Xiaomi Shipped 28 Million Smartphones Globally in Q1; Files World’s Biggest IPO Since 2014!

The demand for smartphones in the global market has gone down, but Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has done exceptionally well in the same period. Shipments have declined compared with last year and the numbers are some of the lowest since 2013. A total of 334.3 million smartphones were shipped globally in the first quarter this year.

Among the gainers, Apple and Huawei have seen a small increase in overall sales. But Xiaomi was the biggest gainer in the first quarter of 2018 while the global smartphone market saw a fall. The other Chinese vendors saw the highest decline since 2013 as the makers barely clocked 100 million units during the period.

Xiaomi – The Biggest Gainer

Xiaomi saw a massive jump from 14.8 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2017 to 28 million units in the same period of 2018. The company currently holds a global market share of 8.4 percent with a phenomenal growth of 87.8 percent from last year. Xiaomi is growing at a vigorous rate in the multiple global markets outside China.

In India, Xiaomi has been able to garner a 31.3 percent market share making Xiaomi the number one smartphone brand in the country. Presently, the Redmi 5A is the best-selling phone in the country.

The company has successfully marketed its mid-range smartphones at affordable prices. The Chinese smartphone maker is known to manufacture top-quality handsets at affordable prices, and it has seen massive success with its break-even pricing model in the global market.

Samsung – The Global Leader

Among 334.3 million units shipped, Samsung has topped the list with 78.2 million units. Currently, the South Korean tech giant has a 23.4 percent market share in the global smartphone market, which is a 2.4 percent decline compared to the same quarter of 2017.

Apple sits on the second spot with 52.2 million units. The company also grabbed 90 percent of all the industry profits in Q1 2018 with a global market share of 15.6 percent. Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is on the third spot with 39.3 million smartphones shipments with an 11.8 percent market share, an increase of 3.8 percent over Q1 2017.

iPhone X has also remained the best-selling iPhone every week in the first quarter of 2018.

Xiaomi Files World’s Biggest IPO Since 2014

In addition to making it to the top 5 smartphone manufacturers globally, Xiaomi has filed the biggest IPO in the world since 2014. The IPO (Initial Public Offering) listed in Hong Kong could take the company valuation to around $100 billion. The company has been able to clock a revenue of 114.62 billion yuan ($18 billion) in 2017, up by a staggering 67.5 percent against 2016.

Xiaomi had made a net loss of 43.89 billion yuan in 2016 compared to a profit of 491.6 million yuan in the same period. The operating profit for 2017 was 12.22 billion yuan, up from 3.79 billion yuan a year back.

The eight-year-old smartphone company is looking to raise $10 billion from the IPO at a valuation of $100 billion. Xiaomi is a bit different from other smartphone companies as they sell their devices at thin margins. They also have their own retail business and internet services like payments and streaming media.

Currently, Xiaomi is the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world with a global market share of 8.4 percent.