New York, May 24, 2026, 10:04 (EDT)
NIO Inc.’s U.S.-listed shares slid into the market break after falling 7.14% Friday, erasing nearly all gains from better margins and smaller losses in the first quarter. The ADSs closed at $5.20, off from $6.10 last week. Nasdaq Composite finished Friday up.
U.S. equity markets won’t open on Monday with the NYSE closed for Memorial Day on May 25, so NIO’s next session is Tuesday. That puts the company’s May 27 ES9 launch right in view for U.S. traders.
Timing is key now, with the stock moving past just delivery numbers. Investors are watching to see if NIO can hold margins as it introduces more models. The Chinese electric-vehicle market is crowded, and premium SUVs are the new fight.
NIO said first-quarter revenue hit RMB25.53 billion, a jump of 112.2% from last year. Vehicle deliveries climbed 98.3% to 83,465. Vehicle margin went up to 18.8%. Still, NIO posted a net loss of RMB332.1 million under standard accounting. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusting out items like share-based pay, NIO reported adjusted operating profit of RMB66.8 million.
NIO founder and CEO William Bin Li said the company was now in an “intensive new product launch and delivery cycle.” He projected second-quarter deliveries would hit 110,000 to 115,000 vehicles. CFO Stanley Yu Qu said vehicle margin improved for the fourth quarter in a row and cash reserves kept growing. NIO Inc.
NIO NIO got a small bump Thursday after the earnings report. By Friday, shares fell sharply on big volume. Investors seemed to shrug off the strong headline numbers and zeroed in on the steep quarter-on-quarter drop in deliveries and execution risk with the upcoming launches.
NIO faces a straightforward week. The company says its ES9 executive SUV will both launch and start deliveries on May 27. That follows the ONVO L80, a large five-seat SUV under NIO’s family label, which began shipping after its May 15 debut. NIO delivered 29,356 vehicles in April. Through April, 2026 deliveries reached 112,821.
Competition is ramping up. Reuters said last week Xpeng launched the GX, its new full-size SUV, as more Chinese carmakers aim higher in the market. BYD’s Denza brand and Li Auto are both rolling out large SUVs as well. Reuters also mentioned NIO’s ES9 is set to enter the segment next week.
ONVO L80 sales could hit 10,000 a month in the short run after production picks up, then drop back to about 4,000 as new competitors enter, Deutsche Bank analysts led by Wang Bin said. They saw a “similar volume trajectory” for the ONVO L90, according to CnEVPost. CnEVPost
China’s new energy vehicle sales may pick up in May, rising 12% from April to 950,000 units, according to the China Passenger Car Association. That’s a record 62.5% penetration for battery-electric and plug-in hybrids, the group says. Even so, the association noted that buyers are still wary of big-ticket spending and called the market’s recovery trend weak.
The risk is clear. If ES9 demand falls short, if L80 orders drop off, or if costs creep up, NIO’s margin recovery might not keep shares steady. The company flagged its outlook as preliminary and open to revision, standard language that landed harder after shares dropped Friday.
NIO ended the week with shares off about 15% after five U.S. sessions, though the company posted a stronger quarter and has new launches coming up. The stock market opens again Tuesday. Investors will have to decide what to focus on when that happens.
