Kioxia Holdings Corp, a leading Japanese producer of NAND flash memory chips, announced on Friday that it expects its net profit for the April-June period to rise more than 47-fold year-on-year to 869 billion yen ($5.7 billion), driven by surging demand for semiconductors used in data centers supporting artificial intelligence applications [1]. The company also reported that its net profit for the year ended March more than doubled from the previous year to 554.49 billion yen, marking a record high for the second consecutive year [1].
For fiscal 2025, Kioxia posted an operating profit of 870.37 billion yen, up 92.7 percent, on sales of 2.34 trillion yen, a 37.0 percent increase compared to the previous year [1]. Sales of memory products for consumer devices such as smartphones grew about 1.5-fold, while sales for industrial applications including data centers increased around 1.4-fold [1]. The company forecasts an operating profit of 1.30 trillion yen on sales of 1.75 trillion yen for the April-June quarter, with the projection based on an assumed exchange rate of 159 yen to the U.S. dollar, compared to 155 yen in the last quarter of fiscal 2025 [1].
Kioxia President and CEO Hiroo Ota stated that the company achieved record sales and profits for the second straight year, attributing the performance to strong AI demand [1]. Ota also noted that with AI becoming foundational to social infrastructure, robust demand in the flash memory market is expected to persist, with NAND demand projected to outpace supply in 2027 [1]. The company plans to boost production of its mainstay products and launch next-generation models in the current business year, supported by approximately 450 billion yen in capital spending to strengthen its production base [1].
Despite geopolitical risks such as the Middle East conflict, Kioxia does not currently anticipate any negative impact on sales or procurement due to its diversified sourcing strategy [1]. The company did not provide an earnings outlook for the full year through March 2027, citing potential market volatility [1]. According to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics, the global chip market is expected to grow 26.3 percent in 2026 from the previous year [1].
CONCLUSION
Kioxia's outlook signals robust growth fueled by AI-driven demand for memory chips, with record profits and sales projected to continue. The company's strategic investments and positive market fundamentals suggest sustained momentum, though it remains cautious about potential volatility from geopolitical risks.