Tesla rival BYD reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter full-year earnings early Monday. BYD stock hit a record high, with shares up sharply in 2025.
BYD is the world's largest electric vehicle maker and rising in the ranks of the world's top automakers of any kind.
BYD Earnings
BYD's Q4 net income swelled 73% to RMB 15.02 billion ($2.07 billion). Revenue swelled 53% to RMB 274.9 billion ($37.89 billion), the third straight quarter of accelerating growth. Analysts expected net income of $1.98 billion and revenue of $37.3 billion.
BYD reported full-year 2024 net income rose 34% to RMB 40.25 billion ($5.55 billion), with revenue climbing 29% to RMB 777 billion ($107 billion), both slightly beating views. Tesla's 2024 revenue was $97.7 billion, while its net income was $7.6 billion.
However, BYD's gross margin fell to 17.01% from Q3's 21.89%, reflecting higher operating costs in part due to new accounting standards. BYD's gross margin jumped from a revised 15.76% in Q4 2023.
The full year gross margin was 19.4% vs. 18.5% a year earlier. BYD Auto's 2024 gross margin was 22.3%.
BYD sold 4.272 million vehicles in 2024. That includes 1,524,270 in the fourth quarter, up 161% vs. a year earlier, fueled by a surge in plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs).
Fully battery electric sales (BEVs) grew just 13% to 595,413 in Q4 vs. a year earlier. But that topped Tesla's quarterly BEV sales by almost 100,000. Tesla just held onto the BEV crown for the full year.
BYD seems likely to hold the BEV crown in Q1 and should lead in 2025.
Trump 'Flexibility' Lifts Market; 5 Stocks Near Buy Points
BYD Self-Driving Rollout
BYD has become the world's largest EV maker as a low-cost producer, making its own batteries and many other components to be extremely vertically integrated. In 2024, its latest hybrid technology turbocharged PHEV sales.
In 2025, it's stepping up in a big way on self-driving.
In February, BYD announced it was rolling out advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS) standard across its lineup, with higher-end models getting Lidar. It's unclear how BYD's "God's Eye" will stack up initially against ADAS systems from rivals such as XPeng, Huawei and Tesla. But BYD likely will have be a low-cost provider and is already forcing many China rivals to follow suit.
BYD Charges Ahead
On March 17, BYD unveiled a new superfast, 1,000-kilowatt charger, capable of providing essentially a full charge in five minutes. That promises to be an game-changer for the EV industry, addressing both charging times and range anxiety.
Meanwhile, BYD on March 17 unveiled its 1,000-kilowatt superfast charging technology, twice the charging power of Tesla's V4 Supercharger. It can charge at 2 kilometers per second, providing essentially a full charge in less than 10 minutes.
BYD's Super e-Platform includes Blade batteries that support ultra-fast charging, high-performance electric motors, and a new generation of silicon carbide power chips.
Rolling out 1,000-kw chargers quickly will be key.
BYD also began pre-sales of the high-powered BYD Han L sedan and Tang L SUV, which will be among the first models that support charging up to 1,000 kW. BYD's Super e-Platform includes Blade batteries that support ultra-fast charging, high-performance electric motors, and a new generation of silicon carbide power chips.
The self-driving and charging tech could be a boon to BYD's brand and sales, with the charging tech like to rev up BEV sales.
More BYD EVs
On Sunday, BYD began deliveries of the Denza D9, a large SUV from the EV giant's premium Denza line. BYD also launched its affordable Qin L sedan, a potential challenger to the XPeng's hot-selling Mona M03. It's a similar size to the Tesla Model 3, but at roughly half the price.
BYD Stock
BYD, which trades over the counter in the U.S., rose 4.8% to 53.34 on Monday, hitting a record 54.60 intraday. Shares are up 57.3% in 2025 as of March 24.
The relative strength line is at multiyear highs, surging over the past two months.
BYD stock has a high average true range, prone to big intraday daily moves. BYD stock has an ATR of 5.87%. In the current environment, IBD recommends focusing on stocks with ATRs of no more than 3%.
Tesla Stock
Shares spiked 11.9% to 278.38 on Monday, back near their 200-day.
Tesla stock has a nine-week losing streak. But it's held above its March 11 lows and is now up for four straight sessions. Still, TSLA stock is down 31.1% so far in 2025 as of March 24, as analysts slash delivery and earnings estimates.
Tesla stock has an ATR of 7.18%.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
