Shares in Chinese tech group Xiaomi (XIACF) dialed higher today as it said its new smartphone had “exceeded expectations.”
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Strong Sales
Billionaire co-founder Lei Jun has taken to Chinese microblogging platform Weibo to declare that initial sales of its new 17-series smartphones, launched last month, were doing well.
The $631 device has been built to compete directly with tech giant Apple’s (AAPL) latest iPhone 17. Indeed, the 17-series launch came just two weeks after the U.S. firm released its new model.
Like Apple, Xiaomi is offering both Pro and Pro Max versions, but for more than $100 less than Apple’s base model.
On October 2, Lu said more than 1 million units of the Xiaomi 17 had been sold a week after it was released, which surpassed the previous series’ performance.
But the performance has come despite some production hiccups for the group.
In a separate Weibo post on Tuesday, according to the South China Morning Post, Xiaomi’s smartphone business president, Lu Weibing, apologized for the “insufficient stock” of the company’s new flagship handset in the market, which has inconvenienced buyers.
Apple Pressure
The indication is that without those struggles sales could have been even higher. That in turn will put even more pressure on Apple in China, which can be seen below is an important market for the group.
Apple is facing intense competition from China’s domestic phone brands such as Xiaomi and Huawei amid weak consumer demand. Its share of the local market has dropped to 12%, and iPhone shipments dropped 6% in the first eight weeks of the third quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.
Nonetheless, analysts believe that Apple will see a lift in China sales in the second half of the year, with sales in China expected to rise 11% on the back of the iPhone 17 launch.
Is XIACF a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, XIACF has a Strong Buy consensus based on 9 Buy and 2 Hold ratings. Its highest price target is $10.28. XIACF stock’s consensus price target is $8.40, implying a 20.34% upside.
