Rivian’s stock surge: Irvine EV startup is valued like these name-brand companies

How is simply a upstart motortruck shaper without a merchandise for merchantability 1 of America’s astir invaluable companies?

Irvine-based Rivian is surely a gambit, but backing partners specified arsenic Ford Motor and Amazon judge it apt volition go a superior subordinate successful the electrical motortruck business. It went nationalist this week, selling shares connected Wall Street for the archetypal time with an enthusiastic reception that gave it a marketplace valuation of $127 cardinal arsenic of Friday.

If the conception of billions makes your caput hurt, ponder this: Rivian is worthy astir the aforesaid arsenic the combined marketplace values of 4 Asian automakers with U.S. office successful Southern California — Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Mazda.

Or look astatine it this way: Only 68 U.S. nationalist companies are worthy more, according to Companiesmarketcap.com.

Yes, banal markets bash brainsick things with chaotic concepts. Yes, investors person been incorrect before. And the marketplace worth of a institution that’s conscionable opening to marque its vehicles seems rich, to my blood.

However, erstwhile I looked astatine the nationalist companies of comparable banal value, a communal taxable emerged: They erstwhile seemed similar long-shot dreams, too.

Without immoderate proposition that Rivian’s “the adjacent large thing,” let’s ponder immoderate of the U.S. businesses valued connected Friday astir the aforesaid arsenic the fledgling EV motortruck maker. And note, astir of these brand-name corporations are acold older than 12-year-old Rivian.

Raytheon Technologies (market capitalization of $134 billion): This defence contractor started making vigor tubes successful the 1920s and grew into a large radar maker, the creator of the air-to-air Patriot Missile, arsenic good arsenic the inventor of the microwave.

Starbucks ($132 billion): A half-century ago, a Seattle java roaster began revolutionizing the greeting cupful of Joe — turning what was seen arsenic a cheap, low-quality greeting portion into an all-day, luxury beverage with planetary appeal.

Bristol-Myers Squibb ($132 billion): The cause giant’s past goes backmost to Navy doc Ed Squibb inventing a amended ether successful the 1850s. Today, aft galore acquisitions and divestitures — including selling disconnected Excedrin —  it whitethorn beryllium champion known for its humor thinner, coumadin.

AirBnB ($132 billion): The house-rental work evolved from a 2007 conception by 2 young San Francisco young adults who created a “bed and breakfast” concern by renting retired an aerial mattress successful their surviving room.

Boeing ($130 billion): The planemaker and defence contractor’s roots day to Seattle businessman William Boeing’s 1916 thought that helium could turn his lumber concern into that era’s craze — flying machines.

Target ($127 billion): When banker George Dayton’s Minneapolis religion needed currency successful 1906, helium bought its surplus onshore and built what yet would go Dayton-Hudson section stores. Six decades later, discounter Target was started, and the bequest section stores were jettisoned successful 2004.

Intuitive Surgical ($127 billion): In 1994, Fredrick Moll brought the thought of robotic country to his then-employer, aesculapian instrumentality shaper Guidant. When they said nary thanks, helium discontinue and yet his company’s “da Vinci” strategy became a surgical standard.

Estee Lauder ($125 billion): The post-World War II instauration of New Yorkers Estee and Joseph Lauder, the cosmetics institution ballooned successful worth by making high-end products for some women (Clinique) and men (Aramis).

Charter Communications ($124 billion): In the aboriginal 1980s, paying for TV seemed brainsick erstwhile the large networks provided it for free. Michigan-bred Charter began winning controls to ligament cities for cablegram TV. Its past is analyzable and includes bankruptcy and the eventual acquisition of elephantine Time-Warner Cable.

CVS Health ($124 billion): The retailer started arsenic the Consumer Value Store, selling quality products successful Massachusetts successful the 1960s. Today’s CVS’s worth heft came from a 1996 banal offering that allowed it to bargain an insurer (Aetna) and gobble up competitors to make its nationalist cause store chain.

American Tower ($124 billion): You apt usage their products daily. It’s a 1998 spinoff from the CBS amusement empire that saw accidental successful buying aged microwave towers, utilized for long-distance telephone transmission. It turned the existent property into facilities that powerfulness compartment service.

Amgen ($119 billion): The Thousand Oaks cause institution — primitively Applied Molecular Genetics erstwhile it started successful 1980 — utilized caller manufacturing techniques to archetypal boost crab diligent endurance rates. It’s present amended known for Enbrel, an arthritis treatment.

General Electric ($118 billion): Yes, the institution was founded by inventor Thomas Edison successful 1892. Its much modern innovations included pioneering the “conglomerate” conception of owning a wide postulation of businesses. That maneuver is retired of favor, truthful it’s readying to divided into 3 chiseled companies.

Snowflake ($116 billion): Like Rivian, a young institution astatine 9 years old. This Silicon Valley-bred supplier of “cloud” computing systems had a record-setting banal offering precocious past year. Recently, it said it’s becoming headquarter-less — with cardinal executives operating retired of Montana.

Jonathan Lansner is concern columnist for the Southern California News Group. He tin beryllium reached astatine jlansner@scng.com