Jim Cramer pressed the Buy button on Nio during Wednesday’s show — the first time in years the CNBC‘s Mad Money host has endorsed the Chinese EV stock after a long stretch of bearish calls.
A viewer asked Cramer about Nio, noting that the company has recently reported its first profitable quarter in Q4 2025 while setting a new sales record.
“After five years down trending since that spike to $66 from a dollar, this EV maker just posted its first ever profitable quarter last week with record deliveries month over month, with a $14 billion market cap,” the viewer said.
“And now they’re typing it as ‘The Chinese Tesla.’ What’s your take on Nio? Is it finally…?” he asked.
“I think it’s right. I think you’re absolutely right. They did have a good quarter,” Cramer responded. “I’m going to go with you. Five bucks. Let’s do it. It’s a spec. That’s okay. You’re allowed one spec.”
Below is the full clip from CNBC.
Nio went public through a traditional IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2018.
As of press time, the EV maker’s US-listed shares were trading 1.2% higher at $5.88 during Thursday’s pre-market trading session.
A Bipolar Relationship
Cramer’s endorsement is the latest turn in a “bipolar relationship” between the host and the stock — a history of sharp reversals that has tracked the extremes of the EV cycle itself.
In July 2019, when Nio traded near $3.69, Cramer told viewers to sell.
“The thing is so beaten up, anything can bounce. But I have to tell you, Chinese auto in a market where BASF tells me that Chinese autos is doing badly — you’ve got to run,” he said.
Four months later, during a Lightning Round, he dismissed the stock entirely: “I’m not recommending any Chinese stocks. That’s a dice roll.”
Then came the reversal that defined his Nio legacy.
In January 2021, at the peak of the EV boom, Cramer called Nio “the next Tesla” after CEO William Li unveiled the ET7 sedan and announced plans to expand to 25 countries.
“Oh yes! Luxury sedan, good battery, fabulous market China, autonomous driving,” he said.
Shares hit an all-time high of $66.99 that month, valuing the company at over $100 billion — surpassing both GM and Ford.
The bullishness lasted about four months.
By May 2021, with shares around $35, Cramer told viewers to dump Nio and buy Tesla instead. By December, at $32, he advised selling again.
The bearish streak then lasted more than three years.
In May 2023, with the stock at $8, Cramer said he was “not a big fan of the Chinese stocks” and was “losing interest in EVs” because there were “too many competitors.”
In November 2023, he told a caller flatly: “I’m not a buyer of Nio.”
In July 2024, when a viewer asked whether to cut losses at $4.60, Cramer responded with characteristic bluntness: “Nio is one of those stocks where if you sell it right here, some clown will come out and be real positive about it. Let’s just wait until all that stuff happens and then you can sell it,” he said, as reported by EV at the time.
Last August, with shares near $4.90, Cramer warned investors to stay away from the stock. “I happen to think that there are better buys, and I think that market is flooded right now. Stay away,” he said.
By October, his tone softened slightly. “I don’t know. Nio is a… Look, it probably goes to $10. Then you have to sell it, okay?” Cramer told a viewer, as EV reported.
Wednesday’s Buy call marks the first time Cramer has been outright bullish on Nio since January 2021.
What Changed
Nio reported its first-ever quarterly profit on March 10 — a net income exceeding 1.2 billion yuan in Q4 2025, ending consecutive quarters of multi-billion yuan losses.
The company delivered a record 72,689 vehicles in the quarter across its Nio, Onvo, and Firefly brands.
Founder and CEO William Li has targeted full-year profitability in 2026.
The company’s chip subsidiary Shenji recently secured $330 million in funding at a valuation approaching 10 billion yuan, while Li disclosed last week that a second chip has completed tape-out for mass production.
Multiple Wall Street firms have upgraded the stock in recent weeks. HSBC raised its rating to Buy after the Q4 results, lifting its price target by 42%.
Stock Performance
Nio shares have risen 23.6% over the past 12 months and gained 14.1% year to date.
The stock has rebounded sharply from the five-year low of $3.02 reached in April 2025 — a slump that followed sub-brand Onvo missing its initial sales targets by more than 70%, which prompted the departure of the brand’s chief, Alan Ai.
Nio still trades more than 90% below the all-time high of $66.99 reached in January 2021, when Cramer last told investors to buy.
