Xiaomi's Two-Front Offensive: Can a Premium Phone Pivot and a 100,000-Unit SUV Backlog Rescue a Slumping Stock?
Published on 08/11/2026 at 07:32 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The numbers tell a story of a company in transition. Xiaomi's shares have lost roughly 28 percent since the start of the year, and the stock sits more than 52 percent below its 52-week high. Yet the Beijing-based conglomerate is pushing forward on two ambitious fronts simultaneously: a leap into premium smartphones and an aggressive expansion of its electric vehicle lineup.
The most immediate catalyst arrived on July 30, when Xiaomi unveiled the Sky Nomad, an electric SUV with a range extender. Pre-orders have already topped 100,000 units, according to reports, with the N90 Max priced at 299,900 yuan and the more accessible N70 Max variant at 259,900 yuan. The vehicle is slated for a September market debut, with production running out of the company's second-phase plant in Peking. Xiaomi has been careful to emphasize that it intends to avoid the delivery delays that plagued the YU7 predecessor — a tacit acknowledgment that customer trust hinges on getting vehicles into driveways, not just showrooms.
July marked the fourth consecutive month that Xiaomi delivered more than 30,000 vehicles, and the company has set a full-year target of 550,000 units. First-half deliveries of 185,055 vehicles mean roughly a third of that goal is in the bag, but the second half will need to accelerate meaningfully for the math to work.
The Core Business Is Cracking
While the EV division generates headlines, the traditional smartphone engine is sputtering. First-quarter 2026 revenue fell 10.9 percent to 99.142 billion yuan, with the handset segment down 12.6 percent. Adjusted net profit tumbled 43.1 percent to 6.07 billion yuan, and gross margin in the smartphone business slipped to 10.1 percent. The overall gross margin of 22.0 percent suggests Xiaomi isn't buying market share at any cost, but the earnings pressure is unmistakable.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Xiaomi?
The company's response is a calculated bet on premium positioning. Reports indicate the upcoming Xiaomi 18 flagship will feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 2-nanometer process — a significantly more expensive component than the current generation. Leaked pricing suggests the base model could start at 5,499 yuan, a clear statement of intent to compete at the top of the market. The strategy is straightforward: absorb higher component costs now, in hopes that premium pricing will eventually restore margins.
That bet carries considerable risk. Xiaomi poured 9 billion yuan into research and development in the first quarter alone, and the company has committed to investing at least 16 billion yuan in artificial intelligence in 2026, scaling to more than 60 billion yuan over three years. Early signs of progress exist — the open-source MiMo-V2.5-Pro model has landed top rankings in recent evaluations — but the spending comes at a time when profitability is already under siege.
A Stock in Search of a Floor
Management has signaled confidence through buybacks. Between June 3 and July 15, Xiaomi repurchased 79.8 million shares for 100.7 million Hong Kong dollars, at average prices ranging from 25.82 to 28.65 Hong Kong dollars, drawing on a 20-billion-Hong Kong-dollar mandate approved in June. Such programs can provide short-term support, but they don't address the structural questions hanging over the handset business.
The market's response has been cautious stabilization rather than conviction. The stock has gained 5.53 percent over the past 30 days, suggesting the recent EV news has landed well with investors. On a 12-month basis, however, the shares remain down nearly 44 percent, and the gap to the 200-day moving average sits at a negative 15.63 percent — the long-term trend is still pointing down, even if the bleeding has slowed.
The EV segment itself remains a financial drain, losing 3.1 billion yuan in the first quarter. Average selling prices in the vehicle division have slipped slightly to 235,100 yuan per car, reflecting intensifying competition in China's crowded EV market. Xiaomi's liquidity reserves should cushion the startup costs, but the clock is ticking on when the automotive division starts contributing rather than consuming.
Xiaomi at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
The August Test
All eyes now turn to August 18, when Xiaomi reports second-quarter earnings. The key questions: Has the operating profit in the handsets and AIoT segment continued to climb, and are EV losses shrinking on schedule? The results will show whether the recovery in vehicle deliveries is translating into the overall numbers or whether the smartphone business is still losing altitude.
Technically, the 52-week low of 2.34 euros marks the critical downside level. A break below that would signal a continuation of the downtrend, while holding above the 50-day average of 2.91 euros — where the stock currently trades about 7 percent above — could support further bottoming. The autumn launch event for the Xiaomi 18 will provide the next major catalyst, potentially shaping expectations for the crucial holiday quarter.
Xiaomi is attempting something few technology companies have pulled off: transitioning from consumer electronics to mobility without sacrificing the original business. The Sky Nomad's order book and the premium phone push are both bets on the future, but the company's near-term fate hinges on a simpler question — whether the scaling of EV production can outpace the margin erosion in smartphones. The August earnings report will offer the first real evidence of which force is winning.
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