LAD
Lithia Motors, Inc.
LAD has the edge over NIO overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
NIO
NIO Inc.
NIO offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
LAD Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong |
LAD's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue and profitability are stable, but its cash flow is under pressure.
NIO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Unavailable |
NIO's revenue is currently strong, and its profitability and cash flow are stable. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
LAD PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 6.8x | $238 | -20% |
| Forward | 7.7x | $297 | — |
| Current | 8.5x | $297 | — |
| Fair | 9.4x | $327 | +10% |
| Expensive | 13x | $462 | +55% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LAD's PE is in its fair range at 8.5x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 7.7x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
NIO PE Valuation
NIO has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
LAD Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect LAD's earnings to grow, with its revenue and profitability holding steady.
NIO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
NIO has the edge over LAD on the outlook, with more favorable revenue and profitability expectations.
LAD Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $38.68 | +11% |
| Q3 2026 | $34.94 | +1.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $30.33 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $28.66 | -9.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $32.32 | +9% |
| Q3 2025 | $34.51 | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $33.70 | +8.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $31.70 | -6.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $29.65 | -18% |
LAD has the edge over NIO on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
NIO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$0.29 | +$1.45 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.60 | +$1.16 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.06 | +$0.60 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.59 | +$0.02 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.74 | -$0.10 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.76 | +$0.06 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.66 | +$0.21 |
| Q3 2024 | -$1.61 | +$0.32 |
NIO is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.29 per share over the past year, against $1.93 at its worst in late 2023.
LAD Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $9.9B | +2.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.8B | +2.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.3B | +1% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.2B | +0.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.7B | +4.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.6B | +3.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.2B | +7.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.2B | +20% |
LAD's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $9.9B last quarter, up 2.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.2% | -0.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4.6% | +0.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.6% | -0.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 3.7% | -0.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 4.4% | -0.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.4% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4.4% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.5% | -0.3 points |
LAD has the edge over NIO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NIO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.8B | +69% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.8B | +112% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.2B | +76% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.3B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.9B | +9% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.8B | +21% |
| Q4 2024 | $3B | +15% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.8B | -2.1% |
NIO's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $4.8B last quarter, up 69% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -2.1% | +24 points |
| Q1 2026 | -1.2% | +52 points |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3% | +33 points |
| Q3 2025 | -16% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -26% | +4 points |
| Q1 2025 | -53% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | -31% | +8.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | -28% | -2.6 points |
NIO's operating margin was −2.1% last quarter, up 24 points from the same quarter a year ago.
LAD Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$129.7M | +$77.6M |
| Q2 2026 | -$122M | -$51.2M |
| Q1 2026 | -$205.5M | -181% |
| Q4 2025 | $30.5M | +$48.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$207.3M | -232% |
| Q2 2025 | -$70.8M | +$207.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $253.4M | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | -$17.7M | +$344M |
LAD has the edge over NIO on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NIO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $0 | +$2.1B |
| Q1 2026 | $0 | $0 |
| Q4 2025 | $0 | +$391.3M |
| Q3 2025 | $0 | $0 |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.1B | +$73.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $0 | $0 |
| Q4 2024 | -$391.3M | -386% |
| Q2 2024 | -$2.2B | +$337.9M |
NIO's free cash flow was $0 over the past year, against −$2.5B the year before.
LAD Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -2.2% | -500K shares |
| 1 year | -13% | -3.2M shares |
| 3 years | -20% | -5.6M shares |
| 5 years | -28% | -8.5M shares |
| Available history | -6% | -1.4M shares |
LAD has the edge over NIO on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $90.5M |
| Q2 2026 | $237M |
| Q1 2026 | $297M |
| Q4 2025 | $298.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $399M |
| Q2 2025 | $119.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $143.4M |
| Q4 2024 | $92.7M |
LAD spent $923M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 22% from the year before.
NIO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.6% | +15.6M shares |
| 1 year | +12% | +267M shares |
| 3 years | +51% | +844M shares |
| 5 years | +60% | +933M shares |
| Available history | +143% | +1.5B shares |
NIO has 2.5B diluted shares, up 12% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
NIO hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
LAD Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 5.0x | High |
| Q3 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | 4.3x | High |
LAD has more cash than debt.
NIO Net Leverage
NIO's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
LAD Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.7 | Neutral |
LAD's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 28 (neutral).
NIO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 30.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 6.9 | Oversold |
NIO's weekly RSI is 31 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 7 (oversold).
LAD PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | LAD | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 8.5x | 18x | 53% below |
| PE % | 38 | 47 | 9 pts below |
LAD is trading at 8.5x earnings, a 53% discount to the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x.
NIO PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
NIO has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
LAD Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $301.4 | 1.4% below |
| 20 week MA | $332.4 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $311.4 | 4.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $317.0 | 6.3% below |
| 200 week MA | $299.4 | 0.7% below |
LAD is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 0.7% below its 200-week average.
NIO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $3.36 | 9.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $4.01 | 24% below |
| 50 week MA | $4.81 | 37% below |
| 100 week MA | $4.85 | 37% below |
| 200 week MA | $6.03 | 49% below |
NIO is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 49% below its 200-week average.
LAD Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $148.5 | $290.0 | +95% |
| 2021 | $290.0 | $289.0 | -0.3% |
| 2022 | $289.0 | $201.9 | -30% |
| 2023 | $201.9 | $329.3 | +63% |
| 2024 | $329.3 | $361.0 | +9.6% |
| 2025 | $361.0 | $344.4 | -4.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $344.4 | $297.2 | -14% |
LAD has the edge over NIO on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
NIO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2.42 | $45.8 | +1791% |
| 2021 | $45.8 | $30.5 | -33% |
| 2022 | $30.5 | $11.0 | -64% |
| 2023 | $11.0 | $9.07 | -17% |
| 2024 | $9.07 | $4.48 | -51% |
| 2025 | $4.48 | $5.10 | +14% |
| 2026 YTD | $5.10 | $3.05 | -40% |
NIO's yearly returns have swung widely, from +1791% in 2020 to −64% in 2022. It's down 40% so far in 2026.