Nio stock charges up after deliveries beat by wide margin less than a week after estimates were cut
By Tomi Kilgore
Nio, Li Auto reported record deliveries just days after providing guidance, but Tesla missed expectations
The U.S.-listed shares of Nio Inc. surged Tuesday, after the China-based electric vehicle maker reported fourth-quarter deliveries that rose well above the estimate that was provided less than a week before.
Li Auto Inc.'s stock (LI) also surged, after the Nio rival reported December deliveries that beat guidance provided just a day before, while Tesla Inc. shares (TSLA) dropped after disappointing delivery results.
Nio's stock (NIO) climbed 5.7% in morning trading. The stock had tumbled 38.2% in the fourth quarter, marking the worst quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2019. It also plunged 69.2% in 2022 -- the biggest yearly selloff since going public in September 2018.
The company reported early on Jan. 1 that it delivered a monthly record of 15,815 vehicles in December, up 50.8% from a year ago. Nio also delivered 40,052 vehicles in the fourth quarter, a quarterly record and up 60.0% from last year.
On Dec. 27, Nio had sparked a selloff in EV-maker stocks after the company said it was "prudently" cutting its delivery estimate due to COVID-related production challenges and supply chain issues. The company said then that it expected to report fourth-quarter deliveries of 38,500 to 39,500, which implied December deliveries of 14,263 to 15,263.
Nio also said it delivered 122,486 vehicles in 2022, up 34.0% from 2021.
Li Auto's stock shot up 6.3% Tuesday morning, after running up 4.7% on Friday.
The company reported late on Dec. 31 that it delivered a monthly record 21,233 vehicles in December, up 50.7% from a year ago. That brought its fourth-quarter deliveries to 46,319, up 31.5% from last year, and its 2022 deliveries to 133,246, up 47.2% from 2021.
On Friday, the company said December deliveries "will exceed 20,000 vehicles," well above the previous monthly record of 15,034 vehicles delivered in November.
XPeng Inc.'s U.S.-listed stock (XPEV) climbed 8.1% early Tuesday, after rising 5.9% the past two days, even though it reported monthly and quarter deliveries that fell sharply from a year ago.
The EV maker reported late Saturday that it delivered 11,292 vehicles in December, down 19.8% from the 14,087 vehicles delivered in December 2021, while fourth-quarter deliveries of 22,204 was down 37.0% from 35,221 a year ago. Meanwhile, 2022 deliveries of 120,757 was up 33.4% from a year ago.
Li Auto's stock, which went public in July 2020, slumped 36.5% in 2022, and XPeng shares, which debuted in August 2020, shed 80.3% in 2022. In comparison, the iShares China Large-Cap exchange-traded fund (FXI) had slid 22.6% in 2022 and the S&P 500 index had lost 19.4%.
Shares of Texas-based EV maker Tesla, which generated about 24% of its third-quarter revenue from China, slumped 6.7% in morning trading Tuesday, after the company reported over the weekend fourth-quarter deliveries that rose from a year ago but missed expectations.
The selloff comes after Tesla's stock suffered a record quarterly selloff of 53.6% in the fourth quarter, and a record yearly drop of 65.0% in 2022.
-Tomi Kilgore
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 03, 2023 09:44 ET (14:44 GMT)
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