EV Startup, Canoo Only Sold 22 Vehicles… But Somehow The Stock Jumped 6%?

When an electric vehicle startup is bleeding cash, laying off employees, and watching its top executives bail, you’d expect its stock to die faster than a Tesla on Ludicrous Mode. But Canoo? Nope. The embattled Oklahoma-based EV maker somehow pulled off a 6% stock jump right after unloading yet another stack of bad news.

In most cases, layoffs and exec departures are like a death sentence for a company’s stock. But with Canoo? Investors seem to be looking at it like, “Hey, at least they’re doing something, right?” After a rough year that saw Canoo’s stock plummet by 90%, any sign of life, even if it’s just the company doing a bit of housekeeping, feels like a win.

So let’s break down just how bad things are. Canoo, which specializes in futuristic electric work vans (NASA’s Artemis program is even on its client list), recently shared its financials. Spoiler alert: they’re a disaster. 

As of October 30, Canoo’s cash reserves were down to $4.5 million, after hemorrhaging $117.6 million in the first half of 2024. But hey, who needs cash when you’ve got loans? CEO Tony Aquila personally stepped in, lending the company $2.7 million, likely at a competitive interest rate—and maybe for the laughs.

But it gets better (or worse depending on if you’re an investor), last year, Canoo only brought in a grand total of $886,000 in revenue. How much EV product did they sell to earn that? Just 22 vehicles. Just so you know how bad that is (as if you don’t already) Ford moved more than 61,000 electric vehicles in the same year.

Faced with these challenges, Canoo’s next move was textbook startup survival: cut costs. The company furloughed 30 workers at its Oklahoma City plant, putting them on 12 weeks of unpaid leave and letting their healthcare coverage expire just in time for the holidays. Merry Christmas, indeed.

And if that wasn’t enough of a gut punch, the company also lost two key executives in October—CFO Greg Ethridge and General Counsel Hector Ruiz. Both bailed as the walls started closing in. Sure, replacements have been named, but stepping into those roles now is like being asked to take over FTX right after the whole thing unraveled. It’s damage control on a colossal scale.

And yet, amid all this, Canoo still managed to splurge on $1.7 million worth of private jet flights in 2023. Because nothing screams “fiscal responsibility” like flying high while your company’s finances burn to the ground. The rationale? Those jets were “mission-critical.” Sure, if your mission is to rack up debt at 30,000 feet.

But let’s give Canoo some credit. The company claims to have over $3 billion in orders, with $750 million of those confirmed. Big names like Walmart and the USPS are on its client roster, and it’s still rolling out electric delivery vans targeting major players like FedEx and UPS.

P.S. Our last Wild Friday Alert popped off with a 116% jump in minutes—and we’ve been hitting at least one 100%+ winner every single week on average since we started. Click here to join Stocks.News Premium.

Stock.News has positions in Tesla, Canoo, UPS, and Walmart mentioned in article.