Xiaomi’s HK$20 Billion Share Buyback and Early 17T Launch Aim to Counter 43% Profit Plunge

Xiaomi unveils HK$20B share buyback and advances 17T smartphone launch by four months as memory chip costs crush profits by 43%.

Xiaomi is throwing everything at the wall. The Chinese electronics giant has advanced the global launch of its 17T smartphone series by roughly four months while simultaneously unveiling a massive share repurchase plan worth up to HK$20 billion. The twin moves come as the stock languishes near multi-year lows and a brutal profit squeeze from soaring chip costs deepens.

The buyback program takes effect on 2 June 2026, immediately after the current mandate expires, and will run for twelve months. Xiaomi wasted no time deploying capital: on a single trading session it bought back 10.5 million Class B ordinary shares at prices ranging from HK$27.94 to HK$28.70, spending roughly HK$298 million. Management is clearly signalling that it will not stand idly by while the stock slides — although the broader market remains unconvinced. Shares in Frankfurt shed 2.86% to €3.07 on the day, extending the year-to-date decline to 31.59%.

A Premium Push With Leica Firepower

The 17T series, officially launched on 28 May at a global event in Vienna, marks Xiaomi’s most aggressive assault on the premium mid-range yet. The standard 17T is priced at €749 in Europe (or HK$3,999 in Hong Kong for the 12 GB RAM/256 GB configuration), while the Pro model starts at €999 in Europe — with a top-tier version reaching €1,099 — and HK$5,999 in Hong Kong for 12 GB RAM and 1 TB storage. Xiaomi is dangling pre-order incentives such as headphones and, for the Pro, the Smart Band 10.

Both models feature a MediaTek Dimensity chipset — the 8500-Ultra in the standard and the 9500 in the Pro — along with a Leica-tuned triple-camera setup. The headline spec, however, belongs to the Pro: a 7,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery, a capacity rarely seen even in the premium segment. The cameras include a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and a main sensor — the Light Fusion 800 for the standard model and the Light Fusion 950 for the Pro. For the first time, Leica’s optical expertise appears in the T-series.

The early launch is a calculated gamble. Xiaomi is trying to lock in revenue ahead of the usual cycle, especially in Europe where it already commands a 17.2% smartphone market share. Global share stands at 11.3%, and the company shipped 33.8 million units in the first quarter — its 23rd consecutive quarter among the top three worldwide. The smartphone segment generated ¥44.3 billion in revenue during Q1, contributing to a total Smartphone × AIoT revenue of ¥79.3 billion.

The Cost Squeeze That Won’t Let Up

For all the product buzz, the numbers tell a sobering story. Xiaomi’s adjusted net profit collapsed by 43.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. The culprit is a dramatic surge in memory chip prices — contract rates for smartphone DRAM have quintupled, while TV memory prices have multiplied by ten. CEO Lei Jun has warned that the pressure will persist for at least another two years.

The pain is entirely operational. Xiaomi is not pulling back on investment: research and development spending jumped 33.4% to ¥9.0 billion in the same quarter, with 26,048 staff now working in R&D. The company is betting on AI, electric vehicles, and its “Human × Car × Home” ecosystem. Deliveries in the EV segment rose 6.6% to 80,856 vehicles, and the annual target of 550,000 remains intact.

Yet the market is focused on profitability, not ambition. The buyback can support the share price temporarily, and the early 17T launch may generate demand, but neither addresses the core margin issue. Xiaomi is running two races at once — defending margins in smartphones while funding a capital-intensive EV business — and the chip price shock is making both harder.