HTC is caught on the wrong foot due to the decelerating growth of the high-end smartphone market and HTC’s weak position in the mid-low-end market. HTC is still facing structural challenges from smartphone demand polarization and commodization. Competition could be more intense when high-end makers put more emphasis on mid/low-end products, and low-end makers seek for product upgrades.
HTC’s over-concentration on the new One model (other models are weaker than expected in terms of shipments) could cause high earnings risk for HTC. Now we believe that the risk could come earlier than expected as – high-end smartphone growth is decelerating recently, which will put HTC in a weak position as its product mix highly
