EV startup Canoo narrows quarterly loss, discloses SEC probe

Shares of Canoo Inc.
GOEV,
+3.42%
fell in the extended session Monday after the electric-vehicle startup reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and disclosed it is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Canoo said it lost $15.2 million, or 7 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $30.9 million, or 37 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2020. FactSet consensus, drawn from three analyst estimates, called for a GAAP loss of 21 cents a share for the quarter. Canoo said it ended the quarter with $641.9 million in cash and equivalents. “We are on track to start production in 2022 and ramp to 15,000 units in 2023,” Chief Executive Tony Aquila said in a statement. Canoo’s planned-for vehicles include a delivery van and a pickup truck. The stock ended the regular trading day up 3.5%. Canoo went public in December after a reverse merger with a blank-check company. In the earnings call, Aquila said the SEC recently notified the company it is conducting a “fact-finding inquiry,” and declined to take questions about the matter.