Li Auto Inc. (LI) Earnings
Li Auto Inc. is expected to report next earnings on August 27, 2026 (in NaN days), with a consensus EPS estimate of $-0.10. LI has beaten EPS estimates in 6 of its last 11 reported quarters (average surprise -102.3% over the last four).
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 2026 | $-0.27 | $-0.33 | -24.2% | $3.3B | +5.0% |
| Mar 12, 2026 | $0.03 | $0.00 | -96.6% | $4.1B | +13.5% |
| Nov 26, 2025 | $0.04 | $-0.09 | -325.0% | $3.8B | -6.7% |
| Aug 28, 2025 | $0.10 | $0.14 | +36.7% | $4.2B | +14.5% |
| May 29, 2025 | $0.13 | $0.08 | -38.7% | $3.6B | -25.1% |
| Mar 14, 2025 | $0.40 | $0.52 | +31.1% | $6.1B | +1.7% |
| Oct 31, 2024 | $0.38 | $0.52 | +35.1% | $6.1B | +2.7% |
| Aug 28, 2024 | $0.19 | $0.20 | +4.3% | $4.4B | -1.4% |
| May 20, 2024 | $0.34 | $0.17 | -50.7% | $3.5B | -5.9% |
| Feb 26, 2024 | $0.29 | $0.60 | +109.7% | $5.9B | +6.5% |
| Nov 9, 2023 | $0.30 | $0.45 | +49.7% | $4.7B | -11.9% |
| Apr 21, 2023 | — | $0.04 | — | $2.6B | — |
Source: company filings + earnings calendar. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Earnings call summary
Q1 FY2026 · May 28, 2026
AI summary of management’s prepared remarks and analyst Q&A. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Management highlights
### Sales and New Product Milestones - From January to April 2026, Li Auto regained the top sales position among Chinese brands in China's RMB 200,000+ new energy vehicle (NEV) market. - Monthly sales of the pure electric I6 model stabilized at 20,000 units per month, ranking top 3 among all pure electric SUVs; the I6 currently accounts for nearly 60% of total company sales volume. - The all-new L9 (offered in Livis Ultra and Acro trims priced at RMB 509,800 and RMB 459,800 respectively) launched on May 15, 2026 with deliveries starting two days later. Within the first two weeks of launch, the over-RMB 500,000 Livis trim secured over 10,000 orders. - The all-new L8 five-seater flagship SUV is scheduled to launch and begin deliveries in late June 2026; it will share the same technical platform as the new L9 and is positioned as a premium five-seater alternative to the six-seater L9. ### Technology Milestones - The company's proprietary in-house 5nm automotive-grade AI inference chip Mach M100 and the Mind VLA large model have been successfully mass-deployed in the new L9, marking the first time a Chinese automaker has achieved full stable functionality of a brand-new in-house chip on its first vehicle deployment. - Through integrated co-design of software and hardware, the Mach M100 delivers 3x the effective computing power at the same cost compared to prior platforms, enabling the 10x larger-parameter Mind VLA model to run on-vehicle. - A dedicated software and AI launch event will be held in June 2026 to showcase full improvements in intelligent driving and in-car AI features, which were not covered in the May 15 L9 hardware-focused launch event. ### Operational and Strategic Updates - The company is rolling out a store partner program that grants frontline store managers decision-making authority and profit-sharing rights to improve operational efficiency and long-term store competitiveness. Early pilot results have beaten monthly sales targets and improved user satisfaction. - The company has signed distribution agreements for the Middle East and Central Asia, with plans to enter multiple new overseas markets through 2026, with regional product customization to meet local regulations and user needs.
Guidance
- Full-year 2026 sales growth target is maintained at 20% year-over-year, supported by steady rollout of new core technologies and refreshed product lineup. - Q2 2026 guidance calls for total vehicle deliveries between 95,000 and 100,000 units, and total quarterly revenue between RMB 24.1 billion and RMB 25.4 billion. - Gross margin is expected to recover to approximately 10% in Q2 2026, with continued gross margin improvement through the full year as the L-series product refresh is completed and production mix optimizes. - The new L9 is targeted to maintain over 20% market share in the RMB 500,000+ NEV SUV segment, while the L9 Acro trim is targeted to capture 20% market share in the RMB 400,000 to 500,000 NEV SUV segment. - The company expects the fully ramped all-new L9 to exceed the delivery volume of the previous generation L9 starting in Q3 2026.
