Company Overview
LiveWire Group, Inc. functions as a manufacturer and seller of electric motorcycles, serving the United States, Austria, and international markets through two distinct segments: Electric Motorcycles and STACYC. The company's product portfolio encompasses the design and sale of electric motorcycles, replacement parts, accessories, and apparel, alongside electric balance bikes designed specifically for children. Operating within the Consumer Cyclical sector as part of the Auto Manufacturers industry, the business is positioned to capitalize on the global shift toward sustainable transportation and electric vehicle adoption. The company's scale is defined by a market capitalization of $281.99M, annual revenue of $25.67M, and an employee base of 151 individuals. These valuation and revenue figures indicate a small-cap enterprise with a relatively limited market footprint compared to larger automotive conglomerates, suggesting a niche position in the specialized electric two-wheeler market rather than broad mass-market dominance.
Financial Health
The company reported revenue of $25.67M for the trailing twelve months, yet this generated a net income of $-75,114,000 and an EBITDA of $-66,348,000, revealing a significant structural disconnect where operating costs and expenses far exceed top-line generation. The reported free cash flow stands at $-32,336,876, which indicates that the company is currently burning cash to fund operations and potentially capital expenditures, thereby limiting its immediate financial flexibility and reliance on external capital sources. An analysis of the three primary margins highlights severe profitability challenges: the gross margin is negative at -17.3%, the operating margin is negative at -156.2%, and the profit margin is negative at -292.6%. These deeply negative margin levels suggest that the cost of goods sold, selling, general, and administrative expenses are disproportionately high relative to sales, preventing the realization of any profit on a per-unit basis. Regarding liquidity and leverage, the company holds $82.78M in cash against $75.72M in debt, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 164.52, which signifies a highly leveraged balance sheet where equity is minimal relative to obligations. Despite the high leverage, the current ratio of 4.63 suggests that the company maintains a strong short-term liquidity position, as current assets are more than four times the value of current liabilities. Finally, the return on equity is -93.2% and the return on assets is -32.1%, metrics that reveal management is currently destroying shareholder value and utilizing assets inefficiently in the context of generating positive returns.
Valuation Assessment
Valuation metrics for LiveWire Group, Inc. present a complex picture due to the absence of earnings, with a trailing P/E ratio listed as N/A and a forward P/E of -4.45. The discrepancy between these figures, specifically the negative forward P/E, implies that the market is pricing in future earnings recovery or that the stock is valued based on non-earnings fundamentals given the current loss trajectory. The price-to-book ratio stands at 6.13, indicating that the market values the company at a significant premium over its tangible book value, a common phenomenon for technology or growth-oriented firms where intangible assets drive value despite current losses. Alternative valuation metrics further contextualize this premium; the price-to-sales ratio of 10.98 and an EV/EBITDA of -4.14 suggest the company is being valued on revenue multiples and enterprise value relative to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, rather than profitability. The stock has exhibited significant volatility within its trading range, with a 52-week high of $9.04 and a 52-week low of $0.93. Based on the available data points, the current trading price sits in the upper portion of this range relative to the low, though exact percentage positioning requires the current price which is not explicitly defined in the facts, but the beta of 1.86 confirms high sensitivity to market movements. The beta value of 1.86 indicates that the stock is nearly double as volatile as the broader market, meaning it will likely experience much larger swings in price than the overall index during periods of market turbulence.
Growth & Income
The company demonstrated a revenue growth rate of 5.5% year over year, while earnings growth is listed as N/A due to the absence of prior year positive earnings for comparison. Since the company is currently unprofitable, it is not possible to determine if earnings are growing faster or slower than revenue in the traditional sense, but the positive revenue growth indicates that the top line is expanding despite the underlying cost structure issues. The company does not pay dividends, evidenced by a dividend yield of N/A and a payout ratio of 0.0%. This absence of dividend distribution confirms that the company reinvests all available earnings or capital reserves back into operations, product development, or debt management rather than returning cash to shareholders. Consequently, the overall growth and income profile is characterized by revenue expansion in the single digits and zero income distribution to investors, relying entirely on future profitability turns to create shareholder value.