- Nio's first-quarter adjusted operating profit reached 66.8 million yuan ($9.7 million), driven by strong deliveries of the high-margin ES8.
- The company guides for up to 115,000 vehicle deliveries in the second quarter, signaling a steady sales rebound driven by new model launches.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) reported an adjusted operating profit for the first quarter of 2026, marking the company's second consecutive quarter of non-GAAP profitability.
The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker achieved an adjusted operating profit of 66.8 million yuan ($9.7 million) in the three months ended March 31, according to its unaudited financial results released on Thursday.
In comparison, Nio reported an adjusted operating loss of 5.95 billion yuan in the same period of 2025.
The company delivered a total of 83,465 vehicles in the first quarter, achieving a strong year-on-year growth of about 98.3%. This delivery performance exceeded the upper end of its previous guidance range of 80,000 to 83,000 units.
Total revenues in the first quarter surged 112.2% from a year earlier to 25.53 billion yuan.
Meanwhile, the company's overall gross margin expanded significantly from 7.6% in the first quarter of 2025 to 19.0%, reaching a four-year high.
Nio shares rose 5.55% in pre-market trading after its earnings release.
A core driver of this profitability milestone was the strong market demand for the third-generation ES8. The high-margin large electric SUV contributed 45,185 deliveries in the first quarter, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
The ES8 accounted for a massive 54.14% share of Nio's total deliveries during the same period. With a starting price of 406,800 yuan, the model is one of the most expensive among local automakers.
A more favorable product mix driven by the ES8 pushed the first-quarter vehicle margin up to 18.8%. This represents a significant improvement compared to the 10.2% vehicle margin in the same period of 2025.
In addition to the strong sales performance, proactive cost-control measures also supported the first-quarter profitability.
Excluding share-based compensation expenses, adjusted research and development expenses for the first quarter were 1.7082 billion yuan, representing a sharp year-on-year reduction of 41.4%.
Looking ahead to the second quarter, Nio guided its vehicle deliveries to be between 110,000 and 115,000 units, representing a year-on-year growth of about 52.7% to 59.6%.
The company expects second-quarter revenues to be between 32.78 billion yuan and 34.44 billion yuan.
This implies that Nio currently expects its combined deliveries in May and June to be between 80,644 and 85,644 units.
Nio delivered 29,356 vehicles in April, facing some industry headwinds and sequential sales pressure. However, management expects the launch of new models to drive a steady rebound in deliveries.
The company is concentrating its resources to ensure the smooth launch of strategic new vehicles. These new products include the Onvo L80 five-seater SUV, which just launched last week, and the upcoming new flagship SUV Nio ES9, set to launch on May 27.
Nio's posted a GAAP net loss of 332 million yuan in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of 6.75 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2025 and a net profit of 283 million yuan in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Despite recording a GAAP net loss in the first quarter, the company's net current assets have turned positive. As of March 31, its balance of cash and cash equivalents, along with other fund balances, reached 48.2 billion yuan.
Nio's management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 am US Eastern Time on May 21. Investors will closely watch for management's reaffirmation of full-year profitability targets and their forecasts for demand trends.
