By Jiahui Huang

Li Auto is scheduled to report results for the fourth quarter on Friday. Here is what you need to know:

NET PROFIT: The Chinese plug-in hybrid specialist will likely post net profit of 3.22 billion yuan, equivalent to $443.5 million, for the fourth quarter, down 43% from a year earlier, according to the consensus estimate of analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

REVENUE: The company's revenue is expected to rise 3.7% to 43.26 billion yuan, according to Visible Alpha, which would be in line with its guidance of between 43.2 billion yuan and 45.9 billion yuan. The automaker delivered 158,696 vehicles for the quarter, missing its guided range of 160,000 units to 170,000 units.

Li Auto's Hong Kong-listed shares fell 13% in the final quarter of 2024. Analysts had expressed concern about its soft sales guidance and said it didn't provide enough visibility to boost investors' confidence about its earnings performance for the fourth quarter. The stock has since recovered, gaining about 20% this year, driven partly by a share-price surge in late February after the company released photos of its first all-electric SUV.

WHAT TO WATCH:

--MARGIN: Given Li Auto's soft fourth-quarter guidance, investors will look at vehicle gross margins to examine its cost control and profitability. Its vehicle margin is expected at 20.6% for the period, down slightly from 20.9% in the third quarter, according to the Visible Alpha poll.

--NEW MODEL: Investors will be looking out for details on the Li i8's pricing, launch and delivery date after the carmaker teased its first battery-electric SUV last month. HSBC Global Research analysts said they expect the new model, which will be equipped with Li Auto's latest advanced autonomous-driving features, to boost volume growth.

--AUTONOMOUS DRIVING: Li Auto will likely accelerate the deployment of more key autonomous-driving features to maintain its competitiveness. That could improve the volume resilience of its current portfolio as well as support new-model sales and overall margins, HSBC Global Research wrote in a recent note.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 11, 2025 03:01 ET (07:01 GMT)

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