Xiaomi’s Aggressive Buyback and Premium Shift Fail to Lift a Stock Under Pressure

Xiaomi targets high-end phones and European EV launch, but stock drops 25% YTD. Heavy buybacks and Q1 results due May 26 may provide catalyst.

Xiaomi is trying to break out of its rut on two fronts: pushing smartphones into higher price brackets while accelerating its electric-vehicle global rollout. The market, however, remains unconvinced. The stock ended Friday at €3.37, down 3.48% on the day and roughly 25% below its level at the start of the year – a far cry from the 52-week high of €6.69.

To steady the ship, management has been leaning heavily on share repurchases. On Friday the company bought back 3.3 million of its own shares, following a similar-sized tranche just days earlier. Since the start of the year, Xiaomi has spent HK$7.4 billion on buybacks, already exceeding the total for all of last year. Analysts remain broadly upbeat, with the average price target still sitting well above the current level.

The smartphone division, still Xiaomi’s core business, is feeling the squeeze. In the first quarter of 2026, the company shipped 33.8 million handsets – enough to hold third place globally, but a 19% drop year-on-year. Rising prices for memory components are eating into margins, especially since the bulk of shipments sit in the budget segment. The response has been a push toward premium models. The upcoming 17T and 17T Pro are set for an unusually early global launch on May 28, with the Pro’s top storage variant priced at around €999 in Europe – a steep jump from the €749 starting price of its predecessor. The 17 Max, featuring a large AMOLED display and a hefty battery, is also being considered for international release, with discussions already underway in markets like India.

On the EV side, the momentum is building. The SU7 has already pushed cumulative deliveries past 650,000 vehicles, and Xiaomi is targeting 550,000 deliveries in 2026 – roughly a 34% increase over 2025. Europe is the next frontier. The company has set up a research and design center in Munich, which will lead design work for the region. Germany will be the first market, with a launch targeted for the second half of 2027, followed by right-hand-drive markets in early 2028. Yu Liguo has been placed in charge of the Overseas Business Preparation Group, reporting directly to CEO Lei Jun and EV president William Lu.

All eyes now turn to May 26, when Xiaomi’s board will approve first-quarter results. The market will be looking past headline numbers to the EV division’s gross margin, capital expenditure, and free cash flow – as well as any concrete update on the upcoming YU7 model. A solid outlook for the second half of the year could give the stock the catalyst it has so far lacked. Until then, the dual narrative of premium smartphones and overseas electric vehicles remains a story the market is still waiting to believe.