NIO Posts First Quarterly Profit on Record Sales, Strong Margins

By Jiahui Huang

NIO reported its first-ever net profit in the final quarter of 2025 on record sales and strong margins, joining the small but growing ranks of profitable electric-vehicle makers in the world's largest auto market.

The Shanghai-based company said Tuesday that net profit was 122.4 million yuan for the three months ended December, equivalent to $17.7 million, compared with net loss of 7.13 billion yuan a year earlier. Its revenue rose 76% to 34.65 billion yuan.

Analysts had expected a 292.2 million yuan net loss on revenue of 30.31 billion yuan, according to a Visible Alpha poll.

The better-than-expected results came as NIO, known for its battery-swapping technology, reported a 72% jump in vehicle deliveries during the period, building on the previous quarter's momentum after months of subdued sales. The EV maker delivered a record 48,135 units in December, bringing the fourth-quarter total to 124,807 vehicles, a new quarterly high.

The final quarter of the year is typically the strongest period for China's EV market as automakers push to meet annual delivery targets. Rush buying by consumers to beat changes to government incentives for EV purchases this year also helped support sales toward the end of 2025.

For the full year, NIO's net loss narrowed to 15.57 billion yuan, and its revenue rose 33% to 87.49 billion yuan.

NIO is considered one of the top three emerging EV brands in China, alongside XPeng and Li Auto. The company faced some pressure scaling up sales in the first half of 2025, but has seen strong demand for its flagship premium SUV, the all-new ES8, and growing contributions from its mainstream ONVO and affordable Firefly brands.

NIO's gross margin rose to 13.6% last year from 9.9% in 2024. Its fourth-quarter gross margin climbed to 17.5% from 11.7%.

For the first quarter, the EV maker guided for vehicle deliveries of between 80,000 units and 83,000 units, up 90% to 97% from a year earlier. It expects revenue to more than double, reaching between 24.48 billion yuan and 25.18 billion yuan.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 10, 2026 07:21 ET (11:21 GMT)