Company Reports

Kyocera’s first-quarter results set new records for the period, with sales up 10% year on year and operating profit rising 2.6 times. In response, the company raised its fiscal 2026 (ending March 2027) guidance, increasing its sales forecast by 7% and its operating profit forecast by 23%.

Kyocera is a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures an array of ceramic components and electronic devices. The company has repeatedly made bolt-on acquisitions to prop up tepid organic growth, but with approximately 300 subsidiaries and three major reporting segments, we think Kyocera has been unable to realize meaningful synergies from them. With its hand in so many different businesses, many of which are unrelated to its core business, the firm has been unable to focus its resources on its most profitable segments.

Kyocera guides for 10% operating income growth in fiscal 2026 (ending March 2027). Alongside the results, it announced a JPY 500 billion share buyback program over the next two fiscal years as part of its ongoing capital allocation optimization, following the JPY 200 billion executed in fiscal 2025.

Kyocera is a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures an array of ceramic components and electronic devices. The company has repeatedly made bolt-on acquisitions to prop up tepid organic growth, but with approximately 300 subsidiaries and three major reporting segments, we think Kyocera has been unable to realize meaningful synergies from them. With its hand in so many different businesses, many of which are unrelated to its core business, the firm has been unable to focus its resources on its most profitable segments.

Kyocera's December-quarter operating income was JPY 28.7 billion, a material increase of JPY 18.4 billion year over year, excluding one-time charges. The company reported on the progress of its restructuring project and announced an additional share buyback program over the next two fiscal years.

Kyocera is a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures an array of ceramic components and electronic devices. The company has repeatedly made bolt-on acquisitions to prop up tepid organic growth, but with approximately 300 subsidiaries and three major reporting segments, we think Kyocera has been unable to realize meaningful synergies from them. With its hand in so many different businesses, many of which are unrelated to its core business, the firm has been unable to focus its resources on its most profitable segments.

Major passive component suppliers, Murata Manufacturing, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Yageo, TDK, and Kyocera all reported solid revenue growth in the September quarter, driven by computing demand. All of the Japanese suppliers raised their full-year guidance for fiscal 2025 (ending March 2026).

Kyocera is a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures an array of ceramic components and electronic devices. The company has repeatedly made bolt-on acquisitions to prop up tepid organic growth, but with approximately 300 subsidiaries and three major reporting segments, we think Kyocera has been unable to realize meaningful synergies from them. With its hand in so many different businesses, many of which are unrelated to its core business, the firm has been unable to focus its resources on its most profitable segments.

In the June quarter, Kyocera's sales and operating income decreased by 4.2% and 11.5%, respectively, from the previous year. During the earnings call, the company discussed the progress of ongoing structural reforms and capital strategies.

Kyocera's operating income for fiscal 2024 (ended March 2025) was JPY 27 billion, down 71% year on year, primarily due to a JPY 43 billion impairment charge on the organic package business. The company guides an operating income of JPY 55 billion for fiscal 2025, 41% lower than two years ago.

Kyocera is a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures an array of ceramic components and electronic devices. The company has repeatedly made bolt-on acquisitions to prop up tepid organic growth, but with approximately 300 subsidiaries and three major reporting segments, we think Kyocera has been unable to realize meaningful synergies from them. With its hand in so many different businesses, many of which are unrelated to its core business, the firm has been unable to focus its resources on its most profitable segments.

Kyocera is a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures an array of ceramic components and electronic devices. The company has repeatedly made bolt-on acquisitions to prop up tepid organic growth, but with approximately 300 subsidiaries and three major reporting segments, we think Kyocera has been unable to realize meaningful synergies from them. With its hand in so many different businesses, many of which are unrelated to its core business, the firm has been unable to focus its resources on its most profitable segments.

Kyocera reported an operating loss of JPY 25.6 billion in the December quarter due to the one-time loss of JPY 43 billion for the organic packaging business. Accordingly, the firm revised its operating income guidance for fiscal 2024 (ending March 2025) from JPY 68 billion to JPY 21 billion.

Kyocera reported disappointing results for the September quarter. The operating margin of 3.4% for the quarter was well below our expectation of 5.3%, and the company lowered its full-year operating income guidance for fiscal 2024 (ending March 2025) from JPY 110 billion to JPY 68 billion.

Kyocera is a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures an array of ceramic components and electronic devices. The company has repeatedly made bolt-on acquisitions to prop up tepid organic growth, but with approximately 300 subsidiaries and three major reporting segments, we think Kyocera has been unable to realize meaningful synergies from them. With its hand in so many different businesses, many of which are unrelated to its core business, the firm has been unable to focus its resources on its most profitable segments.

Kyocera’s June-quarter operating income of JPY 21 billion was down 18% from the previous year and broadly in line with our expectations. However, given the weaker Japanese yen, it was actually lower than we had expected on a constant-currency basis due to sluggish demand for electronic components, while solution businesses such as copiers and industrial tools were relatively resilient. However, we maintain our earnings forecasts and our fair value estimate for Kyocera at JPY 2,050 per share and USD 14.50 per US ADR, as component demand is stagnating only in limited areas such as passive components for automobiles in Europe and circuit board components for servers, and we believe that server demand will pick up soon. Kyocera’s current share price is below book value, and we believe the market underestimates the solid profitability and healthy balance sheet provided by Kyocera’s well-diversified business portfolio.

Three passive component suppliers, Murata Manufacturing, Kyocera, and TDK announced their earnings results for fiscal 2023 (ending March 2024) Friday, April 26, and each company’s operating income guidance for the new fiscal year fell short of our expectations. We believe that they made conservative assumptions for sales and capacity utilization especially in the second half of the fiscal year, as they were less confident of a full recovery in end demand. Nevertheless, TDK’s guidance may disappoint the market as it is most divergent from our expectations and the market’s. While we maintain our fair value estimates for the three companies, we have lowered our fiscal 2024 operating income forecasts for Murata and Kyocera, reflecting price erosion for automotive passive components and a slower-than-expected recovery in capital spending for industrials and general servers. We plan to revise our TDK earnings forecasts after the company announces its new midterm plan at next month’s investor day. We believe Murata Manufacturing’s shares are undervalued, while Kyocera and TDK are fairly valued.

Kyocera is a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures an array of ceramic components and electronic devices. The company has repeatedly made bolt-on acquisitions to prop up tepid organic growth, but with approximately 300 subsidiaries and three major reporting segments, we think Kyocera has been unable to realize meaningful synergies from them. With its hand in so many different businesses, many of which are unrelated to its core business, the firm has been unable to focus its resources on its most profitable segments.

The earnings results of four passive component suppliers indicate that the recovery of demand for multilayer ceramic capacitors is underway as expected. In the December quarter, Murata Manufacturing’s book/bill ratio for MLCC exceeded 1 for the first time in seven quarters, while Taiyo Yuden’s BB ratio improved to 1.07 from 1.01 in the previous quarter, when it exceeded 1 for the first time in nine quarters.

Kyocera is a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures an array of ceramic components and electronic devices. The company has repeatedly made bolt-on acquisitions to prop up tepid organic growth, but with approximately 300 subsidiaries and three major reporting segments, we think Kyocera has been unable to realize meaningful synergies from them. With its hand in so many different businesses, many of which are unrelated to its core business, the firm has been unable to focus its resources on its most profitable segments.