Li Auto stock fell about 1% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the Chinese EV maker reported its second-quarter 2026 results, with a bottom-line miss and weak forward guidance driving the move.
The company posted Q2 revenue of $3.8 billion, edging past the consensus estimate of $3.7 billion. But on the bottom line, Li recorded a loss of $0.11 per share, wider than the $0.06 loss analysts had expected. A year ago, Li earned roughly $0.10 per share on $4.2 billion in revenue.
Li Auto reports Q2 2026 financial results:
• Deliveries: 98,330 units (-11.5% YoY)
• Revenue: RMB 25.67B ($3.78B), down 15.1% YoY | Vehicle revenue: RMB 24.07B (+11.8% QoQ)
• Margins: Total GM hit 11% | Vehicle GM recovered to 9.4% (vs 6.1% in Q1)
• Net Loss: RMB 1.71B,… pic.twitter.com/P48IJ0WZmG
— ChinaEV Home (@CNEVhome) August 26, 2026
ADRs were trading at $12.12 in premarket, down about 1.2%, while S&P 500 futures were off just 0.1%, meaning the weakness was almost entirely company-specific.
Coming into Wednesday, Li’s ADRs were already down 28% this year and roughly 45% to 50% over the past 12 months, trading near their 52-week low of $11.65.
Vehicle deliveries fell 11.5% year over year to 98,330 units in Q2. Through July, Li had delivered around 224,000 vehicles, also down 5% year over year.
The more striking number was vehicle margin. It contracted sharply to 9.4% from 19.4% in the same period last year, reflecting the price cuts and competition that have become a defining feature of China’s EV market.
Li’s CEO Xiang Li pointed to the company’s position in the premium segment as a relative bright spot, saying Li Auto remained the best-selling domestic brand in China’s $30,000-and-above EV market in the first half of 2026. He also highlighted strong order flow for the new Li L6 SUV following the refresh of the L series lineup.
The guidance is where things get harder to spin. Li guided Q3 revenue of roughly $4 billion, compared to the $4.9 billion analysts were projecting. That is a wide gap, and it tells you the recovery investors were hoping for is not happening on the timeline they wanted.
Li also guided Q3 deliveries of around 97,500 vehicles, which is slightly below the Q2 figure but up about 5% year over year.
No analyst upgrades or meaningful insider buying activity emerged to offset the earnings-driven pressure.
Sector peers NIO and XPeng have faced similar headwinds from weak consumer demand and a difficult macro backdrop in China.
The Nasdaq was modestly lower on Wednesday, offering little broader support for the stock.
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