Li Auto's earnings

Li Auto reported first-quarter 2021 revenues above Wall Street expectations. Li Auto's electric vehicle sales were up 334% year-on-year but down 15% quarter-on-quarter. Li Auto gave a strong outlook for the second quarter.

Chinese electric car maker Li Auto (LI), which went public on the NASDAQ exchange in July 2020, today reported its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended 31 March 2021 before trading opened.

Despite good results and a strong outlook, Li Auto shares were down 0.55% before the opening of trading at the time of writing.

Li Auto shares have fallen 30.66% since the beginning of 2021, with a decline of 47.56% in the last 6 months.

Among the reasons analysts cite a global semiconductor shortage problem, which is hampering auto production ramp-up, as well as intensifying competition among electric car manufacturers in China.

The reaction to the stock's decline before the opening of trading today could be attributed, among other things, to Li Auto's lower quarterly car sales compared with the previous quarter.

Li Auto report

Deliveries of Li Auto's only electric vehicle, the Li ONE SUV, stood at 12,579 units in the first quarter, up 334.4% year-on-year but 15% lower than the previous fourth quarter (2020 Q4).

Li Auto's loss per share for Q1 was -$0.03.

Revenues were $545.7m, also better than average analyst estimates of $503.44m, up 319.8% from a year earlier but down 13.8% from Q4 2020.

Li Auto's free cash flow was a significant $87.0m, indicating the company's ability to invest in expanding production and developing its technology.

Li Auto's forecast for the second quarter of 2021

The company expects deliveries of its electric vehicles in the second quarter to rise to a range of 14,500 to 15,500 units, an increase of 119.6% to 134.7% from the same quarter in 2020. Revenue will grow to a new high in the range of $609.0 million to $651.7 million, up 104.6% to 119.0% from a year ago.