What happened
Shares of Chinese electric-vehicle maker NIO (NIO +1.74%) continued their strong run on Wednesday morning. Shares were up about 10.7% from Tuesday's closing price as of 10:45 a.m. EDT, as investors continued to flock to NIO's stock following its strong second-quarter sales report.
So what
NIO is one of several companies in the electric-vehicle space that has seen a surge of investor interest in the wake of the huge run-up in Tesla's (TSLA 2.42%) share price in recent months. But NIO has a few things going for it that many of the others don't: It's shipping vehicles, its sales are growing, and it has money in the bank.
NIO's shares got a boost last Thursday, when the company reported that its second-quarter sales had nearly tripled from a year ago, exceeding even its own expectations.
A revamped version of NIO's flagship ES8 SUV, with more range and improved driver-assist systems, began shipping in April. Sales so far have been strong. Image source: NIO.
Not only did that sales report make clear that NIO (and its customer base) have largely recovered from China's COVID-19 outbreak, it showed that the company is now reaping the benefits of the sales network it spent so much money to expand in 2019.
But there's more to be excited about here. With plenty of money in the bank, thanks to cash infusions from longtime investor Tencent Holdings and economic-development authorities in China's industrial heartland, auto investors' longtime worries about NIO's liquidity have been put to rest, at least for the next few quarters.
Now what
NIO's chief financial officer, Steven Feng, hinted last week that the strong second-quarter sales result had set the company up for a strong financial result as well. We'll find out when NIO reports its second-quarter earnings, likely sometime in mid-August.
