Nel ASA, First Hydrogen, BYD – Warren Buffett steps down and significant rebound opportunities

BYD – Momentum remains strong

One of the best investments of legendary investor Warren Buffett was undoubtedly BYD, the Chinese market leader among electric vehicle manufacturers. Although the majority of positions were sold in the recent past, the positive development of the "Build Your Dream" company continues unabated.

From a technical perspective, BYD shares countered the punitive tariffs imposed by the US and the EU in the past with a strong rebound after falling into the support zone around USD 40. A breakthrough above the marked downward trend at USD 53.35 would give the share further momentum, resulting in new highs above USD 54.60. The indicators are likely to support the stock in reaching new all-time highs. The relative strength index has signaled a "Buy" in recent trading days and, at a moderate 54.15 points, still has significant upside potential.

BYD reported further records for April, recording its best sales month of 2025 with 380,089 new vehicles with alternative drive systems sold. This represents an increase of 21% compared to the 313,245 vehicles sold in April 2024. Of these, 372,615 were passenger vehicles, while BYD sold another 7,474 commercial vehicles last month. For the first time in over a year, more pure electric vehicles were sold than hybrid vehicles.

The international expansion also continues to run like clockwork, recording its fifth consecutive month of growth. BYD sold 79,089 electric and hybrid vehicles abroad in April, almost twice as many as the previous year.

First Hydrogen – Revolutionary approaches

The production of clean energy is one of the key issues of our time. Canadian hydrogen innovator First Hydrogen is striving to establish a completely green value chain, which will then transition into a "Hydrogen-as-a-Service model". On the one hand, the Company, which is based in Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom, builds light commercial vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells. These vehicles are already approved for use on UK roads and have achieved ranges of more than 630 km on a single tank during test drives with large fleet operators.

Secondly, a prototype for a customized refueling system for the hydrogen mobility market has been developed with a German partner. In addition, the production and distribution of green hydrogen is to be launched in Europe as well as in the UK and North America.

The latest coup by the experienced management team is the founding of the subsidiary First Nuclear Corp., which is dedicated to promoting clean energy through the innovative use of small modular reactors (SMRs). The aim is nothing less than to revolutionize the production of green hydrogen using advanced nuclear technologies.

SMRs are considered a key element of a new energy initiative. They are characterized by their compact design, scalability, and weather-independent power generation. Compared to conventional reactors, SMRs are smaller, cheaper, and faster to build because they are prefabricated and transportable. Their modular design allows them to be expanded flexibly, making them particularly attractive for remote or hard-to-reach regions. Their simple construction, low-power and low-pressure operation, and lack of human intervention in emergencies also make SMRs particularly safe.

Following the announcement, First Hydrogen shares rose to an interim high of CAD 0.70 before consolidating to the support level of CAD 0.42. A share currently costs CAD 0.48. A breakout above the wedge at CAD 0.52 would once again generate another buy signal.

Nel ASA disappoints again

Highly praised and deeply fallen. This statement certainly applies to the Norwegian hydrogen specialist. And there are no signs of a trend reversal in either the share price performance or the figures. The latest blow came last week with the publication of the figures for the first quarter of 2025, which were once again below analysts' forecasts.

Nel ASA recorded a significant decline in revenue of 43.8% compared to the same period last year. Revenue fell to NOK 155 million, equivalent to EUR 13.33 million, and thus remained well below the analyst consensus of NOK 245 million.

Order intake also declined, falling from NOK 398 million in the previous year to just NOK 311 million. These comparative figures were recalculated as part of a change to continuing operations. At the operating level, results were also worse than expected. EBITDA was NOK -115 million, compared with a forecast loss of NOK 81 million.

At NOK -187 million, the operating result was even worse than analysts' expectations of NOK -139 million. The bottom line was a loss of NOK -179 million after taxes, while the analyst consensus was NOK -119 million.

Investment legend Warren Buffett stepped down and handed over the reins at Berkshire Hathaway. One of his top investments was BYD, which continues to show significant growth. In contrast, hydrogen specialist Nel ASA disappointed with its quarterly figures. First Hydrogen continues to work on its hydrogen value chain.