Li Auto's Q2 Loss Narrows to RMB1.7B as Margins Recover; Q3 Guidance Points to Growth
LI is trading near its 52-week low of $11.65 (5.8% above the low).
Summary
Li Auto reported a narrower Q2 net loss of RMB1.7B with gross margin recovering to 11.0%, and guided Q3 deliveries up 1.9-7.3% YoY. The company continues its aggressive US$1.0B share repurchase program.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · LI
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Q2 Net Loss Narrows to RMB1.7B
Net loss of RMB1.7B (US$251.3M) improved from RMB2.3B in Q1 2026 but reversed from RMB1.1B net income in Q2 2025. Non-GAAP net loss was RMB1.5B.
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Gross Margin Recovers to 11.0%
Gross margin improved to 11.0% from 7.9% in Q1, driven by vehicle margin recovery to 9.4% from 6.1%, though still well below 20.1% gross margin in Q2 2025.
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Q3 Guidance Returns to Growth
Company expects Q3 deliveries of 95,000-100,000 vehicles (up 1.9-7.3% YoY) and revenues of RMB26.6B-RMB28.0B (down 2.8% to up 2.3% YoY).
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Buyback Program Reaches US$631.5M
Under the US$1.0B repurchase program, Li Auto has repurchased ~91.7M Class A shares for ~US$631.5M as of the press release date, including 41.2M shares in Q2 alone.
Analysis · LI · Manufacturing
Li Auto's Q2 2026 results show a second consecutive quarterly loss, but the trajectory is improving: net loss narrowed to RMB1.7B from RMB2.3B in Q1, gross margin recovered to 11.0% from 7.9%, and vehicle margin nearly doubled sequentially to 9.4%. The company guided Q3 deliveries up 1.9-7.3% year-over-year, signaling a return to growth after an 11.5% YoY delivery decline in Q2. The US$1.0B buyback program continues aggressively, with ~US$631.5M deployed, providing downside support. The key risk is that margins remain far below 2025 levels (vehicle margin 9.4% vs 19.4% a year ago), reflecting intense price competition in China's NEV market.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Nov 2, 2026, 40.4% of the 1069 measured filings Wiseek scored 8 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.35%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
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At the time of this filing, LI was trading at $12.33 on NASDAQ in the Manufacturing sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $12.5B. The 52-week trading range was $11.65 to $27.10. This filing was assessed with neutral market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10.