Li Auto stock surges as earnings arrive above estimates

Chinese electric vehicle company Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ: LI) announced Q4 and 2023 fully-year results before the US market opened on Monday to kick off a new trading week.

Li Auto achieved revenue of $5.878 billion (up by 136.4% from Q4 2022) vs. $5.599 billion expected.

EPS was reported at $0.594 per share in Q4, above estimate of $0.446 per share.

Full-year revenue reached $17.44 billion in 2023.

The company delivered 376,030 cars, an increase of 182.2% vs. 2022.

Company overview

• Founded: 2015
• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Number of employees: 19,396 (2022)
• Industry: Automotive
• Key people: Li Xiang (Chairman and CEO), Yanan Shen (President), Tie Li (CFO)

CEO commentary

Li Xiang said this in a statement to investors after the company announced better-than-expected results: “Undeterred by the fiercely competitive NEV market in 2023, Li Auto achieved an outstanding performance with its three Li L series models. Full-year deliveries grew by 182.2%, reaching 376,030 vehicles, making us the best-selling brand among NEVs priced above RMB300,000 in China. In December, we released the OTA version 5.0 for Li L series. With comprehensive enhancement in autonomous driving and smart space, we bring even more exceptional experience to family users. With our significantly increasing scale, continued research and development advancement, and consistently improving operating efficiency throughout the year, 2023 marks our best financial performance yet, setting a solid foundation for Li Auto’s growth to diversify its product matrix and cater to a broader range of user needs in 2024.”

Stock reaction

The latest results not only had a positive impact on Li Auto stock but on the whole EV market in general.

Li Auto shares surged by over 18% on Monday, trading at $41.34 a share – the highest level since 20/11/23.

Here is how other EV stocks performed on Monday.

Stock performance

• 5 day: +27.35%
• 1 month: +44.89%
• 3 months: +1.47%
• Year-to-date: +7.65%
• 1 year: +72.93%

Li Auto stock price targets

• Deutsche Bank: $41
• Bank of America: $60
• Barclays: $48
• HSBC: $43
• Morgan Stanley: $40

Li Auto Inc. is the 465th largest company in the world with a market cap of $41.18 billion, according to CompaniesMarketCap.

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Sources: Li Auto Inc., TradingView, MarketWatch, MarketBeat, CompaniesMarketCap