Xiaomi's $5,600 Per-Car EV Bleed Overwhelms $2.5 Billion Buyback as Stock Hits 52-Week Low

Xiaomi's aggressive share buyback fails to lift stock as EV division burns cash, missing delivery targets and driving 39% year-to-date decline.

A torrent of red ink from its electric-vehicle division is drowning out Xiaomi's most aggressive share buyback program yet. The stock now trades at HK$2.73 (€2.72) — barely a whisker above its 52-week trough of HK$2.67 — after shedding 39% of its value since January. Not even the company's daily repurchases have been able to staunch the bleeding.

The buyback, launched on June 2, 2026, authorizes the acquisition of up to HK$20 billion in Class-B shares. It replaces a predecessor program that saw Xiaomi buy back roughly 399.6 million shares for about HK$14.6 billion. So far, the firm has spent around HK$1.5 billion to scoop up 30.1 million shares — roughly 0.12% of equity. Every repurchased share is being canceled. The market has yawned. The stock remains pinned near its floor.

What’s really spooking investors is the EV unit’s relentless cash incineration. In the first quarter, Xiaomi's automotive segment posted an operating loss of ¥3.1 billion on revenue of ¥19.9 billion. That works out to a loss of roughly $5,600 per vehicle delivered. The division briefly turned profitable in the prior-year period, but margin pressure from price cuts and pricier components has since pushed its gross margin down to 20.1%. On the track, Xiaomi can still set records — an autonomous YU7 SUV reportedly lapped the Nürburgring without a driver — but on the balance sheet, the numbers are brutal.

The delivery shortfall only deepens the concern. Xiaomi has set a full-year target of 550,000 vehicle deliveries, yet in the first five months it managed only about 140,000 to 150,000 units. May sales actually slipped month-over-month. To salvage the annual goal, the company would need to churn out more than 50,000 cars each month from now on — a pace it has hit only once. Two new EREV models due in the second half of 2026 will have to deliver a massive volume surge if the target is to be met.

Unsurprisingly, analysts are split. Jefferies downgraded Xiaomi to "Underperform" and slashed its price target to HK$25.49, valuing the EV business at just 1.5 times projected 2026 revenue — down from 2.2 times previously. Goldman Sachs, by contrast, maintains a "Buy" with a HK$40 target, arguing that the market has yet to price in Xiaomi's transformation from hardware vendor into an integrated tech group with artificial intelligence ambitions. The divergence leaves the stock with a relative strength index of 26.4 — deep in oversold territory that reflects both fear and opportunity.

The broader operating picture offers little comfort for bulls. First-quarter revenue slipped nearly 11% year-over-year to ¥99.1 billion, while adjusted net profit cratered 43% to ¥6.1 billion. Goldman Sachs projects a 50% earnings decline in the second quarter. Yet Xiaomi is doubling down on R&D: spending jumped 33% in Q1 to ¥9 billion, and management plans a record ¥40 billion for the full year.

The next big test comes on August 26, 2026, when Xiaomi reports second-quarter results. Investors will be watching two numbers above all else: the per-vehicle loss trend and the delivery trajectory. Until those metrics improve, no amount of buybacks or Nürburgring headlines is likely to lift a stock trading at just a hair above its 52-week low.