Segment performance
Li Auto reports only two core business segments in this earnings call: vehicle sales and other operating revenue. Total Q1 2026 revenue was RMB 23.0 billion, an 11.4% increase year-over-year and 20.1% increase quarter-over-quarter. Vehicle sales revenue, the company's dominant segment, reached RMB 21.5 billion, representing 93.5% of total revenue, with a 12.3% increase year-over-year and 21% increase quarter-over-quarter. The remaining 6.5% of total revenue comes from other unsegmented business lines. Gross profit for the total company in Q1 2026 was RMB 1.8 billion, with an overall gross margin of 7.9%, down from 20.5% in the year-ago quarter. Vehicle segment gross margin fell to 6.1% in Q1 2026, down from 19.8% in Q1 2025 and 16.8% in Q4 2025, primarily due to a less favorable product mix weighted toward the lower-priced I6 pure electric model.
Risks & headwinds
- The higher mix of lower-priced I6 models and ongoing product refresh cycle have put significant pressure on near-term gross profitability, with Q1 2026 reporting a net loss of RMB 2.3 billion, down from year-ago net income of RMB 646.6 million. - The Livis trim of the new L9 is currently facing supply chain constraints for exclusive dual-tone body parts and other innovative components, leading to a 9-11 week wait time for customers, even as production ramps up through May and June 2026. - Full commercialization and large-scale deployment of humanoid robots, a potential long-term business opportunity, is expected to take at least three more years, as many core technological routes have not yet converged. - Forward-looking statements regarding product performance, market share, profitability, and expansion are inherently uncertain, and actual results may differ materially due to market and operational risks; additional risk disclosures are available in the company's SEC and Hong Kong Stock Exchange filings.
Analyst Q&A
Q: What is the current L9 order split, production capacity status, and expected Q2 delivery volume? Are supply issues impacting output? /
A: Over 90% of L9 orders are for the premium Livis trim, which reflects strong customer willingness to pay for the high-end configuration and confirms Li Auto's successful breakthrough in the RMB 500,000+ market. L9 and the upcoming L8 share flexible production lines at the Changzhou base, with long-term capacity stable, but May-June output is ramping at 4,000-5,000 units per month. Supply of exclusive Livis components is currently tight, and the company is working with core suppliers to resolve constraints, while the Acro trim has ample flexible capacity. Li Auto expects to deliver around 8,000 new L9 units from mid-May through end-Q2, and will reach higher volume after full ramp-up in Q3.
Q: What is the profitability outlook for Q2 and full-year 2026, and what gross margin targets apply to new L-series models? /
A: Q1 2026 profitability was pressured by the ongoing L-series model refresh cycle and the high sales mix of the lower-priced I6. Management expects gross margin will recover to approximately 10% in Q2 2026, and will continue to improve through the full year as the model refresh is completed and production mix optimizes. The company's top priority for 2026 is the successful completion of the L-series refresh, which will lay a solid product and technological foundation for the next two years.
Q: What performance improvements and cost benefits does the in-house Mach M100 + Mind VLA platform deliver, and what is the next direction for autonomous driving development? /
A: The ADAS 9.0 system powered by M100 delivers much smoother, more human-like control in complex driving scenarios compared to prior versions. The integrated hardware-software design delivers 3x the effective computing power at half the cost of prior platforms, and the company targets matching the performance of Tesla's FSD v14 by the second half of 2026. Going forward, the team will scale up training data and model precision, improve the model's causal cognitive capabilities for complex urban scenarios, and optimize system control latency to deliver safer, more confident autonomous driving performance.
Q: What is Li Auto's competitive strategy for on-vehicle AI, and what is the company's update on humanoid robot development? /
A: Management believes mid-to-high end smart vehicle competition over the next 3-5 years will boil down to embodied AI competition, with integrated chip and large model co-design as the core long-term competitive barrier. Prior to in-house chips, competitors could replicate Li Auto's capabilities by poaching employees when the company used off-the-shelf third-party chips; vertical integration of hardware and software now makes this replication impossible, and the 4-year development timeline for M100 creates a durable time-based barrier. For humanoid robots, long-term demand is clear across factories, stores and end consumer markets, but full large-scale commercialization is still at least three years away as core technical routes remain unresolved. Li Auto is conducting R&D but does not expect near-term commercial deployment.