Xiaomi Stock Tests New Lows as Buyback and Product Launches Collide

Xiaomi shares hit a 52-week low despite a major share buyback. The company faces profit pressure but is pushing ahead with its EV ambitions and a new product launch.

Xiaomi shares touched a fresh 52-week low of 3.33 euros on Monday, a stark contrast to the operational activity unfolding within the Chinese tech giant. As the stock price languishes, having lost roughly half its value since last year's peak, the company is deploying a massive share buyback and preparing a major product launch in an effort to stabilize investor sentiment.

The buyback program moved into high gear this week, with the company purchasing 8.1 million of its own shares for approximately 248 million Hong Kong dollars. This transaction is part of an automatic program established in January, authorized to spend up to 2.5 billion Hong Kong dollars. Management appears to be using the current share price weakness strategically; the stock has declined over 24% since the start of the year.

Operational pressures, however, are providing a stiff headwind. The company's core smartphone business is grappling with rising costs for components like memory chips. In its home market of China, Xiaomi managed only a fifth-place finish in the first quarter amidst a slightly contracting landscape. To protect profitability, the firm has already raised retail prices for select models by as much as 30%.

These challenges were reflected in the recent quarterly report. For Q4 2025, Xiaomi posted a 24% year-over-year decline in adjusted net profit. Soaring costs and aggressive investments in its electric vehicle division weighed heavily on margins.

The EV segment itself is sending mixed signals. In March, Xiaomi delivered 21,440 vehicles to customers, a slight monthly increase but a nearly 27% drop compared to the same period last year. The story diverges sharply between models. While sales of the established YU7 SUV collapsed by almost a third, the new SU7 sedan is off to a roaring start. It recorded nearly 7,900 deliveries in just its first eight days on the market. The company's order books are robust, with over 40,000 firm orders already placed for the SU7. Xiaomi's ambitious annual target of delivering 550,000 vehicles remains firmly in place.

Looking beyond immediate pressures, Xiaomi is making costly bets on its future. Its annual research and development budget has swelled to over 40 billion renminbi, with a significant portion dedicated to building capabilities in artificial intelligence and robotics. The company is sacrificing short-term smartphone margins to fund this expansive, connected ecosystem. A key pillar of its hardware independence strategy is the in-house "XRING 01" mobile processor, built on a 3-nanometer process, designed to power future device generations and reduce reliance on external suppliers.

Investors will get a closer look at the near-term hardware roadmap on April 21. The company has scheduled a major launch event in China, expected to spotlight its Redmi product line. The new "Redmi Book Pro 2026" series, featuring Intel's Core Ultra X7 358H processor and Arc B390 graphics, will be positioned as a more affordable alternative to Xiaomi's high-end offerings, with the 14-inch model promising up to 37 hours of battery life. The gaming-focused Redmi K90 Max smartphone is also set to debut.

The broader geopolitical climate adds another layer of uncertainty, as escalating US-China trade tariffs continue to foster caution toward Hong Kong-listed technology stocks. Technically, chart watchers see the next relevant resistance level around 3.59 euros, coinciding with the 20-day moving average. A sustained break above this level could be interpreted as an initial signal of stabilization. For now, the market is weighing the company's aggressive capital return and promising EV start against significant margin compression and heavy future spending.