Luminar Reports Strong Q4’24 Business Update & Financials

Rhea-AI Summary

Luminar (NASDAQ: LAZR) reported strong Q4 2024 results with revenue increasing 45% quarter-over-quarter, surpassing forecasts. The company achieved key 2024 milestones including: start of production with Volvo EX90, launching a facility with TPK Group for improved capacity and costs, unveiling next-generation LiDAR (Luminar Halo), and expanding its ecosystem.

For 2025, Luminar aims to:

• Increase series production volume by at least 3x year-over-year
• Progress on Luminar Halo development contracts
• Streamline operations by transitioning to a singular technology platform

The company secured new contracts with an Industrial OEM and a leading auto OEM for Luminar Halo development. Additionally, Volvo ES90 was announced as the second model to feature Luminar's technology in Q3'24.

Positive

• 45% quarter-over-quarter revenue growth in Q4 2024
• Secured new contracts with Industrial OEM and auto OEM for Halo development
• Successfully achieved start of production with Volvo EX90
• Added second vehicle model (Volvo ES90) for technology implementation
• Expanded partnership with TPK Group to reduce production costs

Negative

• Still in development phase for various software capabilities
• Continuing path to profitability - not yet profitable

Insights

Automotive Technology Analyst

Luminar's Q4 results demonstrate significant commercial validation of their LiDAR technology, with 45% QoQ revenue growth exceeding forecasts. The successful production launch with Volvo EX90 represents a critical inflection point - it's the first global production vehicle standardizing Luminar's technology alongside NVIDIA's computing platform, creating a premium ADAS reference architecture that could influence broader industry adoption.

The company's planned transition to a unified Luminar Halo platform reveals a strategic pivot toward operational efficiency. This consolidation should yield several benefits: simplified manufacturing processes, reduced component diversity, streamlined development resources, and greater economies of scale. The addition of Volvo ES90 as the second production model indicates growing OEM confidence.

The new contracts with an industrial OEM and a leading auto OEM for Halo development are particularly significant as they demonstrate expanding market applications beyond Volvo. These wins suggest Luminar's technology maintains competitive advantages in a crowded LiDAR market where many competitors struggle to achieve production-grade quality and cost requirements.

The projected tripling of LiDAR shipments in 2025 signals both production readiness and strong OEM demand, though execution challenges remain in scaling manufacturing operations. Luminar's vertical integration strategy, evidenced by the EM4 acquisition to expand semiconductor capabilities from chips to modules, provides greater control over their supply chain and potential cost advantages in a component-constrained market.

Financial Analyst

Luminar's Q4 performance shows promising financial momentum with revenue increasing 45% quarter-over-quarter and exceeding forecasts. The improvements in gross margin and operating expenses indicate the company is making meaningful progress toward operational efficiency. While specific figures weren't disclosed, these metrics suggest positive trends in the company's financial health.

The strategic partnership with TPK Group represents a critical shift toward an asset-light manufacturing model, which should reduce capital expenditure requirements and improve long-term return on invested capital. This approach helps mitigate the substantial investment typically required for scaling automotive hardware production.

Luminar's 2025 milestone of streamlining operations by unifying around the Halo platform directly addresses a common challenge for pre-profitable tech companies - excessive product complexity driving inefficient resource allocation. This consolidation should accelerate the path to profitability by reducing R&D and manufacturing overhead costs.

The projected tripling of production volume in 2025 could drive substantial revenue growth and help achieve economies of scale necessary for improved unit economics. However, investors should monitor the balance between growth investments and cash preservation, as rapid scaling often requires significant working capital.

The expansion of customer base beyond Volvo to include additional auto OEMs and industrial applications diversifies revenue streams and reduces customer concentration risk, strengthening the company's long-term business model. These new contracts validate market demand for Luminar's technology beyond initial production programs.

Q4 Revenue Up 45% QoQ, Exceeding Forecasts; Gross Margin & OpEx Improvements

Secured New Contract with Industrial OEM & Luminar Halo Development Contract for Leading Auto OEM

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Luminar (NASDAQ: LAZR), a leading global automotive technology company, provided its quarterly business update and financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024. These results and related commentary were published in a Presentation available on its Investor Relations website at https://investors.luminartech.com.

“This past year represents a culmination of a decade’s worth of work with the launch of the Volvo EX90 - the first global production vehicle with leading technologies like Luminar and NVIDIA,” said Austin Russell, Founder and CEO. “We delivered a strong finish to 2024, achieving our key business milestones and outperforming our financial expectations in Q4. We’re off to the races in 2025 by successfully transitioning key customers to Luminar Halo and securing new contracts, and expect LiDAR shipments to at least triple as more Luminar-equipped cars hit the road and we launch on additional models. Going forward, we’ll also be unifying our product portfolio around Halo, allowing us to streamline the business for further efficiency, faster execution, and exponential growth.”

2024 Business Milestones:

Luminar achieved the following business milestones outlined at the beginning of 2024.

