D.E. Shaw & Co. has become Nio‘s largest institutional shareholder after more than tripling its stake in the Shanghai-headquartered electric vehicle maker during the final quarter of 2025.
The quantitative hedge fund purchased more than 34.3 million shares between October and December, bringing its total position to nearly 48.2 million shares — a record for the firm.
According to a 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the holding of the New York-based hedge fund was valued at approximately $245.7 million as of the end of 2025.
The position surpasses D.E. Shaw’s previous peak of 19 million shares in the second quarter of 2020, when Nio‘s US-listed shares traded below $10 before rallying to all-time highs in January 2021.
The current holding is more than 2.5 times the earlier record.
D.E. Shaw first invested in Nio in the first quarter of 2019, shortly after the company’s 2018 initial public offering, acquiring 2.5 million shares.
It fully exited the following quarter, only to re-enter with 568,000 shares by the end of the third quarter of 2019.
The firm has since fully exited its Nio position on three separate occasions — in the second quarters of 2019, 2023, and 2025.
Each time, it re-entered within one to two quarters.
Between the 2020 peak and the mid-2023 exit, the position followed a broadly declining path as Nio‘s share price retreated from its post-pandemic highs.
The most recent cycle saw D.E. Shaw increase its stake by nearly 1,960% in the first quarter of 2025 to 8.6 million shares, before selling the entire position by the end of the second quarter.
It then re-entered with 13.8 million shares in the third quarter and more than tripled that in the fourth.
D.E. Shaw’s Portfolio
Founded in 1988 by computer scientist David E. Shaw, D.E. Shaw & Co. is one of the largest hedge funds globally, with more than $85 billion in investment and committed capital as of December 2025, according to the firm’s website.
The fund deploys systematic and computer-driven trading strategies, relying on quantitative models and proprietary computational technology to identify market inefficiencies.
The firm’s latest 13F disclosed 3,373 total equity positions with a combined market value of $127.2 billion.
Its largest holdings were concentrated in the technology sector, led by Nvidia at $4.4 billion, the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF at $3.7 billion, and Microsoft at $2.7 billion.
D.E. Shaw also held a $955.7 million position in Tesla as of December 31, up 68.7% from the prior quarter.
Institutional Ownership
Institutional ownership in Nio has declined sharply in recent years. Between mid-2022 and mid-2025, the number of shares held by institutional investors fell by more than 61%.
As of Thursday, a total of 505 institutional investors held nearly 317.5 million shares combined in the company, according to Nasdaq data.
Based on the most recent filings, D.E. Shaw now leads among institutional holders, followed by UBS with 24.5 million shares — valued at $121.5 million — after a 14.7% reduction.
BNP Paribas Financial Markets ranks third with 21.6 million shares worth $107 million following a 16.2% increase, and Jane Street Group holds the fourth spot with 19.5 million shares valued at $96.7 million after a 1.6% increase.
Morgan Stanley currently ranks fifth, followed by Goldman Sachs, which boosted its stake by 57.8% to 14.4 million shares worth $71.1 million.
Morgan Stanley slightly reduced its stake in Nio during the fourth quarter, ending a two-quarter streak of increases, according to a separate regulatory filing published Friday.
The firm held 15,269,286 shares by the end of 2025, down 5.55% from the nearly 16.2 million shares at the end of September.
JPMorgan Chase emerged as a notable buyer during the quarter, increasing its holdings by 268% to 12.7 million shares valued at $62.8 million.
WT Asset Management cut its stake by 32.4% to 12.6 million shares after having returned to the stock in the third quarter following a three-year absence.
Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings remains Nio‘s largest overall shareholder with a 21.7% stake, built through $2.94 billion in investments completed in 2023.
A year later, the two parties formed a joint venture named Nio MENA to launch the automaker’s three brands in the Middle East and North Africa region, including the establishment of a research and development center.
