HTC dilemma: Investors lose patience and start voting with their feet

The rapid change in the market makes people unprepared. The once-hot HTC has recently been battered.

Last week, the market adjustment data also said that HTC has become the largest intelligent machine manufacturer in North America. The latest release of the fourth quarter earnings forecast is that there will be "zero growth", the direction of the wind in January.

This is not the worst. The key is that investors have lost patience and started voting with their feet. Since April of this year, HTC’s share price has fallen by 60%. In the past 9 trading days, the decline has reached 30%. The consumer electronics market will retreat if it does not advance. Obviously investors have doubted its prospects.

HTC CFO Rongju Sheng stressed that HTC is not another Nokia. It seems that people are protesting that HTC will be linked to the boom and bust of mobile phone giant Nokia. He said that it does not feel so serious.

that's the truth. In the past year, HTC has succeeded in gaining a foothold in the first camp of the smartphone market.

According to IDC's data in the third quarter, HTC has taken a 10.8% share of the global smartphone market, ranking fourth in the industry, second only to Nokia, but surpassing RIM.

However, if you compare progress with your opponent, some will not be able to get it. Samsung, for example, contrasts sharply with HTC. In the third quarter, Samsung’s shipments soared by 44%, surpassing Apple’s leaps and bounds as the world’s largest smartphone maker, with 28.5 million units shipped and a market share of 20%.

Apple iPhone performance still did not have to say. The fact that Apple monopolizes more than 50% of the profits of the entire industry remains unchanged.

What happened to the HTC? The recent series of patent litigation is probably a fuse. On November 22, the US International Trade Commission ruled that Apple's products did not infringe S3 Graphics' patents. S3 Graphics is HTC's company that was rushed to purchase 300 million U.S. dollars after the outbreak of the patent war this year. The purpose is to increase the weight of the lawsuit against Apple. Now, 300 million U.S. dollars have indeed been lost.

Counterattacking Apple failed, but HTC was indeed "heavy wounded" by the patent. In July, HTC was found to have infringed on Apple's two patents. A few days ago, HTC began to suffer setbacks in Europe, another major market outside the United States. A German company called IPCom announced that HTC will be banned from selling in Germany under the ban of German courts.

According to 2010 data, HTC US market share accounted for 5.06%, European market accounted for 32.3%, and Asia and other markets only 17.1%. It can be seen that the US and European markets are unfavorable and HTC must be in jeopardy.

HTC’s patent reserves are weakest relative to other major mobile phone manufacturers. Whether it is Nokia, Motorola or Samsung, it has network assets and has accumulated many years of communication technology. Even if the patents on mobile phones involved are not as good as Apple, they can still be checked by using communications technology patents. However, HTC is not hard at all.

Therefore, there are opinions that slower launch of new products and little change in new products are still important factors that affect the stamina of HTC. In addition, the "short-board" effect of the Chinese market has become increasingly evident.

Whether it is the era of feature phones or the era of smart phones, China has always been the key to winning or losing the game. Nokia can become the overlord in the 2G era, and it has contributed to Nokia's largest market in China. Despite the dramatic changes in the industry, the United States once represented the market trend of smart phones. However, in the long run, the huge Chinese market will still play a crucial role in the market share and ranking of mobile phone companies.

Compared with other manufacturers, HTC's channel construction, brand influence, and operator relations in the Chinese market, especially its penetration into the secondary and tertiary markets, are still significantly weaker than those of Samsung, Motorola, and other local manufacturers.

If you want to show your skills in the global mobile phone market, please try to hit the Chinese market first. Apple is the case, and even more so for other manufacturers.