- As of press time, Nio’s shares in Hong Kong rose 2.75% to HK$44.14 per share.
- Nio achieved non-GAAP profit in the first quarter, primarily driven by strong demand for the high-margin ES8 SUV.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Nio Inc (HKEX: 9866) rose in Hong Kong trading on Friday morning, after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings yesterday.
As of press time, Nio’s shares in Hong Kong were up 2.75% to HK$44.14 per share.
Nio’s US-traded ADRs closed largely flat in overnight US trading on Thursday, edging up just 0.18%, despite surging about 6% in pre-market trading right after its earnings release.
The Chinese EV maker maintained its profitability trend in the first quarter. For the three months ended March 31, Nio achieved an adjusted operating profit of 66.8 million yuan ($9.7 million).
Total revenue in the first quarter surged 112.2% from a year earlier to reach 25.53 billion yuan.
Deutsche Bank noted in a Friday research note that the results beat market expectations. Nio achieved profitability under non-GAAP measures for the second consecutive quarter.
A key surprise was the performance of its “other sales” gross margin, which improved by 25.1 percentage points year-on-year to a four-year high of 20.6%, Deutsche Bank noted.
Vehicle margin also saw a significant improvement and rose to 18.8% in the first quarter, also hitting a four-year high.
This was largely attributed to a more favorable product mix. The high-margin large electric SUV ES8 accounted for a massive 54.14% share of total deliveries in the first quarter.
Looking ahead to the second quarter, Nio guided its vehicle deliveries to be between 110,000 and 115,000 units. This represents a year-on-year growth of about 53% to 60%.
The company expects its second-quarter revenue to range between 32.78 billion yuan and 34.44 billion yuan.
Deutsche Bank expects Nio to deliver around 39,000 vehicles in May, a 33% month-on-month increase. The launch of new models is expected to drive a steady rebound in sales.
Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li said during the earnings call that despite pressures from rising raw material and chip costs, Nio plans to keep its prices stable.
The company maintains its target of achieving a full-year non-GAAP operating profit in 2026, hoping to reach a vehicle gross margin of 17% to 18% in the second quarter and for the full year.
Nio reported an adjusted operating profit (non-GAAP) of RMB 66.8 million ($9.7 million) for the first quarter of 2026.
