Xiaomi Comes Down to Earth

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Eva Dou, Xiaomi Investors Give Valuation Closer Look. Wall Street Journal, Jan 11, 2016.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/chin ... nvestors-1452454204

Quote:

(a) past glory: Xiaomi's "Sales that year ]2014] tripled to 61 million smartphones, compared with a year earlier.

(b) "In December 2014, Xiaomi raised a $1.1 billion round that valued the company at $46 billion, topping even ride-sharing startup Uber Technologies Inc. at the time, although Uber has since regained the lead.  

"But Xiaomi’s smartphones, which once sold out in minutes in limited batches via online flash sales, are now easily available—a shift that analysts say signals slowing demand.

"Also, a slowdown in China’s smartphone market has laid bare Xiaomi’s weaknesses. Xiaomi has lost market share against established competitors with more financial and technological firepower such as Huawei Technologies Co, which launched a rival high-end smartphone line targeting web-savvy buyers and overtook Xiaomi as China’s top handset maker in the third quarter 2015, according to research firm Canalys. Huawei, which sold more than 100 million mobile devices last year

Note: Huawei "sold more than 100 million mobile devices last year"

Jonathan Chen, Huawei Eyes US Smartphone Market After Stellar Year of Sales Growth; Chinese firm launches new flagship handset at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Wall Street Journal, Jan 5, 2016.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/huaw ... -in-2015-1451982946
("Richard Yu, head of Huawei’s consumer business group, which consists mainly of mobile phones, said at a launch event for its new smartphone that the company’s consumer business sales grew by nearly 70% last year to more than $20 billion, as it shipped 108 million smartphones—a 44% increase from the 75 million that it shipped in the prior year")

There is no need to read the rest of this report in the FOOTNOTE, which is not published in US edition of WSJ.