Shares of Nio Inc. (NIO) are moving higher in Friday's premarket trading. It's the kind of move that happens when a company does something it's never done before—like turning a quarterly profit—and Wall Street decides it's time to pay attention.

Analysts Are Suddenly Seeing the Light

Let's talk about the cheerleading squad that showed up after the earnings report. Nomura upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, basically saying the company's operational momentum is looking a lot better. Analysts at Macquarie raised their price forecast to $6.50, pointing to improved vehicle margins and better operating cash flow. Morgan Stanley is sticking with its Overweight rating and a $7.00 price target, a vote of confidence in Nio's forecast for 40% to 50% delivery growth. And HSBC joined the party, upgrading to Buy and setting a $6.80 price target.

When you get that many upgrades in a short span, it's not just noise. It's a signal that the story is changing for the better.

The Numbers That Made Everyone Look

So, what did Nio actually report? For the fourth quarter, revenue hit $4.95 billion. That's a 75.9% jump compared to the same period last year. More importantly, on an adjusted basis, earnings came in at 0.29 yuan (4 cents) per American Depositary Share (ADS). That might not sound like a lot, but it's a big deal because analysts were expecting a loss of 5 cents per share. Beating expectations is one thing; swinging to a profit when everyone thought you'd lose money is another.

This marked Nio's first quarterly profit ever. The company delivered 124,807 vehicles in the quarter, which is a 71.7% surge year-over-year. It's the kind of growth that makes a first profit possible.

Management Is Betting on Even More Growth

If you're an investor, the past is nice, but you care about the future. Management's guidance for the first quarter of 2026 is where things get interesting. They expect deliveries between 80,000 and 83,000 units. At the high end, that implies growth of up to 97% compared to the first quarter of 2025. That's not just growth; that's nearly doubling your deliveries in a year. It's a bold forecast that suggests the momentum isn't slowing down.

What the Charts Are Saying

From a technical perspective, the stock is showing some strength. It's trading 12.3% above its 20-day Simple Moving Average and 4.8% above its 100-day Simple Moving Average. In plain English, that means the short-term trend is improving, and the intermediate-term trend is firming up. Over the past 12 months, shares are up 17.34%. The stock is currently trading closer to its 52-week high of $8.02 than its low of $3.02.

For traders watching key levels:

• Key Resistance: $6.00
• Key Support: $4.50

As of Friday's premarket, Nio shares were up 3.60% at $5.75, according to market data.