Xiaomi shakes up Chinese EV sector, keeping rival XPeng on its toes

By Rachel Yeo, Harshita Swaminathan, Justina T. Lee and Reina Sasaki

Xiaomi Corp.’s foray into electric vehicles and how it might shake up the industry in China will be scrutinized when it reports earnings alongside established competitor XPeng Inc. this week. 
 

The smartphone giant’s multibillion-dollar bet on breaking into the competitive EV market, dominated by Tesla Inc. and BYD Co., will see its first model go on sale later this month. Meanwhile, XPeng may report deeper losses as it slashed prices to boost sales and keep up with rivals. 

Other Chinese firms expected to perform well include Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Meituan. Advertising, international games and fintech sales should boost quarterly earnings for Tencent, while Meituan’s revenue may rise after seeing success from expanding meal delivery services beyond mainland China. 

Plans for the US to advance a bill that may ban Chinese biotech firms from accessing federal contracts may impact the long-term outlook for firms including WuXi AppTec Co. The company, specifically mentioned in the bill, gets over half of its revenue from the US.

Highlights to look out for: 

Monday: WuXi AppTec’s (2359 HK) outlook may be dented by the US’s imposition of trade curbs. The firm has repeatedly said it doesn’t pose any national security risk to the US and doesn’t have a human genomics business. Citi analysts expect no surprises in the upcoming earnings report, as the firm already guided down its 2023 outlook following China’s anti-corruption campaign.

Tuesday: Xiaomi’s (1810 HK) annual adjusted profit is set to more than double, consensus shows. The firm’s EV expansion offers optionality to its core business recovery, Macquarie said. The long-awaited SU7 series EV, launching on March 28, could become a long-term growth driver, boosting sales by as much as 4% this year, Bloomberg Intelligence said. Aggressive pricing would spur volumes and threaten rivals including BYD and Leapmotor.

XPeng (XPEV US) losses probably deepened as a price war in China meant revenue growth trailed the increase in car deliveries. The company said it almost tripled deliveries in the fourth quarter, making it one of the fastest-growing among global EV makers. EV retail prices dropped more than 20% through 2023, according to Citi analysts, even before XPeng cut prices of its G6 series earlier this month.

GoTo (GOTO IJ) should post a narrower full-year net loss, supported by higher revenue and lower operating expenses, estimates show. Over the longer term, pressure on the largest Indonesian tech company’s bottom line should be relieved by the e-commerce takeover by ByteDance’s TikTok, allowing resources to be redirected to higher-margin businesses, BI said.

Wednesday: Tencent’s (700 HK) full-year adjusted net income may grow 35%, thanks to a sales rebound in international games, advertising and fintech. The firm should still deliver double-digit revenue growth this year. Profit will be driven by artificial intelligence-enhanced ads and strong demand for short videos, underpinned by cost control and a stabilizing regulatory environment, BI said. 

Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK) should have maintained the profitability from the previous quarter as the social media platform continued to rake in ad revenue, though its active user base shrank slightly. E-commerce gross merchandise value is expected to have grown 30%, which Jefferies analysts attribute partly to China’s Singles’ Day sales event in November. BI expects the growth momentum to slow this year on growing competition and a worsening outlook for China’s consumer sector.

Thursday: Cnooc’s (883 HK) full-year earnings may be supported by domestic gas production, which rose to record highs amid the government’s push to boost energy supplies. That said, earnings outlook may be pressured by expectations that oil demand growth in China will slow this year. 

Friday: Meituan’s (3690 HK) fourth-quarter profit probably more than tripled. The company has invested in newer businesses such as grocery retail and live-streaming to cope with rising competition. Analysts expect the challenge from the likes of ByteDance’s Douyin to dim the outlook over the coming quarters. Analysts at BI predict the company will return more cash to shareholders this year.