Analyst Ratings February 19, 2026

Benchmark Maintains Buy on Lucid, $30 Target Ahead of Q4 Results

Analyst flags margin progression and cash runway as focal points after deliveries beat expectations

By Marcus Reed LCID
Benchmark Maintains Buy on Lucid, $30 Target Ahead of Q4 Results
LCID

Benchmark has kept a Buy rating and a $30.00 price target on Lucid Group Inc. (LCID) ahead of the company's fourth-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The broker highlighted margin improvement tied to Gravity volume growth and continued discipline on operating expenses, while also flagging cash burn and funding sensitivity into late 2026. Lucid reported 2025 deliveries and production that topped Benchmark’s expectations, but the company still shows weak gross profit margins and significant negative free cash flow.

Key Points

  • Benchmark reiterated a Buy rating and a $30.00 price target on Lucid ahead of its Q4 earnings for Feb. 24; stock trading at $9.77, near its 52-week low of $9.50 and about 72% below its 52-week high.
  • Lucid reported Q4 2025 deliveries of 5,345 and production of 8,412, closing 2025 with 15,841 deliveries - a 55% year-over-year increase that exceeded Benchmark’s delivery expectations.
  • Benchmark is focused on gross margin progression as Gravity volumes scale and on operating expense discipline; cash burn and liquidity runway are key uncertainties, with negative free cash flow of $3.38 billion over the last twelve months.

Benchmark has reiterated a Buy rating and set a $30.00 price target on Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID) as investors await the automaker’s fourth-quarter earnings release scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 24. The price target implies substantial upside compared with the stock’s recent market level; InvestingPro data shows Lucid trading at $9.77, close to its 52-week low of $9.50 and roughly 72% below its 52-week high.

On delivery and production metrics, Lucid reported fourth-quarter 2025 deliveries of 5,345 vehicles and production of 8,412 units. The company closed 2025 with total deliveries of 15,841, which represents a 55% year-over-year increase and exceeded Benchmark’s prior expectations of 5,301 fourth-quarter deliveries and 15,797 full-year deliveries. This operational performance coincides with revenue expansion of 45.86% over the last twelve months, according to InvestingPro data.


Margin and expense focus

Benchmark described the fourth quarter as largely a clean-up period and said its principal concern is how gross margins progress as Gravity volumes increase and tariff-related noise subsides. That emphasis reflects the company’s current margin profile: InvestingPro data shows Lucid’s gross profit margin at -97.91%. The analyst also underscored the importance of operating expense discipline, highlighting research and development and selling, general and administrative expenses as items to monitor as the company exited 2025.


Liquidity and profitability timeline

Cash burn and the firm’s liquidity runway remain areas of heightened attention, Benchmark said, noting sensitivity around the company’s funding needs into late 2026. InvestingPro figures indicate Lucid generated negative free cash flow of $3.38 billion in the last twelve months. Benchmark expects Lucid to reiterate that profitability is a 2026-2027 objective, with the path to profit driven primarily by shifts in Gravity mix, cost-down initiatives and the eventual midsize model launch. That timeline is consistent with InvestingPro Tips, which note analysts do not expect the company to be profitable this year.

Lucid is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after the market close on Tuesday, Feb. 24. InvestingPro currently rates Lucid’s financial health as "WEAK" and offers Pro Research Reports covering the company and more than 1,400 other names for investors seeking deeper analysis, according to the same data provider.


Recent corporate developments

Several corporate updates accompanied Benchmark’s pre-earnings note. Lucid announced a partnership with Rockwell Automation to support its manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia, which the company says will be the first vehicle manufacturing site in that country. The collaboration will deploy Rockwell’s enterprise software solutions, including the FactoryTalk manufacturing execution system, to support operations at the plant.

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an Overweight rating on Lucid following the automaker’s partnership with Uber. That arrangement contemplates the deployment of more than 20,000 Lucid Gravity electric SUVs as robotaxis over the next six years, with Uber investing approximately $300 million into Lucid and Nuro.

Lucid also made an executive appointment, naming Neil Marsons as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain to strengthen global supply chain operations. On the product side, Lucid’s Air Grand Touring achieved the longest range in Norway’s NAF Winter Test, covering 520 kilometers on a single charge in extreme cold conditions and beating the next-closest competitor by nearly 100 kilometers.


What to watch at the report

Investors and analysts will be watching for commentary and data points that speak to margin trajectory as Gravity volumes scale, updates on tariff-related impacts, and any additional detail management provides on cost reductions and the midsize launch timeline. Given the company’s recent cash outflows and negative free cash flow, market participants are also likely to seek clarity on the liquidity runway and near-term financing plans.

The coming earnings release will provide fresh input on these items, but Benchmark’s reiteration of a Buy rating and a $30.00 target underscores the broker’s view that upside exists if margin improvement and cost discipline materialize as outlined.

Risks

  • Very weak gross profit margins (-97.91%) create execution risk on the company’s path to profitability - impacts automotive and manufacturing sectors.
  • Rapid cash burn and a short liquidity runway raise funding risk into late 2026, affecting equity holders and creditors in capital markets and automotive supply chains.
  • Tariff-related noise could distort near-term margins and operational planning while Gravity volume scale-up may take longer than anticipated - relevant to manufacturing and international trade exposure.

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