Everyone loves a good turnaround story. But in these economically uncertain times for China, they may love profits even more.

That may explain investor reaction to the latest earnings report from Cango Inc. (CANG.US), which showed steady progress in the company’s transformation to a car-trading platform from its previous life as an auto financier. At the same time, the company reported a sharply lower net loss in its latest report for the third quarter.

But it seems there’s no substitute for the real deal, in this case profits, which Cango has yet to report in its latest form. Perhaps disappointed at that, along with management’s failure to answer a question about when it might break-even on its earnings call, the company’s shares sagged 15% after it released its latest results, closing near an all-time low.