong vote of confidence in Rivian's prospects, potentially lowering costs per vehicle and strengthening defenses against Chinese EV makers. However, some caution that the funding could be dilutive to Rivian's share price.

  • Lucid Gains on Rivian-Volkswagen Deal

Lucid's shares rose 6.6% following the Rivian-Volkswagen deal. Citi analysts believe the investment could spotlight Lucid, which has been open to licensing its technology and already has a partnership with British automaker Aston Martin. The increasing collaboration between EV makers and legacy automakers is seen as a positive for Lucid, potentially enhancing its market position.

  • FedEx Guides for Higher Revenue and EPS

FedEx's stock jumped 14.4% as the company guided for higher revenue and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for fiscal year 2025. Despite a slight drop in profit for the three months ended May 31, FedEx's adjusted EPS of $5.41 beat analysts' expectations. The company expects revenue to grow in the low-to-mid single-digit percentage range and forecasts adjusted EPS between $20 and $22. This guidance is slightly below Wall Street's forecast but indicates a positive outlook for the company.

  • Albemarle Plans More Lithium Auctions

Albemarle's stock rose 5.9% after the company announced plans to hold more auctions for lithium to improve price transparency. The auction data will be shared with pricing agencies like Fastmarkets to provide publicly available prices and boost the use of hedging and derivative contracts. This move is seen as a positive step towards clarifying the pricing of lithium, a critical component in battery production. 

Down:

  • Aptiv Declines on Rivian-Volkswagen Collaboration

Aptiv's shares fell 10.7% as the Rivian-Volkswagen deal raised concerns about the future of third-party software and technology providers in the auto industry. Piper Sandler analysts downgraded Aptiv to "Underweight" from "Neutral," citing the deal as a "red flag" for the company's strategy. The collaboration between EV makers and legacy automakers could dent Aptiv's business, which has traditionally provided software and technology to the auto industry.