XPeng stock rose Tuesday after the Chinese electric-vehicle maker reported better-than-expected first-quarter numbers. The results show that companies can still improve execution amid challenging industry trends.
XPeng on Tuesday announced a first-quarter per-share loss of 10 cents on sales of $907 million. Wall Street was looking for a loss of 33 cents from sales of $859 million. A year ago, XPeng reported a per-share loss of 38 cents on sales of $573 million.
Quarterly gross profit margins were about 13%, up about 11 percentage points year over year and about two percentage points better than analysts’ forecasts.
XPeng’s U.S.-listed American depositary receipts were up 26% at the daily high. Shares closed up 5.9% at $8.77, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
Looking ahead, XPeng expects to sell between 29,000 and 32,000 cars in the second quarter, up between 25% and 38% year over year. Sales are expected to be about $1.1 billion, up roughly 60% year over year.
Revenue per car—a proxy for price—will be about $35,000 in the second quarter. That’s down from about $42,000 in the first quarter but will be up from about 30,000 in the second quarter of 2023.
XPeng’s new van, the X9, which costs about $55,000, appears to be helping the product mix.
“Despite fierce market competition, the company’s gross profit margin saw a substantial increase…in the first quarter of 2024,” said Co-President Brian Gu in a news release. “This signifies that XPeng, based on its smart EV business, has developed a unique approach to lift its profitability and international market potential by providing smart technologies.”
Results looked better than those from Li Auto, which were reported on Monday. Li Auto missed Wall Street estimates. What’s more, sales are expected to grow slower than unit volumes, reflecting lower pricing.
Li stock dropped 12.8% in response, pushing its ADRs down 42% this year. Coming into Tuesday, XPeng ADRs were down about 43% in 2024. Through Tuesday’s trading, Li and XPeng shares were down about 44% and 40%, respectively.
Lower pricing and slowing demand growth for EVs have weighed on investor sentiment all year.