NIO Stock Drops as EV Maker Posts Narrower Loss

NIO reported third-quarter earnings on Tuesday. (Na Bian/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• NIO reported a third-quarter per-share loss of 16 cents on $3.1 billion in sales, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Gross profit margin for NIO increased to 13.9% in the third quarter, up from 10.7% a year ago.
• Rises NIO anticipates delivering between 120,000 and 125,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, with sales projected from $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion.

NIO stock fell on Tuesday despite the company reporting better-than-expected third-quarter results.

U.S.-listed shares of the Chinese electric vehicle maker dropped 4.4%, closing at $5.50, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9% and 1.4%, respectively.

The move came after NIO posted a per-share loss of 16 cents from sales of $3.1 billion. Wall Street was looking for a 23-cent per share loss from sales of $3.1 billion.

Revenue rose 17% year over year. Gross profit margin was 13.9% in the quarter, up from 10.7% a year ago and 10% in the second quarter of 2025.

The third-quarter gross profit margin and bottom-line net income were “decent,” wrote Citi analyst Jeff Chung in a Tuesday report. Gross profit margins beat estimates by a half a percentage point.

He rates shares Buy and has a $8.60 price target for the stock.

“Through continuous cost optimization and a greater contribution from higher-margin vehicle deliveries, our vehicle gross margin sequentially improved,” said CFO Stanley Yu Qu in a news release. “Our continued efforts on operational efficiency improvement across R&D, sales, and service also drove a quarter-on-quarter reduction of over 30% in [adjusted] operating losses.”

Looking ahead, NIO expects to deliver between 120,000 and 125,000 vehicles, up from about 73,000 delivered in the fourth quarter of 2024. Sales should land in the range of $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion. Wall Street is currently projecting $4.8 billion.

The quarter looks solid despite the drop. Expectations might have been high heading into the earnings report. Coming into Tuesday, NIO stock has risen 32% this year. A sales rebound helped investor sentiment. Through October, NIO sold about 270,000 vehicles, up 60% year over year.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com