NEW YORK, Feb 8, 2026, 06:12 EST — Market closed
- NIO finished Friday at $5.04, a gain of 7.23% for the session.
- Shares jumped after the company flagged what would be its first ever adjusted operating profit for a quarter.
- Now, investors are eyeing the complete fourth-quarter numbers—and any fresh word on margins, spending levels, or what’s shaping up for 2026 demand.
NIO Inc (NYSE: NIO) jumped 7.23% to finish at $5.04 on Friday. Traders piled in following a profit alert from the Chinese EV maker, which flagged a potential move into operating profit. 1
This is significant—Nio’s been pouring money into its fight with Tesla and other heavyweight Chinese competitors for years. “More meaningful share price recovery would likely await broader EV demand recovery in China,” said Tim Hsiao, automotive analyst at Morgan Stanley. 2
So, here’s the setup for next week: was Nio’s latest quarter just a one-off boost from trimming expenses, or is it finally turning the corner, letting sales and profits take over? The stock tends to jump before the dust settles.
Nio, in its SEC filing, projected fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted operating profit—stripping out share-based compensation—to land somewhere between 700 million yuan and 1.2 billion yuan ($100 million to $172 million). Looking at results under U.S. GAAP, the company put its expected operating profit in a range of 200 million yuan to 700 million yuan. Nio cautioned these numbers are unaudited and could change.
Despite Friday’s rally, shares remain down roughly 37% from their 52-week peak of $8.02 reached back in October. MarketWatch data put Friday’s volume at about 90.8 million shares—close to twice the 50-day average. 3
Nio threw out another headline Friday, announcing it had just logged its 100 millionth battery swap. The company’s battery-swap network remains central to its strategy—and a frequent sticking point for investors, who question the steep costs tied to building and maintaining the service. 4
Still, that profit alert is hardly a slam-dunk sign that Nio’s troubles are over. The company flagged that these figures are only preliminary—worth noting, especially with China’s EV sector gripped by fierce rivalry and an ongoing price war. 5
Trade policy is becoming a bigger factor for the industry beyond China’s borders. The country’s EV exports surged to $69.6 billion in 2025, fueling rising trade tensions in both Europe and North America. That kind of friction has a way of surfacing fast in pricing and investment strategies for automakers pushing for overseas growth. 6
Now, investors are eyeing Nio’s full earnings release as the next key event. The company reports its fourth-quarter and full-year numbers on March 19, and markets want clarity: confirmation on profit guidance, plus updates on margins, cash flow, and spending. 7
