Li Auto Stock Down 2% Since Breakeven Q4 Earnings Release

Wednesday, Mar 18, 2026 3:54 pm ET3min read
LI--
Aime RobotAime Summary

- Li Auto's stock fell 1.7% after Q4 2025 breakeven earnings missed Zacks' 5-cent estimate.

- Revenue dropped to $4.1B from $6.1B, driven by lower vehicle deliveries (109,194 vs. 158,696).

- Operating losses widened to $63.3MMMM-- vs. $507.4M profit in Q4 2024, with 2026 Q1 guidance signaling further declines.

- Zacks ranks Li AutoLI-- as a #3 (Hold), contrasting with higher-ranked peers like Renault and ModineMOD--.

Shares of Li Auto LI have lost 1.7% since the company reported fourth-quarter 2025 results. It reported breakeven earnings, down from the prior-year quarter’s EPS of 45 cents. The figure also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 5 cents.

Revenues of $4.1 billion decreased from $6.1 billion in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to lower vehicle deliveries. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.3 billion.

Li Auto Inc. Sponsored ADR Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Li Auto Inc. Sponsored ADR price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Li Auto Inc. Sponsored ADR Quote

Key Tidbits

Li Auto delivered a total of 109,194 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from 158,696 units delivered in the corresponding quarter of 2024. As of Dec. 31, 2025, the company had 548 retail stores in 159 cities, 561 servicing centers, authorized body and paint shops operating in 224 cities, and 3,907 supercharging stations in operation equipped with 21,651 charging stalls.

LI’s vehicle sales in the reported quarter amounted to $3.9 billion compared with $6.1 billion in the year-ago period. The vehicle margin was 16.8%, down from 19.7% in the year-ago quarter, mainly due to changes in product mix.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter was $733.7 million, down from $1.2 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024. Gross margin was 17.8% compared with 20.3% in the prior-year quarter.

Operating expenses increased to $797 million from $721.6 million in the corresponding quarter of 2024. Loss from operations amounted to $63.3 million against income from operations of $507.4 million a year ago. Operating margin was negative 1.5% in contrast to a positive 8.4% in the year-ago quarter. Non-GAAP net income for the quarter amounted to $39.2 million, down significantly from $553.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Net cash provided by operating activities amounted to $503.5 million compared with about $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. Free cash flow was $352.9 million compared with about $830.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

As of Dec. 31, 2025, LILI-- had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments totaling $14.5 billion. Long-term borrowings totaled $471.8 million.

For the first quarter of 2026, Li AutoLI-- expects vehicle deliveries in the range of 85,000-90,000 units, suggesting a year-over-year decline of 8.5-3.1%. Total revenues are expected to be between $2.9 billion and $3.1 billion.

LI’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Li Auto carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are RENAULT RNLSY, Modine Manufacturing MOD and Strattec Security STRT, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RNLSY’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 14.4% and 176.3%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2026 and 2027 have improved 34 cents and 18 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MOD’s fiscal 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 21.3% and 19%, respectively. The EPS estimate for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 has improved 1 cent and 4 cents, respectively, in the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STRT’s fiscal 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 2.1% and 16.2%, respectively. The EPS estimate for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 has improved $1.01 and 48 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.

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Strattec Security Corporation (STRT): Free Stock Analysis Report

Modine Manufacturing Company (MOD): Free Stock Analysis Report

RENAULT (RNLSY): Free Stock Analysis Report

Li Auto Inc. Sponsored ADR (LI): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research

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