XPeng’s CEO on What Each Robot Could Earn. First It Has to Survive a Brutal Price War.

If we look at XPEV stock’s performance, it isn’t that appealing. The shares have declined 52% over the past year, underperforming the KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF’s (KARS) modest gain of 0.56% during the same period. Since November 2025, the stock has been in a downtrend and has further declined from June 17, when it was trading at $17. It is now currently trading at $10. The decline appears to reflect a combination of weaker deliveries, ongoing losses, and concerns about slowing growth in China’s highly competitive EV market.

XPeng isn’t profitable yet, so there’s no price-to-earnings (P/E) to work with. In terms of the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, it looks fairly inexpensive. At 0.76x, it sits 75% below its 5-year average of 2.99x. That matches its current struggles. Investors are pricing it as a Chinese carmaker stuck in a brutal price war. The high-margin tech and robotics company it wants to become isn’t reflected in the price yet. The balance sheet gives it the funding to keep pursuing that shift, with $4.13 billion in cash against $3.96 billion in debt. If the licensing and robotics bets pay off, the stock looks cheap at these levels.

Can XPeng’s Robotics Push Become Its Next Growth Driver? Q3 Outlook Suggests Confidence.

XPeng Inc. reported its second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on Aug. 24. It reported revenue of $2.91 billion, up 8% year-over-year (YoY). Vehicle sales revenue ended up at $2.51 billion, up 1% YoY. Gross margin for the quarter was 20.7%, while vehicle margin was 12.1%. The company saw higher operating costs in the second quarter. R&D expenses were approximately $429 million, and SG&A expenses were around $369 million. The operating loss was approximately $168 million, and the net loss was $200 million, wider than the year-earlier loss but better than the first quarter’s. The results suggest XPeng is growing fast, but it is still working to turn that growth into consistent profit. That tension remains central to the stock’s valuation.

Looking forward to the third quarter, XPeng guided for vehicle deliveries of 115,000 to 121,000 units and revenue of $3.20 billion to $3.45 billion. It doesn’t end here. Management ambition expands beyond Q3, as it believes XPeng’s deliveries will increase significantly in the fourth quarter, with monthly deliveries targeting more than 60,000 units. Moreover, the company is planning to further expand its footprint in robotics. The humanoid IRON robot is expected to enter scaled mass production by year-end 2026, with initial deployments in XPeng stores and campuses. Notably, the first IRON robot walked off the production line two weeks ago. XPeng is hopeful of getting European regulatory approval for its VLA 2.0 in the first half of 2027.

What Do Analysts Expect for XPEV Stock?

XPEV stock received a lot of coverage following its second-quarter earnings. Analysts updated their financial models and came up with new price targets for XPEV. DBS reiterated a “Buy” rating with a price target of $28. In addition to DBS, Bank of America Securities also maintained a “Buy” rating. JPMorgan lowered the firm’s price target from $27 to $24 and kept an “Overweight” rating on the shares. In contrast, Barclays analyst Jiong Shao reaffirmed a “Sell” rating and set a price target of $14. Despite the sell rating, the analyst’s price target is still higher than the current share price.

Based on 18 Wall Street analysts covering the stock, XPEV stock holds a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating. It has a median price target of $18, which reflects 80% upside from current levels. The high price target of $24 implies a further 140% from the current share price.

On the date of publication, Jabran Kundi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com