Listed Companies’ Financial Results: Enhance Crisis Management Skills to Sustain Growth

Editorial

17:56 JST, May 18, 2026

It is welcome news that listed companies have reported strong financial results one after another, buoyed by a tailwind from the artificial intelligence boom. However, uncertainty about the future remains profound due to the turmoil surrounding Iran.

To sustain growth, it is important to enhance the ability to adapt to changes.

Announcements of financial results for the business year ending in March 2026 have passed their peak among companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Combined net profits of companies on the Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX), excluding financial and some other firms, are expected to decline for the first time in five years.

However, the combined net profits remain at a high level of about ¥36 trillion. This is because the global AI boom has led to a series of strong financial results in Japan’s semiconductor and electronics sectors.

Kioxia Holdings Corp., a major semiconductor manufacturer, doubled its net profit to about ¥550 billion, propelled by expanding demand for memory chips for data centers. Five out of seven major electronics firms, including Hitachi, Ltd. and Fujitsu Ltd., also saw significant profit growth as their AI-related businesses expanded.

The Nikkei Stock Average temporarily rose to nearly 64,000 in response to the strong financial results, indicating high expectations for future growth.

To demonstrate the resilience of the Japanese economy even amid deepening turmoil, companies with strong results must implement substantial wage increases and make proactive investments.

Although the Japanese economy has continued to recover modestly, amid the turmoil surrounding Iran, companies’ crisis management skills are being put to the test. As a result, a number of firms in sectors such as energy and petrochemicals have reported their earnings forecasts for the business year ending in March 2027 as “undetermined.”

To sustain growth going forward, it is essential to review supply chains and reevaluate cost-cutting measures.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s net profit for the year ending in March 2027 is projected to fall 22% to ¥3 trillion, marking the third consecutive year of declining profits.

Toyota plans to expand efforts to reduce costs globally by standardizing equivalent parts and thereby cutting down on the number of components. The company also said it will proceed with reducing material usage across the entire group.

Wariness over the Middle East crisis is spreading among companies. The Nisshin OilliO Group, Ltd., a manufacturer of cooking oil, explained at a press conference to announce its financial results that “adjustments in the manufacturing process may become necessary for certain products.”

Calbee, Inc. will switch to black and white packaging for products such as potato chips in response to a severe ink shortage. More companies are likely to devise countermeasures to secure profits.

Suzuki Motor Corp. President Toshihiro Suzuki has referred to the risk of entering a third oil crisis, saying that the company “must also consider” further advancing its transition to electric vehicles. Companies will also be put to the test on their conceptual skills in adapting to changes.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 18, 2026)