Xiaomi revenue leaps as it raises EV target

Beijing/Shanghai — China’s Xiaomi on Tuesday reported an almost 50% jump in fourth-quarter revenue, beating analyst estimates, and raised its target for electric vehicle deliveries this year to 350,000 from 300,000.

The world’s third-largest smartphone maker, whose product lines extend to home appliances and cars, also said it planned to expand its store network across China this year and open 10,000 new Mi Home stores overseas in the next five years.

The company reported a 48.8% rise in fourth-quarter revenue to 109-billion yuan ($15.1 billion), beating the 103.94-billion yuan average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. Adjusted net profit jumped 69.4% year on year to 8.32-billion yuan, ahead of the average estimate of 6.399-billion yuan.

Xiaomi president Lu Weibing said on an earnings call that he saw great potential for the company’s products — from phones and tablets to cars — in overseas markets, though he added the complexity of expanding abroad was “quite high”. Lu said the company aimed to start shipping cars overseas in 2027.

Xiaomi’s Hong Kong-listed shares closed up 3.3% before the earnings release. The stock has surged 284% over the past 12 months amid investor enthusiasm for its EV plans.

Xiaomi began manufacturing EVs last year with the launch of the SU7 sedan after selling smartphones, household appliances and smart gadgets for most of its 15-year history.

It reported 32.1-billion yuan in revenue for its EV business in 2024, delivering more than 135,000 SU7 sedans. The adjusted net loss related to its EV and other new initiatives reached 6.2-billion yuan.

Xiaomi’s fourth-quarter global smartphone shipments rose 5% from a year earlier to 42.7 million handsets, ranking it third globally, with a market share of 13%, data from researcher Canalys shows.

In China, its largest market, shipments surged 29% to 12.2-million handsets over the same period, ranking it fourth, with a market share of 16%, according to the Canalys data.

Lu said Xiaomi aimed to ship 180-million smartphones this year, adding the company would invest up to 8-billion yuan, about a quarter of its total research & development budget this year, in AI-related initiatives.

Reuters