Toyota group cross-shareholdings unwind, 935.3 billion yen sold

2026-07-11

Sales still near 1 trillion yen

Based on annual securities reports from eight companies, excluding Toyota Industries, which was taken private, including Toyota Motor, Denso and Aisin. Sales in the year ended March 2026 came to 935.3 billion yen, excluding deemed holdings. That was down from 1.1395 trillion yen in the year ended March 2025, but remained close to 1 trillion yen.

The number of stocks sold was 44, while the number of holdings fell to 94. Aiming to improve capital efficiency, group companies have spent roughly three years unwinding cross-shareholdings. Although the pace of decline slowed as some holdings increased due to listings of unlisted stocks, all companies have maintained their sales stance.

Toyota sells 238.7 billion yen including partial sales

In the year ended March 2026, Toyota fully sold shares in Panasonic Holdings and others. Sales including partial disposals amounted to about 238.7 billion yen. That was down from 643.3 billion yen in the year ended March 2025, but this year it also offered some of its holdings into KDDI's share buyback.

Since Toyota, Toyota Industries and Aisin announced the sale of Denso shares in 2023, the group's unwinding of cross-shareholdings has accelerated. This year, as Toyota Industries was taken private, group companies sold their shares in the company.

In addition to Toyota Industries, Denso sold about 450 billion yen worth of shares in Renesas Electronics, Aisan Industry and others. Aisin sold about 150 billion yen worth of shares in Suzuki and Lixil, while JTEKT sold about 42 billion yen worth of shares in East Japan Railway and Iseki & Co. Aisin and Toyota Tsusho each fully sold their JTEKT holdings.

Focus turns to Toyota shares

At present, auto-related stocks remain lackluster amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. Over the year through the end of June 2026, the Nikkei average rose 73%, while Toyota gained 9% and Denso fell 4%, leaving them relatively weak.

As cross-shareholdings among group companies are reduced, how each company handles Toyota shares it holds will be a key focus going forward. Denso owns 3.45% of Toyota shares, excluding treasury stock, and in its annual report for the year ended March 2026 the asset value was about 1.4 trillion yen, accounting for roughly 30% of net assets. Aisin also holds 1.33% of Toyota shares, with its stake valued at about 560 billion yen.

The companies position Toyota shares as affiliates and do not include them among strategic shareholdings. Still, Seiji Sugiura, senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Lab, says: 'From the stock market's perspective, attention is centered on how suppliers handle their Toyota shares.' Some also say the shares should be put to effective use for greater shareholder returns, improved capital efficiency and growth investment.

Sales of strategic shareholdings have also helped secure funds for investment and shareholder returns. As the unwinding of cross-shareholdings progresses, the ability to generate profits from the core business will be questioned even more. In addition to responding to electrification, companies need to accelerate the creation of high-value-added products and services in areas such as software.

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