Is LiveWire heading for trouble?

Visordown reports that LiveWire execs are offloading shares amid mounting financial losses. As other electric motorcycle brands fail, the long-term viability of LiveWire seems to be up in the air.

With the share price hovering around the $US4 mark, LiveWire market capitalisation is just over $US1b. But there are troubling signs with the people at the very top offloading stock at a pace that appears like they are bailing out.

Marketbeat reports that the CEO, Karim Donnez, cashed out 54,661 shares mid-June. Another director sold off a similar number of shares a few days earlier. Those in the company have sold nearly 277,000 shares in the past three months, a concern for shareholders.

The Q1 earnings report revealed that for every dollar LiveWire made, it lost almost four. Revenue for the quarter was just $2.74m.

On the upside, LiveWire’s recent models, like the S2 Del Mar, were well received from a design and performance standpoint. But the electric motorcycle market remains tiny, with high price tags and a hesitant customer base slowing adoption.

Harley-Davidson’s decision to spin off LiveWire was meant to let the brand innovate. And that it did, the S2 platform resulting in three new models, all evidently good. The S2 Del Mar was rated as one of the best electric bikes released in recent years. 

But executives cashing out and poor financials are a cause for concern.

The next few quarters will be telling. A strong sales lift and meaningful tech development are sorely needed.

And while all that is going on, Harley Davidson itself is experiencing a rocky patch. Sales in the first quarter of this year were down by 20 per cent and the implementation of Trump’s tariffs is likely to cause ongoing financial pain. Moreover, buyers of big bikes seem to be sitting on their hands with the global economy shaky and interest rates high. Small bikes in general seem to be selling reasonably well, however, and Harley is said to be working on new entrants in this area.