New York, May 31, 2026, 12:03 (EDT)
- NIO’s ADS traded in the U.S. closed Friday at $5.60, gaining 7.7% over the prior Friday in a holiday-shortened week.
- NIO shares pushed higher in the middle of the week after the company launched its ES9 flagship electric SUV. But management said China’s auto market isn’t in a rapid-growth stage anymore.
- U.S. markets did not open Sunday. The NYSE is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in New York.
NIO Inc’s American depositary shares in the U.S. started June with stronger footing. Last week was uneven as the launch of a new SUV arrived alongside a stark warning from the CEO on China’s auto conditions.
The stock finished Friday at $5.60, up 0.9% for the day and up 7.7% since closing at $5.20 on May 22. Most of the jump happened Wednesday, when the ADS surged 9.3% on strong volume, then slipped back Thursday.
Why it matters: NIO wants to prove to investors that its higher-end models can boost sales and margins. The Chinese electric vehicle market is cooling, and pricing competition is still intense.
NIO last week rolled out its ES9, a big battery-electric SUV, with ex-NBA star Yao Ming tapped as its face. CEO William Li told Reuters the SUV uses NIO’s own autonomous-driving chip and operating system.
Li sounded cautious about the market. “We’re focused primarily on China,” he told reporters in Beijing, and called China’s vehicle market “no longer a growth market, but rather a saturated market.” NIO’s shares in Hong Kong jumped 10.5% on Thursday after the ES9 launch, Reuters said. Reuters
NIO’s shares moved after the company’s first-quarter report in May. The EV maker said deliveries reached 83,465 vehicles, almost double from a year ago but down 33.1% from the previous quarter. Total revenue climbed 112.2% year-over-year to 25.53 billion yuan. Vehicle margin improved to 18.8%.
NIO remained unprofitable under GAAP, but said it made 66.8 million yuan in adjusted operating profit. The adjusted number leaves out items like share-based pay and is meant to track operating trends. CFO Stanley Yu Qu said vehicle margin rose for the fourth quarter in a row and that “cash reserves continued to increase.” NIO Inc.
Deliveries are back in play this week. NIO said it expects second-quarter deliveries between 110,000 and 115,000 vehicles, with revenue pegged between 32.78 billion yuan and 34.44 billion yuan. May sales figures now carry more weight for the stock, with investors already pricing in some of the new-model story.
NIO got a boost from a strong market. The S&P 500 added 0.2% Friday and finished the week up 1.4%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.4% over the week, led by tech and interest in artificial-intelligence computing, according to .
XPeng gave a revenue outlook for the second quarter last week that missed market forecasts, as Reuters reported, citing soft demand and heavy competition in China’s EV market. This added to doubts that rolling out new models is enough to fix problems for the sector. Competitive signals kept coming in mixed.
NIO faces the chance the ES9 launch could lose steam if deliveries lag. A weaker May, new price cuts by competitors, or lower demand for cars in China could have investors turning their focus back to NIO’s cash burn and margins instead of its brand push.
NIO’s trade stays tight. The company has a new product, margins are improved from last year, and shares have rebounded. But its CEO is warning that China’s market is saturated. That’s the setup for Monday.
