Li Auto to report Q2 results on August 26 as sales slump tests profitability

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) will report unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2026 before the US market opens on August 26.

Management will hold an earnings conference call the same day at 8:00 am US Eastern Time, or 8:00 pm Beijing time, the company said on Tuesday.

The focus for investors is whether the Chinese extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) pioneer can halt the slide in its profitability.

Li Auto posted an unexpected net loss of 2.3 billion yuan ($339 million) in the first quarter, compared with a net profit of 647 million yuan in the same period of 2025.

More worrying is the gross margin. The metric plunged to 7.9 percent from 20.5 percent a year earlier, reflecting a lower average selling price from a changed product mix as well as the industry's price war.

Sales performance in the second quarter remained weak. The company delivered 98,330 vehicles, down 11.47 percent year-on-year, although up 3.35 percent from the previous quarter.

That figure landed in the upper half of its guidance range of 95,000 to 100,000 units, but ended the year-on-year growth seen in the first quarter.

Li Auto had guided for second-quarter revenue of 24.1 billion yuan to 25.4 billion yuan, implying a year-on-year decline of 16.0 percent to 20.2 percent.

Pressure on the annual target is building. The company set a goal of 20 percent year-on-year delivery growth, equivalent to about 490,000 vehicles.

But it delivered 193,472 vehicles in the first half, down 5.13 percent year-on-year. In July, deliveries were 30,468 , down a slight 0.86 percent.

To turn things around, Li Auto is speeding up its product refresh cycle. It launched the updated Li L9 in May, the all-new five-seat Li L8 in June, and the new-generation Li L6 on July 16.

On August 6, the company added a cheaper rear-wheel-drive long-range version of the Li i8, its flagship all-electric SUV (sport utility vehicle), starting at 309,800 yuan, or 30,000 yuan less than the all-wheel-drive variant.

The Li i8 has consistently fallen short of expectations. The model delivered just 779 units in June, for a first-half total of 8,733. Deliveries of the model recovered to 1,026 in July.

By contrast, the lower-positioned Li i6 has become the company's sales pillar, delivering 21,453 units in June and contributing nearly 70 percent of the month's total.

In July, the Li i6 delivered 15,420 units, accounting for 50.61 percent of the month's total, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

The next key milestone is the Li i9. The 5,225-millimeter-long flagship all-electric SUV will be launched in September and will be the company's largest electric SUV to date.

Cash reserves remain a buffer. Li Auto held 94.3 billion yuan in cash as of the end of the first quarter, though its free cash flow was negative 7.39 billion yuan in the quarter.

($1 = 6.7884 yuan)