Tesla rival BYD reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings early Friday, though revenue growth slightly missed. The China EV giant's net income topped Tesla's for the first time.
BYD stock rose slightly Friday. Tesla stock jumped.
BYD Earnings
BYD reported first-quarter net income of RMB 9.16 billion ($1.26 billion), up 100.4% vs. a year earlier in local currency. Revenue grew 36.35% to RMB 170.36 billion ($23.38 billion).
The EV giant was expected to report net income of $1.045 billion on revenue of $24.827 billion, according to FactSet.
On April 8, BYD said net income would likely be RMB 8.5 billion-RMB 10 billion ($1.17 billion-$1.37 billion).
The actual net income easily topped Tesla's adjusted net income of $934 million. Tesla had long held a huge profitability edge over BYD, but that gap narrowed considerably in recent years. Tesla's net income was 388% larger than BYD's in 2022, 161% in 2023 and 53% last year.
It's notable that BYD passed Tesla on this key metric in the seasonally weak first quarter for Chinese EV sales.
BYD earnings per share shot up 95% to 43 cents, the second straight quarter of accelerating growth.
BYD passed Tesla in revenue in Q3 and fully battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Q4. It's been the overall EV leader, including plug-in hybrids, for more than two years.
Late Tuesday, Tesla reported Q1 EPS dived 40% vs. a year earlier, far below lowered views. Revenue declined 9% to $19.3 billion. Core automotive margins excluding regulatory credits hit their lowest level since 2012. Excluding regulatory credits, Tesla had an operating loss.
Tesla Vs. BYD: Tesla Earnings Dive But Investors Bet On Self-Driving
BYD Growth Drivers
Looking ahead, BYD has a number of big growth drivers. It's made advanced driver-assist systems standard across its lineup, forcing China EV rivals to follow suit. BYD also is releasing super-fast charging that provide 400 kilometers of charge in five minutes. It's already set up hundreds of the megawatt chargers, and the two EVs that can take that full charge.
Overseas sales should continue to boom, with several big roll on, roll off (RoRo) car-carrying ships entering service. A Brazil plant should open soon, with plants in Hungary, Turkey and Indonesia expected to open in 2026.
Trump tariffs don't directly affect BYD much, with China EV sales effectively banned from the U.S. But a U.S.-China trade war could hurt the Chinese economy.
Analysts now expect Tesla earnings to fall for a third straight year. Investors are still pinning their hopes on self-driving. On the earnings call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk still expects to see robotaxis starting in Austin this June. Outside of self-driving, Tesla's EV business doesn't have a lot of growth drivers.
Tesla late Thursday started to ramp up incentives in the U.S. after doing so in China.
BYD Stock
BYD stock climbed 1.1% on Friday to 52, bringing the weekly gain to 13.6%. Tuesday's move above the 50-day line cleared a trendline entry, which offered an early entry in an emerging consolidation. Shares are working back toward their record 54.60 set on March 24. BYD stock is up 52.9% so far in 2025.
Tesla stock spiked 9.8% to 284.95 on Friday, clearing the 50-day line. Late Thursday, the Transportation Department announced a federal framework for robotaxis, seen as a positive for Tesla. However, the framework won't directly affect state regulatory approvals. And Tesla actually needs unsupervised self-driving to benefit. It's notable that Texas, where Tesla plans to launch robotaxis, has no regulatory hurdles for self driving.
Shares soared 18.1 for the week, with TSLA stock still down 29.5% for the year.
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