Luminar CFO defends lidar maker's pricing and revenue in the wake of a Goldman downgrade

Lidar shaper Luminar Technologies, stung by a caller Wall Street downgrade, is responding successful an antithetic way: taking its lawsuit straight to the shareholders.

In a missive seen by CNBC connected Friday morning, Luminar CFO Tom Fennimore – himself a erstwhile Goldman Sachs managing manager – takes contented with arguments made successful a bearish enactment by Goldman expert Mark Delaney earlier this week.

Delaney connected Tuesday day cut Goldman's standing connected Luminar to sell, from hold, arguing that its shares are overpriced comparative to cardinal competitors and that Luminar's ain pricing assumptions are unrealistically high.

Luminar's shares person fallen astir 16% since Delaney's enactment was published.

"We proceed to spot Luminar arsenic 1 of a fistful of leaders successful the precise competitory lidar industry," Delaney wrote. "However, we spot downside to the company's borderline outlook with the institution targeting gross per conveyance of ~$1k which we judge implies ASPs [average selling prices] astir 50-100% higher than cardinal competitors."

Simply put, portion Delaney acknowledges that Luminar is 1 of lone a fewer lidar makers winning deals with large automakers, helium thinks that Luminar won't beryllium capable to get the prices it's hoping to get from those automakers. And based connected 2025 gross assumptions, helium sees Luminar trading astatine 4 times the valuation of competitors Innoviz and Hesai, some of which person besides won concern from automakers.   

Fennimore argues that Delaney missed 2 cardinal points.

"One, our tech is better, and radical typically wage a premium for tech, but to america this isn't a theoretical exercise: This is pricing that we really person successful place," Fennimore told CNBC successful an interrogation connected Friday morning.

Fennimore's missive points retired that Luminar has already signed contracts to supply hardware and bundle for over 20 upcoming caller vehicles from large automakers including Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz and Chinese car elephantine SAIC Motor. Those contracts fastener successful pricing done the beingness of those upcoming models, helium said.

"'Premium pricing' isn't a theoretical conception we are forecasting, but an accomplishment we person already made successful our large lawsuit contracts," Fennimore wrote successful the shareholder letter.

And the 2nd constituent Fennimore says Goldman missed: The clip framework Delaney chose to comparison Luminar's valuation against those of its rivals.

"We judge utilizing 2025 gross arsenic a valuation benchmark versus peers dramatically undervalues Luminar, arsenic galore of the 20+ conveyance lines we person been awarded are not expected to scope accumulation until beyond 2025," helium wrote.

Put different way, immoderate of the large contracts that Luminar has already signed won't make important gross until those vehicles motorboat successful the 2nd fractional of the decade, Fennimore said.

The determination to instrumentality the rebuttal straight to Luminar's shareholders is unusual, but Fennimore believes it's warranted – and helium hinted that Luminar mightiness take to nonstop much letters similar this successful the future.

"Whenever anybody raises valid and thoughtful concerns astir us, we privation to respond with valid and thoughtful facts," Fennimore told CNBC. "Because I deliberation the superior markets trust connected having a bully and factual debate."