Lei Jun, the high-profile entrepreneur, has found himself at the center of online discussion for several days following a video of him having breakfast in Wuhan.
Initially, the focus was a young girl's offhand comment about the crowd filming him. Later, some netizens suggested the scene was a staged imitation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's recent visit to a Beijing hutong.
Lei Jun later addressed the incident personally, expressing bewilderment that such a simple event could trend for days.
He reflected that in today's attention-driven era, whether the feedback is praise, criticism, or mockery, it all generates traffic—a price public figures must now pay.
On the financial front, Xiaomi Corporation (HKEX: 1810) reported first-quarter revenue of RMB 99.1 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 10.9%. Its net profit plunged 56.5% to RMB 4.7 billion.
The company noted in its earnings report that global economic uncertainties, sharp increases in prices of core components like memory and commodities, and intensified industry competition presented significant headwinds during the quarter.
Amid this performance pressure, Xiaomi's recent performance in the capital markets has also been lackluster. As of the close on June 23rd, Xiaomi's share price had fallen to HK$22.62, representing a decline of over 60% from last year's peak, with its latest market capitalization standing at approximately HK$584.5 billion.
It is worth noting that in the latest "2026 New Fortune 500 Wealth Creation Ranking," the market value of the Lei Jun family's holdings increased by 12% to RMB 225.06 billion, yet their ranking on the list slipped from sixth place last year to eighth.
Breakfast in Wuhan Draws Young Critic
On June 15th, Lei Jun traveled to Wuhan to participate in the World Youth Development Forum. That morning, he visited a local breakfast street to sample Wuhan's famous morning dishes, including hot dry noodles.
Videos circulated online show Lei Jun, like a local, squatting by the roadside to eat his meal.
Notably, apart from onlookers filming with their phones, multiple professional cameras were set up directly across from him, creating a multi-angle filming setup.
As Lei Jun interacted with people around him, a young schoolgirl walking past him remarked, "Why do so many people need to take pictures just for eating breakfast?"
Lei Jun was momentarily taken aback before turning with a smile to invite her to join. The girl, however, continued walking without looking back.
This candid moment was recorded and shared online, quickly becoming a trending topic.
During a public dialogue on June 21st, Lei Jun discussed the incident. He explained he was in town for the forum and wanted to record the meal with colleagues to help promote his hometown.
He reiterated his surprise at the prolonged online attention, adding that in the current era, one must accept that all reactions—positive or negative—generate traffic.
Lei Jun suggested that many critics may have no real stance and are merely chasing clicks, possibly even from professional "troll" companies. He advised the public to simply laugh off such reports.
Later that evening, Xu Jieyun, a special assistant to the chairman and deputy general manager of the Strategy and Marketing Department at Xiaomi, who was present at the breakfast, also responded.
Xu stated that recording casual vlogs during work trips has been a practice for two years, and bringing a camera is reasonable. He lamented that some narratives, driven by emotion and perspective rather than truth, can twist even reasonable actions into something suspicious.
Deep Ties to Wuhan and a Marketing Boost
Lei Jun's connection to Wuhan runs deep. A native of nearby Xiantao, he enrolled at Wuhan University in 1987 and founded his first company in the city's East Lake High-tech Development Zone.
Corporate records show that Xiaomi Technology (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. was established there in September 2017, with the Xiaomi Wuhan headquarters building commencing construction the following year.
In 2018, shortly after Xiaomi's IPO, Lei Jun announced plans to establish the company's artificial intelligence headquarters in Wuhan, positioning the city as a "mega R&D headquarters" for Xiaomi and other affiliated "Lei Jun ecosystem" companies.
During the forum opening, Lei Jun enthusiastically promoted Wuhan, praising its innovative environment, scenery, and food, and calling for global talent to join him there in creating exciting products.
He later noted on social media that the combined R&D teams of Xiaomi and Kingsoft in Wuhan have grown to tens of thousands of people.
Some online commentators had drawn parallels between Lei's breakfast video and a recent video of Nvidia's CEO eating in Beijing, accusing Lei of staging a copycat event.
In response, Xu Jieyun shared a series of photos and videos from Lei Jun's business trips over the past two years, showing him casually enjoying local food and drink in various cities, suggesting such recordings are routine.
Interestingly, a restaurant in Yancheng that Lei Jun visited promptly launched a "Lei Jun Combo" meal after his visit, marketing itself as a网红打卡地 (internet-famous check-in spot) visited by the Xiaomi founder.
Similarly, during the recent Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the Wuhan breakfast shop Lei Jun visited was flooded with fans and tourists. Despite heavy rain, eager visitors, some arriving directly from the train station with luggage, lined up as early as 5 a.m.
The shop owner reported having to start preparations at 2 a.m. and extend operating hours due to the surge in customers, marveling at the unwavering enthusiasm of Lei Jun's supporters.
Financial Performance Under Pressure and Share Price Decline
While Lei Jun's visit brought a windfall of attention to a local eatery, Xiaomi itself is navigating challenges in both its business performance and stock market valuation.
For the first quarter, the company's overall net profit margin was just 4.8%, halving year-on-year and marking the weakest level since 2023.
Breaking down by segment, revenue from the core "Smartphone × AIoT" division fell to RMB 79.3 billion, down RMB 13.4 billion year-on-year.
Within this division, both smartphone and IoT & lifestyle products revenue contracted, reaching RMB 44.3 billion and RMB 24.7 billion, respectively.
Revenue from the "Intelligent Electric Vehicles & AI Innovation" division grew to RMB 19.9 billion, an increase of RMB 1.3 billion.
However, this segment's operating profit swung back to a loss of RMB 3.1 billion this quarter, following its first annual profit of RMB 0.9 billion in 2023.
Regarding car deliveries, cumulative figures for the first five months of the year exceeded 140,000 units. This leaves a gap of over 400,000 units to reach Lei Jun's stated target of 550,000 deliveries for the full year 2026.
Amid significant sales pressure, reports emerged on June 20th that Xiaomi Auto is offering new purchase incentives at the retail level.
According to industry sources, some showrooms have introduced an employee internal purchase program, through which regular consumers can buy certain in-stock vehicles at a discount of RMB 10,000.
The promotion covers models like the SU7 Pro and various YU7 versions, with available vehicles mainly produced in February and March, and YU7 models reportedly having higher inventory.
In the capital markets, Xiaomi's share price has been on a general downtrend since hitting an all-time high of HK$61.45 in mid-2023.
The key question now is whether Xiaomi can stabilize its operational performance and regain favor with investors moving forward.
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