Kioxia Market Cap Tops 40 Trillion Yen Briefly Ahead of Briefing

2026-06-02

Kioxia Holdings' market capitalisation briefly topped 40 trillion yen in Tokyo trading on the 2nd. Domestic and foreign funds flowed in early as investors looked to gauge the company's business strategy and shareholder return measures at an investor briefing scheduled for later in the day.

Buying clustered before briefing

Kioxia shares at one point rose as much as 2% from the previous day to 74,250 yen during trading. After buying in the morning, the stock struggled to extend gains and repeatedly pared increases.

AI investment raises supply squeeze view

Demand for NAND flash memory remains strong on the back of expanding data centre investment for artificial intelligence (AI) by major US tech companies. The company has not disclosed a net profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027, but the market expects it to swell to 430 billion yen, about eight times the previous year.

Market focus turns to shareholder returns

As cash generation strengthens rapidly, investors are turning their attention to shareholder returns. Yoshihiko Kawamura, executive vice president in charge of finance, told the Nikkei in April that 'we are discussing a policy of stable dividends'. If dividends are paid, it would be the first since the listing in December 2024.

Another focus is how the company will balance growth investment and returns. Remarks from President Takeo Ota and others will be closely watched at the investor briefing.

Higher target price also lends support

A report dated May 31 by Goldman Sachs Securities also supported the stock after it upgraded its investment rating to 'buy' from 'neutral' and raised its target price to 93,000 yen from 48,000 yen. The firm sees only limited growth in supply of NAND flash memory made by Kioxia and expects tight supply and demand conditions to continue until 2028.

Even so, it said there has been no major change in the semiconductor industry's structure, where price competition is easy to trigger, and maintained its view that the sector is 'cyclical', repeating booms and busts every few years.

Buying also swept into SoftBank Group (SBG) on the day, briefly pushing its market capitalisation above 50 trillion yen. After the initial wave of buying, profit-taking pushed the stock lower at times.

Enjoyed this article? Share it with your network!