NEW YORK, March 16, 2026, 11:11 ET
Nio shares climbed again Monday, extending Friday’s 6% rally after HSBC bumped its rating on the Chinese EV maker to Buy from Hold, and raised its price target for the U.S.-listed stock to $6.80 from $4.80. The ADRs were up 28 cents to $6.14 in New York morning trading.
This shift lands at a critical moment for Nio, with the company working to show that revenue gains can translate into sustainable profits as subsidy policies change and expectations for China’s passenger-car market cool. Nio just reported its first-ever quarterly profit and is aiming to hit break even for the full year of 2026, offering investors fresh grounds to look at the shares differently.
Nio posted a net profit of 122.4 million yuan ($17.5 million) for ordinary shareholders in the fourth quarter. Revenue climbed to 34.65 billion yuan, powered by 124,807 vehicles delivered. Vehicle margin landed at 18.1%. For the first quarter, Nio is aiming to deliver between 80,000 and 83,000 vehicles—a jump of 90.1% to 97.2% compared with last year.
HSBC’s Yuqian Ding said she’s “stronger” in her conviction about Nio’s volume growth and earnings this year, and the bank expects “above-industry visibility” for first-quarter results. HSBC flagged as many as 10 model launches or updates from Nio, Onvo, and Firefly in 2024. EV
HSBC’s move follows a string of bullish calls. Just last week, Nomura raised Nio to Buy and slapped on a $6.60 price target. Macquarie wasn’t far off, bumping its own target to $6.50 while sticking with Outperform. Back on March 11, after Nio posted earnings, its Hong Kong shares surged 14.8% in the morning session. For comparison, Xpeng gained 2.56% and Li Auto picked up 0.72% during the same stretch.
Margins are grabbing attention in this tone shift. Ding flagged that “operating leverage strengthened” thanks to better ES8 sales mix. Selling, general and administrative costs — along with research spending — both dropped 15% quarter-on-quarter, following some organisational shakeups and stricter cost discipline. EV
But risks remain. Chief Executive William Li called memory chips “indeed a problem” and warned they could potentially halt production in a worst-case scenario. He put the possible extra cost from chips and raw materials at 6,000 to 10,000 yuan per premium vehicle. Nio, for now, has no plans to raise prices. Reuters
Uncertainty clouds Nio’s international push. President Qin Lihong expects the automaker to move thousands of vehicles overseas this year, but the company flagged rising electricity prices and shrinking EV subsidies as challenges. Europe, where Chinese brands are after tariff waivers or model-specific breaks from the European Commission, is looking tougher.
Nio moved 47,979 vehicles across January and February, coming off a total of 326,028 for all of 2025. The math on its first-quarter goal points to a hefty March—about 32,000 to 35,000 deliveries needed this month. Monday’s bump in the stock hints that investors see that pace as within reach.
