China EV makers BYD and Li Auto are expected to report second-quarter earnings early Wednesday. BYD stock is setting up near a buy point while Li Auto has struggled in 2024.
The Q2 earnings come days before BYD, Li Auto and fellow China EV rivals to Tesla report August sales, including Nio, XPeng and Zeekr report August sales. BYD will report on Sept. 1-2 while the rest will release August deliveries on Sunday, Sept. 1.
XPeng and Geely-owned Zeekr last week reported another quarter of losses, though narrowing vs. a year earlier. Both had strong revenue growth.
BYD and Li Auto are profitable, standing out among their China EV peers.
BYD Earnings
Analysts expect BYD earnings of 43 cents a share, up 34% vs. a year earlier. Revenue is seen rising 28% to $24.579 billion.
That's up from Q1's 5% EPS gain and 1% revenue drop. Gross margins rose to a record 21.9% from 21.2% in Q4 and 17.9% a year earlier. BYD Auto margins hit 28.1%.
BYD sold a record 342,383 vehicles in July, up 30.6% vs. a year earlier, but just 0.2% above June's 341,658. Out of the 340,799 personal vehicles, BYD sold 210,799 PHEVs, up 66.9% vs. a year earlier and 8.1% vs. June. BEV sales were just 130,000, down 3.55% vs. a year earlier and 10.5% vs. June.
Weekly registration data and other reports suggest that BYD sales will rise considerably in August vs. July, buoyed by several new or updated models as well as a new Thai factory.
BYD is unveiling a few new models on Friday.
BYD Stock
BYD stock, which trades over the counter in the U.S., rose 1.6% to 29.20.
Shares have retaken the 200-day line and are hitting resistance to their 50-day. BYD has a cup-with-handle base with a buy point of 30.
BYD is up 5.8% so far in 2024, the only EV maker that's positive for the year.
Tesla China EV Demand Still Looks Solid
Li Auto Earnings
Analysts expect Li Auto earnings of 17 cents per ADR, down 53% vs. a year earlier. That would be the second straight year-over-year decline after surging 342% in Q4 2023. Revenue should climb nearly 12% to $4.413 billion, though that would continue rapidly decelerating growth from 262% in Q3 2023, 130% in Q4 and 30% in Q1
Li Auto saw sales tumble far below its prior targets in the spring. Some of that reflects competition from other EV makers, including Huawei-backed Aito. It also reflects disappointing demand for its first all-battery electric vehicle (BEV), the Mega minivan, which launched on March 1.
Most of the Li Auto's vehicles are extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), essentially a form of plug-in hybrid. It makes the L6, L7, L8 and L9 SUVs, with the L6 dipping more into the mainstream market vs. the premium L8 and L9.
July sales hit a record 51,000, up 49.4% vs. a year earlier and 6.75% vs. June, helped in part by Li's incentives as well as new China government subsidies. Still, lofty hopes for even-stronger deliveries have been reined in or pushed back.
Li Auto may give guidance for the third quarter, including deliveries.
Li Auto Stock
Li Auto stock rose 2.4% to 21.22 Tuesday. Shares are off their 52-week low of 17.75 set June 21 but are far below their 52-week high of 46.44 on Feb. 27. LI stock is above its 50-day line but well below its 200-day.
Other EV Stocks
Nio stock dipped 0.7%. Shares are trading near a four-year low. Nio will report Q2 earnings on Sept. 5.
XPeng stock popped 6.5%, though it's still not far from 52-week lows. The EV maker formally unveiled the Mona M03 on Tuesday, the first vehicle from the new Mona sub-brand. The M03 sedan, with driver-assist systems and using BYD Blade batteries, starts at $16,820. That's roughly half the price of the Tesla Model 3 and significantly lower than expected. XPeng claimed 10,000 orders in less than an hour.
Zeekr stock climbed 4.6%. ZK stock came public at 21 in May and hit 32.24 on its second day of trading. Shares hit a record-low 13 on
Tesla stock fell 1.9%, perhaps in reaction to XPeng's Mona M03. The U.S. EV giant has a 33%-deep base with a 271 buy point. Investors could use the Aug. 20 high of 228.22 as an aggressive entry. TSLA stock fell below its 50-day line on Tuesday.
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