NIO stock climbed more than 5% in U.S. premarket trading Thursday after the Chinese EV maker posted a strong first quarter and issued second-quarter guidance that topped analyst expectations.
The stock was trading at $5.77 in premarket, up around 3.2% at last check. Coming into Thursday, NIO was already up 10% year to date and 42% over the past 12 months.
Q1 revenue came in at RMB 25.53 billion (roughly $3.8 billion), up 112.2% year over year. That was broadly in line with the consensus estimate of RMB 25.57 billion.
$NIO | NIO Q1 Earnings Highlights
EPS: RMB0.02 / Est. (RMB0.34)
Q2’26 Guidance:
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) May 21, 2026
On the bottom line, adjusted EPS was RMB 0.02 — a small profit — compared to analyst expectations of a RMB 0.34 loss. A year ago, NIO reported a loss of 42 cents per share on sales of just $1.7 billion.
The delivery numbers were the headline. NIO delivered 83,465 vehicles in Q1, up 98.3% year over year.
Those deliveries came from all three of NIO’s brands. The flagship NIO brand accounted for 58,543 units, ONVO contributed 13,339, and the newly launched Firefly brand added 11,583.
Gross margin expanded to 19.0% in Q1, up from 7.6% a year earlier and 17.5% in Q4 2025. NIO credited improved cost efficiency and a richer product mix.
That margin improvement is a meaningful shift for a company that has faced persistent profitability questions.
For Q2, NIO guided for revenue of RMB 32.78–34.44 billion, above the consensus of RMB 31.83 billion.
Vehicle deliveries are expected to land between 110,000 and 115,000 units, implying year-over-year growth of roughly 53–60%.
That implies monthly deliveries above 40,000 in May and June. NIO delivered 29,356 vehicles in April.
New products are fueling the ramp. NIO launched the new ES9 SUV and ONVO’s five-seat L80 SUV in April, kicking off what CEO William Bin Li called “an intensive new product launch and delivery cycle.”
The NIO All-New ES8 has ranked first in sales in China’s large SUV segment, according to Li.
The results come despite a tough backdrop. Chinese new car sales fell about 7% year over year, according to Citi analyst Jeff Chung.
NIO’s delivery growth — nearly doubling year over year — stands out in that context.
The Firefly brand, which targets lower-priced market segments, is also adding volume to the overall numbers.
NIO’s in-house smart driving chip, NIO WorldModel, and its full-domain vehicle operating system are set to power comprehensive upgrades across ONVO’s new models this year, the company said.
NIO delivered 83,465 smart electric vehicles in Q1 2026, up 98.3% year over year across all three of its brands.
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