1. Pass final Run at Rate production audit ahead of Volvo start of production (SOP); Achieve global SOP & ramp with Volvo.
   • Achieved. Luminar passed the final Run at Rate production audit and achieved SOP with Volvo in Q2’24. The company continues to meet all key deliverables for the Volvo EX90 production ramp. In Q3’24, Luminar also announced the Volvo ES90 as the second model to feature Luminar’s technology.
2. Launch facility with TPK Group for additional capacity and improved cost.
   • Achieved. In Q1’24, the TPK facility in Asia commenced production of certain Iris sub-assemblies and components to improve sensor economics. In Q2’24, Luminar also launched an expanded partnership with TPK to substantially reduce the cost of industrialization and transition further to an asset-light model, including building out a pilot line at the facility for sample production.
3. Unveil next-generation LiDAR; Deliver samples to customers.
   • Achieved. Luminar Halo was unveiled in Q2’24, offering step-function improvements in performance, integration, and cost versus Iris. The company demonstrated Luminar Halo’s capabilities for customers throughout the year and delivered prototype samples to select customers for evaluation of certain performance specifications. Luminar also generated its first point cloud from Luminar Halo in Q3’24.
4. Expand ecosystem around LiDAR (e.g. Semiconductors, AI Engine, Software, Insurance).
   • Achieved. Luminar Semiconductor continued its vertical integration strategy with the acquisition of EM4 to expand from chips to modules. In Q2’24, Luminar launched its Sentinel software^[1] solution and shipped evaluation kits to customers through year-end.

2025 Business Milestones:

Luminar outlined the following business milestones to be achieved by year-end 2025.

1. Series Production: Ramp series production volume at least 3x year-over-year; Drive economies of scale; Launch additional vehicle models.
2. Next-Generation Technology: Progress on Luminar Halo milestones in customer development contracts for SOP.
3. Business Model: Streamline Luminar’s operations with customer transitions to a singular technology platform (Luminar Halo) to drive efficient execution, reduced costs, and accelerated path to profitability.

Webcast Details:

Founder and CEO Austin Russell and CFO Tom Fennimore will host a video webcast, featuring a business update followed by a live Q&A session.

• What: Video webcast featuring quarterly business update, Q4’24 and FY’24 financials, and live Q&A
• Date: Today, March 20, 2025
• Time: 5:00 p.m. EDT (2:00 p.m. PDT)
• Where: https://www.luminartech.com/quarterlyreview

A replay will be available following the conclusion of the webcast. For additional information or to be added to Luminar's investor distribution list, please visit us at https://investors.luminartech.com/ir-resources/email-alerts.

Footnote: ^[1] Various Luminar software capabilities are still in development and have not achieved "technology feasibility" or "production ready" status.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “aims,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “set,” “continue,” “towards,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “forward,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. The forward-looking statements include statements relating to the outlook for 2025 and expectations regarding the development and commercialization of Luminar Halo. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions by our management and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including that next-generation sensors and software will be developed successfully or will accelerate automaker adoption, that new automaker agreements will develop successfully into product launches, that per unit sensor economics will be improved, and that cost reduction efforts, including efforts to reduce the cost of industrialization, will continue to result in improved operational and financial efficiency and eventual profitability. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company’s business is included in the Company’s periodic filings with the SEC, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 to be filed with the SEC and subsequent reports filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.

About Luminar

Luminar is a global automotive technology company ushering in a new era of vehicle safety and autonomy. For the past decade, Luminar has built an advanced hardware and software/AI platform to enable its various partners, ranging from Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz to NVIDIA and Mobileye, to develop and deploy the world's most advanced passenger vehicles. Following the launch of the Volvo EX90 as the first global production vehicle to standardize its technology, Luminar is poised to lead the industry in enabling next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities for global production vehicles. For more information please visit www.luminartech.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250320294017/en/

Investor Relations:

Aileen (Smith) McAdams

Investors@luminartech.com

Media Relations:

Milin Mehta

Press@luminartech.com

Source: Luminar

FAQ

What was Luminar's (LAZR) revenue growth in Q4 2024?

Luminar reported a 45% quarter-over-quarter revenue growth in Q4 2024, exceeding forecasts.

Which vehicle models will feature Luminar's technology?

The Volvo EX90 and Volvo ES90 will feature Luminar's technology, with EX90 being the first global production vehicle to standardize it.

What are Luminar's (LAZR) production targets for 2025?

Luminar aims to increase series production volume by at least 3x year-over-year in 2025.

What is Luminar Halo and when was it unveiled?

Luminar Halo is the company's next-generation LiDAR technology unveiled in Q2'24, offering improvements in performance, integration, and cost versus the Iris model.

What strategic partnership did Luminar establish with TPK Group?

TPK Group partnership includes production of Iris sub-assemblies and components, plus an expanded partnership to reduce industrialization costs and establish a pilot line for sample production.