Xiaomi posts first EV-unit profit as Q3 revenue rises 22%

by SONG Jianan

Xiaomi Corp reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter results on Tuesday, with surging electric-vehicle and AI-related sales helping the company deliver its first operating profit from its automotive and innovation businesses.

The group's revenue rose 22.3% from a year earlier to RMB 113.1 billion (about US16 billion), marking a fourth straight quarter above the RMB 100 billion level. Adjusted net profit climbed 80.9% to a record RMB 11.3 billion, supported by falling component costs and wider scale benefits.

Revenue from Xiaomi's EV and AI-driven "innovative businesses" jumped 199.2% to RMB 29 billion, the highest since the division was created. Smart-EV revenue nearly tripled to RMB 28.3 billion, boosted by higher deliveries and a firmer average selling price. The unit posted RMB 700 million in operating profit, its first single-quarter gain.

Xiaomi delivered 108,796 vehicles in the quarter, a new high, as mass production lowered per-unit manufacturing costs. The launch of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra in March helped push the automotive ASP to RMB 260,100, up from RMB 253,700. President LU Weibing told analysts the company expects to reach its 350,000-unit annual delivery target this week. Xiaomi now operates 402 auto stores across 119 cities in mainland China.

Its core "Smartphone × AIoT" business remained stable, with revenue rising 1.6% to RMB 84.1 billion, or about three-quarters of the total. Smartphone shipments were little changed at 43.3 million units, extending growth to a ninth consecutive quarter. Market researcher Omdia estimated Xiaomi held a 13.6% share of global shipments in the period, keeping it in the top three worldwide for the 21st quarter.

Xiaomi continued to push into the premium segment. Third-party data showed high-end models made up 24.1% of its mainland smartphone sales, up 4.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Sales of the new Xiaomi 17 series were about 30% higher than the previous generation in the first month, with the 17 Pro models accounting for more than 80% of the mix.

Connected AIoT devices exceeded 1 billion for the first time, while monthly active IoT users reached 742 million. Internet services revenue hit RMB 9.4 billion, up 10.8% to a record high.

The company expanded its offline footprint to more than 18,000 Mi Home stores nationwide and nearly 300 overseas outlets. R&D spending jumped 52.1% to RMB 9.1 billion in the quarter, lifting year-to-date investment to RMB 23.5 billion. Xiaomi now has 24,871 R&D staff. Capital expenditure reached RMB 13 billion for the first nine months, up 86.7% year on year, while share buybacks totaled HK$1.54 billion.