HONG KONG (Reuters) -Xiaomi shares jumped as much as 3.4% on Wednesday after it reported record first-quarter revenue and profit and said its shift towards higher-end products from smartphones to home appliances was already paying off.
The Hong Kong-listed shares of the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, whose products also extend to cars, rose to HK$53.3 in early trade, before paring gains. The stock was trading 0.6% higher later in the session.
Xiaomi now commands a market value of about $171 billion, higher than the roughly $160 billion of BYD, China’s biggest EV maker, according to LSEG data.
Analysts said Xiaomi’s diversified businesses helped it better navigate a bruising price war in the Chinese electric vehicle sector, where the biggest manufacturers are cutting prices to win customers.
“The key difference between Xiaomi and other companies is that it’s not simply a smartphone company or a car OEM (original equipment manufacturer),” said Will Wong, a senior smartphone analyst at research firm IDC.
“It could be seen as a ‘lifestyle’ company that offers day-to-day products used by consumers,” he said, although economic uncertainties amid a global trade war could pose a downside risk.
(Reporting By Che Pan, Donny Kwok and Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Rachna Uppal)
