By coinnews 
00:00:05 Josh Lipton
Well, it is a big noisy universe of stocks out there. Welcome to good buy or good buy. Our goal here to help cut through that noise to navigate the best moves for your portfolio. Today, we are looking under the hood of the EV market amid tariff tensions. I’m here now with Granite Shares founder and CEO, that would be Will Ryan. Will, great to see you as always.
00:00:31 Will Ryan
Good to see you too, Josh.
00:00:33 Josh Lipton
So, let’s start with what you like, Will, and your first take here, your buy would be Rivian, and we’re going to go through the reasons why. And check out that one year performance. Look at that chart. First reason, Will, and walk us through these bullets. Tenant for alternative to Tesla trade, walk us through that.
00:01:01 Will Ryan
So this one has kind of two meanings, that on the one hand, I think there’s still a huge amount of enthusiasm for EV stocks more broadly, but Tesla, perhaps quite rightly, steals all the oxygen from the conversation. So, this is a one about something is an alternative, an EV company, there’s an alternative to Tesla, but it’s also partly the brand issues that Tesla has suffered and people looking for an alternative investment if Tesla no longer fits their investment profile.
00:01:59 Josh Lipton
All right, bullet point number two, this one, this one made in America, no tariffs, Will.
00:02:09 Will Ryan
So, maybe quite self-explanatory, but this really sort of fits the zeitgeist at the moment, meaning a company that is sitting right in the good side, or on the good side of the trade war. Vehicles are made here in America. It’s EVs, no tariffs or minimal tariffs versus other companies.
00:02:59 Josh Lipton
President Trump, it never hurts. Yeah.
00:03:08 Josh Lipton
All right, now third one, Will, here’s another reason you say stick with the buy on this one. Existing models well received and new models are on the way.
00:03:23 Will Ryan
So the, the existing models have been very well received. You know, the company makes high-end SUVs and pickup trucks, really kind of a status symbol in many ways, and so, like companies like a Jaguar Land Rover with the Range Rover, they’ve been successful in building models that are perhaps less expensive, accessing a new type of customer. So, Rivian here with its new models along the way, lower cost models, accessing both a new customer and diversifying the existing customer base.
00:04:12 Josh Lipton
And all right, so you’ve made your case here, Will. Now, before our viewers they’re convinced, they’re ready to hit the buy button, before they do, let’s give them the risks at least. What should be on their radar? What’s the number one worry before you hit that buy button?
00:04:38 Will Ryan
Well, I think the number one issue for anybody with a company like Rivian is the pathway to consistent long-term profitability. So, this is still a young company in the grand scheme of things. It’s a company that is growing quickly, but it’s a company that’s also needs a lot of investment, a lot of capital expenditure. So, there are clearly big risks when it comes to companies of this kind of profile, just like there were in the early days of Tesla. As Elon talked about many times of the company had its, its sort of flirtations with bankruptcy. And so here, the risk with a company like Rivian is that it too has to execute, execute, continue to, to raise cash and generate the sustainable path to profitability.
00:05:44 Josh Lipton
All right, so that’s what you like. Let’s also turn to one you’re not such a fan of. One you would avoid, that would be Stellantis. Now I could see that chart. Let’s look through the reasons for this. Tariff challenges.
00:06:10 Will Ryan
So, again, kind of the opposite way here, but given we’re talking about this tariff zeitgeist, you know, this is a company that makes a lot of the vehicles are made in Canada or in Mexico. And as we know, big uncertainty at the moment in terms of how this all plays out vis-a-vis tariffs, but they’re not made principally in America.
00:06:44 Josh Lipton
All right, bullet point number two, another reason Will says to avoid it, declining revenue aging product lineup.
00:06:55 Will Ryan
Yeah, so this is in many senses not a new story, you know, revenue has been declining for, for quite some time. You know, the brands that the company has in its stable are brands that everybody knows, but at the same time, you know, we haven’t seen that sort of new exciting product range from a lot of the brands that we’ve become perhaps used to with some other manufacturers.
00:07:30 Josh Lipton
And the final reason you would avoid this one Will, lagging EV strategy, walk us through that.
00:07:39 Will Ryan
So again, just I think on the wrong side of history in the grand scheme of things, that if we’re talking about on the one side, you know, EV companies that are long-term aspirational, this is a company that I’m sure wants to get there, but just hasn’t quite, you know, had that strategy on the EV side to put itself in a position to compete actively with the leaders in the space currently.
00:08:11 Josh Lipton
All right, so you’re bearish, but in terms of upside risks to this call, good cash reserves, effective CEO.
00:08:24 Will Ryan
So, again, like the good news about some of these legacy companies is that, you know, it’s a company that has a solid foundation, has good cash reserves, and this is nothing that can’t be fixed over the long term. So with a CEO that’s effective that can turn the company around with a refresh of the product offering that it has and numerous brands, there of course is a way with an EV, a credible EV strategy that this can all be turned around just like many big companies where the execution’s the risk.
00:09:05 Josh Lipton
Buy Rivian, avoid Stellantis. Well, thank you so much for your time today. Appreciate it.
00:09:11 Will Ryan
Thank you, Josh. That was great.