Counterpoint: Smartphone Cost Shock Hits Smaller Rivals Hardest

Industry
โดย Yahoo Finance·USCN·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Counterpoint Research reported Thursday that rising component costs are pushing smartphone prices higher and weakening demand in the U.S. and China, with smaller manufacturers absorbing the sharpest blow. U.S. smartphone sales fell 5% year over year in the second quarter, while sales across the four largest manufacturers — Apple, Samsung, Motorola and Alphabet's Google — declined 4% and the rest of the market plunged 45%. Sales of phones priced below $100 tumbled 64%, and Counterpoint expects average selling prices to rise again in the third quarter as Apple increases iPhone 18 prices and Google launches Pixel 11 devices above Pixel 10 launch prices. In China, smartphone sales fell 8.6% year over year during the first 30 weeks of 2026, with Huawei remaining the market leader and Xiaomi climbing to second place after launching the REDMI Note 17 series despite price increases of 300 to 500 Chinese yuan across several product lines. Counterpoint warned that rising memory and system-on-chip costs will force additional price hikes in the second half, while spending on agentic artificial intelligence becomes a competitive necessity rather than a differentiator.

Impact on stocks 6

Artificial Intelligence▼ · 4 stocks
Apple Inc.
AAPL
▼ NegativePricingrelevance

Apple is increasing iPhone 18 prices, which may dampen demand.

Alphabet Inc Class C
GOOG
▼ NegativeDemandrelevance

Google's Pixel 11 launch prices are higher, and overall smartphone demand is weak.

Electrification & Mobility▲ · 1 stocks
Xiaomi Corp
1810
▲ PositiveDemandrelevance

Xiaomi climbed to second place in China after launching REDMI Note 17 despite price hikes.

Smart City / Autonomous Infrastructure▲ · 1 stocks

Off-coverage companies 1

HuaweiPrivate▼ Negative
Demandrelevance

Rising component costs and price hikes weaken demand, and Huawei faces competitive pressure from Xiaomi's rise.

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