Nio (NYSE:NIO), which designs and sells electric vehicles (EVs), including sedans and SUVs, closed at $4.7, up 5.86%. The stock rose after a profit alert projected its first-ever adjusted operating profit in Q4 2025. Investors are watching whether higher sales can drive a sustained earnings turnaround.
Trading volume reached 120.4 million shares, coming in about 148% above its three-month average of 48.5 million shares. Nio IPO'd in 2018 and has fallen 29% since going public.
The broader market retreated Thursday, with the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) falling 1.20% to 6,800 and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) sliding 1.59% to 22,541. Among automotive peers, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) closed at $396.93 (-2.24%) and Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) finished at $13.73 (-4.45%), underscoring Nio’s relative outperformance.
Investors were pleasantly surprised to see Nio post what it called “a profit alert.” The Chinese EV maker said it expects to report adjusted operating profit of between $100 million and $172 million for Q4. That would be the first time in positive territory.
The company had strong sales in the fourth quarter, with record monthly EV deliveries in October and again in December. That growth in sales volume is one factor contributing to the profit announcement.
Management also attributed a favorable product mix to boosting margins, along with cost controls. If those trends are sustainable, investors could continue to push Nio stock higher.
Before you buy stock in Nio, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nio wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $432,297!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,067,820!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 894% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 194% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of February 5, 2026.
Howard Smith has positions in Nio, Rivian Automotive, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.