Xiaomi's latest financial report for the first quarter of 2026 presents a picture of resilience mixed with significant challenges.
On the surface, the results look positive, with both revenue and adjusted net profit slightly beating market expectations. However, a deeper look reveals that the company's core profitability is under pressure. The gross profit margin for its key smartphone segment fell by 2.3 percentage points compared to the previous year, landing at around 10.1%. This suggests that while Xiaomi is selling a lot, it's making less profit on each phone.
So, what's causing this squeeze? The primary reason is rising component costs. First, prices for essential parts like DRAM and NAND memory have been climbing since late 2025. This is because memory manufacturers are dedicating more of their production capacity to high-demand, high-profit AI and server chips (like HBM), creating a tighter supply for smartphones. This directly increases the Bill of Materials (BOM), or the cost to build each phone.
Second, the market environment has become tougher. The global smartphone market saw a slight decline in shipments, and the crucial Chinese domestic market shrank by over 11% in the first quarter. This slowdown intensifies competition, forcing companies like Xiaomi to potentially lower prices to attract customers, further eroding their profit margins.
In response to these headwinds, Xiaomi is making two strategic moves. The first is a massive HKD 20 billion share buyback. This is a way for the company to use its cash to buy its own shares from the market, which can help support the stock price and signal confidence to investors. The second move is a continued, aggressive investment in the future. The company increased its R&D spending by over 33% year-over-year, focusing heavily on its AI capabilities and the integration of its 'Human × Car × Home' ecosystem. These investments, along with its Smart EV business, are designed to create new sources of growth beyond the saturated smartphone market.
In essence, Xiaomi is navigating a difficult period by using financial tools to manage short-term market pressures while betting heavily on long-term innovation in AI and electric vehicles to secure its future growth.
- Bill of Materials (BOM): A list of all the raw materials, components, and parts needed to manufacture a product. A higher BOM means it costs more to make the product, which can reduce profit margins.
- Profit Margin: A measure of profitability, calculated as profit divided by revenue. A shrinking margin means a company is keeping a smaller percentage of each dollar of sales as profit.
- Share Buyback: The act of a company repurchasing its own shares from the open market. This reduces the number of shares available, which can increase the value of remaining shares and boost earnings per share.