- On Tuesday, the stock surged over 15%, marking the stock’s biggest rally in a year.
- The company also upgraded its Nio World Model autonomous-driving platform, with smart-driving usage rising over 80% month over month in February.
- Nomura upgraded Nio to 'Buy' with a $6.6 target, implying a 16% upside, while BofA raised its target to $6.7, suggesting an 18% upside from the last close.
U.S.-listed shares of Nio, Inc. (NIO) fell over 1% in extended trading on Tuesday after the EV maker flagged rising chip and lithium costs that could weigh on margins, while outlining plans to deploy in-house AI chips to boost autonomous driving and offset some of the pressure.
Shares of Nio listed in the U.S. surged over 15% on Tuesday, closing at $5.7 after the company reported its first-ever quarterly profit, marking the stock’s biggest rally in a year.
Nio’s AI Chip Push Targets EV Cost Pressure
Speaking on the fourth-quarter (Q4) earnings call, CEO William Li said rising demand for AI computing and geopolitical tensions are driving volatility in key inputs such as memory chips, copper and lithium carbonate, creating cost pressure for EV makers.
“For this year, we do face pressures coming from the vehicle cost structure,” Li said. To strengthen its tech stack and manage costs, Nio is accelerating the development of intelligent driving processors through its semiconductor unit, Shenji.
“The second chip product from Shenji will also be a 5-nanometer automotive-grade chip, but it comes with a more competitive and efficient cost structure,” Li said, adding the processor will support autonomous driving, smart-driving functions and other AI applications. The chip has completed tape-out and is preparing for mass production, and the company is exploring supplying it to external partners.
Additionally, Nio is upgrading its autonomous-driving platform using its Nio World Model (NWM) architecture with closed-loop reinforcement learning. Following the rollout of the updated system in January, the share of driving time using Smart Driving rose more than 80% in February compared with the previous month. The company is planning two major smart-driving updates in the second and fourth quarters of 2026.
Nio Q4 Review
Nio reported Q4 revenue of 34.65 billion yuan ($4.95 billion), topping analyst estimates of 33.25 billion yuan, while adjusted earnings reached 0.29 yuan per share, ahead of the 0.05 yuan consensus. The company posted an operating income of 807.3 million yuan, compared with a loss of 6.03 billion yuan a year earlier.
Vehicle deliveries totaled 124,807 units in Q4, rising 71.7% from the previous year. For the full year, deliveries increased 47% to 326,028 vehicles, while revenue rose 33.1% to 87.49 billion yuan.
Looking ahead, the company expects first-quarter deliveries of 80,000 to 83,000 vehicles, representing growth of 90% to 97% from the previous year, with revenue projected at 24.48 billion to 25.18 billion yuan, above the 23.3 billion yuan consensus.
Nio delivered 27,182 vehicles in January and 20,797 in February, bringing 2026 deliveries to 47,979 vehicles and cumulative deliveries to more than 1.04 million vehicles.
Wall Street Sees Upside In Nio After Q4 Print
Nomura upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' after the results, with a $6.6 price target, implying a 16% upside from current levels. The brokerage said that the company has improved operationally and financially over the past two quarters and is “finally entering into a healthy business cycle.” Nomura lowered its shipment forecasts for 2026-2027 but still expects about 25% shipment compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2025 to 2028.
Meanwhile, Bank of America Securities (BofA) raised its price target on Nio to $6.70 from $6.30, representing an 18% upside from the last close, while reiterating a 'Neutral' rating. The firm said the company’s strong model pipeline and operating expense discipline are partly offset by sector headwinds, including lower EV purchase subsidies and cost inflation expected in 2026.
How Did Stocktwits Users React To NIO Earnings?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Nio shifted to ‘extremely bullish’ from the ‘bullish’ zone over the past day amid ‘extremely high’ message volume.
One user said, “sweet day! Too bad NIO isn’t in the US since our gas prices blow.”
Another user said, "Tomorrow HK market will pump this ticker!!!!”
U.S.-listed shares of Nio have risen 12% year-to-date.
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