The rise of Xiaomi is one of the promising Chinese companies in the consumer electronics market and the greater tech sector has been impressive. It emerged in 2010 as a smartphone brand and has since expanded its product portfolio to various consumer electronics, software, home appliances, and electronic vehicles. The company went public in 2018 and has since been listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong with the ticker 1810. It is also one of the largest companies in Hong Kong and is a component of the Hang Seng Index. This article provides a detailed overview of the pros and cons or advantages and disadvantages of investing in Xiaomi stock.
The ”Apple” of China: Pros and Cons of Investing in Xiaomi Stock
Pros: Xiaomi Stock Advantages
Xiaomi was founded in 2010 and has since outplaced Apple to become the closest rival of Samsung Electronics in the global smartphone market and has recently challenged the global expansion of Tesla in the global electronic vehicle market. The company also competes against other established Asian companies with an established foothold in the home appliance market like LG Electronics and Sony Corporation. It has also been one of the top innovators in the world in terms of patent filings based on the World Intellectual Property Indicators or WIPO ranking. The stellar rise of the company. The following are the advantages of Xiaomi stock:
• Established Smartphone Brand: The company has ranked the second largest smartphone manufacturer in the world in 2023. It has outranked Apple and has become a challenger to the dominance of Samsung Electronics. Xiaomi achieved this through a penetration pricing strategy and the expansion of its smartphone brand across different price tiers.
• Diversified Product Portfolio: Xiaomi has also expanded its entire product portfolio to become a designer and manufacturer of various consumer electronics like tablets, smart watches, smart televisions, speakers, other smart home devices, unmanned aerial vehicles, and vacuum cleaners, among others. These give it a diverse revenue stream.
• Electric Vehicle Market Venture: The company announced in 2021 that invested $20 billion into electric vehicles. Xiaomi Auto was announced in 2023 and its first EV vehicle was unveiled in March 2024. It has the goal of becoming one of the five largest automakers in the world. Investing in Xiaomi stock means betting on this ambitious goal.
• Record Revenues and Profitability: It reached a high of 11.2 percent in gross profit margin in the first quarter of 2022 for its smartphone business. The company further reached 19.5 percent in the first quarter of 2023. The overall revenue grew to 126 percent and the gross profit margin for 2023 was 21.2 percent across all businesses.
• Budding But Affordable Stock: Xiaomi has a market cap of around HKD 437.39 billion or about USD 7.47 billion. It is still a mid-cap stock but it is close to becoming a large-cap stock once it reaches a market cap of USD 10 billion or more. This means that investing in its stock can take advantage of the benefits of mid-cap and large-cap investing.
• Growth Investment Potentials: The stock price of Xiaomi trades between HKD 12.00 and HKD 19.00 per share or around USD 1.50 USD and USD 2.43. This is well within the range of a penny stock. It can be considered a growth stock and ideal for growth investing because of its growth potential if it succeeds in its electric vehicle venture.
Cons: Xiaomi Stock Disadvantages
Xiaomi has an established and strong presence in mainland China, Southeast Asia, South America, and South Asia. It also has a growing presence in the Middle East. However, when it comes to the geographic markets in North America and Europe, the company has a presence but still struggles to compete against incumbents. This is evident from the limited availability of its products, reduced distribution channels, and dependence on online sales. It also has to deal with the reputational issues haunting Chinese companies in general while also competing against other Chinese companies. The following are the disadvantages of Xiaomi stock:
• Branding and Marketing Issues: The company is still a relatively new brand compared to incumbents like Apple and Samsung. There is also a need for it to establish itself as a reputable brand. This means that it is required to spend more on marketing to increase brand awareness and reputation in countries and regions where it has limited reach.
• Smartphone Market Dependence: It is also worth noting that its revenues and profits are still largely fueled by its smartphone business across its main brand and sub-brands. Take note that the global smartphone market has seen a downward trend. Xiaomi needs to increase its sales of its other products to retain its profit margins.
• Intensity of Market Competition: Xiaomi competes across different markets. Apple and Samsung are its biggest rivals in the smartphone market. It also competes with LG Electronics in the home appliances market. Tesla is a competitor in the EV market. This prevents it from increasing its prices due to lower bargaining power.
• Low-Cost Strategy Dependence: The company has made its place by offering relatively more affordable counterparts to some of the most popular consumer electronics products. This has been an effective market-entry strategy. However, this same low-cost strategy limits its profit margins and also prevents it from using premium pricing.
• Slow Stock Price Appreciation: Another possible disadvantage of Xiaomi stock is that its stock price has not grown substantially in the past five years. The company experienced considerable growth from 2020 to 2021 but its price declined beginning in 2022 and its stock now trades around the same level as its stock price in the early part of 2020.
• Various and Diverse Risk Exposures: The company also has to deal with risks inherent to its operations on top of established risks in stocks. These include possible legal and regulation compliance issues, uncertainties in the general consumer electronics market and specific electric vehicle markets, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain issues.