Al Root

Chinese electric-vehicle maker XPeng posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and gave strong guidance.

Shares weren't budging in early Tuesday trading, though. The stock's starting point is the most likely reason.

Tuesday morning, XPeng reported a loss of 10 cents per share on sales of $2.2 billion. Wall Street was looking for a loss of 22 cents per share on sales of $2.2 billion, according to FactSet.

Looking ahead, XPeng expects to deliver 91,000 to 93,000 cars in the first quarter, up about 320% year over year. For March, guidance implies about 31,000 vehicles delivered, up about 250% year over year.

First-quarter sales should come in at about $2.1 billion, a little better than the $2 billion Wall Street currently projects. Revenue is growing slower than sales because of new, lower-priced models. Competition in China has also been fierce, with more EVs battling it out for market share.

XPeng's U.S.-listed American depositary receipts were down 0.2% at $24.51 apiece, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 0.3%.

A drop after a solid result feels surprising, but expectations were running high. Coming into Tuesday trading, XPeng ADRs were up more than 100% so far this year.

Despite the early dip Tuesday, the quarter looks solid.

"With deliveries hitting new highs and ongoing progress in technology-driven cost reductions, our vehicle gross margin further improved to 10%, marking six consecutive quarters of improvement," said XPeng co-President Brian Gu in a news release. "In 2025, with the launch of more attractive new products, we are confident in maintaining our investment in R&D while continuing to enhance profitability and free cash flow."

XPeng delivered 91,507 vehicles in the fourth quarter, up 52% year over year.

The company's cash balance ended the quarter at $5.8 billion. Wall Street projects positive free-cash-flow generation in 2025 of about $500 million.

Overall, there doesn't appear to be a lot to complain about in XPeng's quarterly numbers.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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March 18, 2025 07:31 ET (11:31 GMT)

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