Kioxia Rises to Top Spot in Market Capitalization in Japan

Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Semiconductor memory manufacturer Kioxia Holdings Corp. rose to the top spot in market capitalization in Japan on Friday, backed by growing chip demand from data centers amid the spread of artificial intelligence. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Kioxia Holdings closed at 81,200 yen, up 5,760 yen from the previous day, with its market capitalization reaching 44,362.7 billion yen, about 520 billion yen higher than Toyota Motor Corp.’s. The company was separated from Toshiba Corp. following a management crisis. In December 2024, it was listed on the stock market, priced 1,601 yen on the first day with a market capitalization of 863 billion yen. Kioxia Holdings has not yet paid dividends but has indicated its intention to start paying them as early as the second half of fiscal 2026. Market participants expect its stock price to rise further. “The market is increasingly able to anticipate its earnings expansion in the medium term,” said an official of a major brokerage firm. Amid the current AI boom, many of Japan’s most valuable companies are now related to the semiconductor industry, including technology investor SoftBank Group Corp., ranked fourth, semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Tokyo Electron Ltd., ranked fifth, and chip-testing device maker Advantest Corp., ranked ninth. Earlier this month, SoftBank Group surpassed long-reigning Toyota to temporarily take the lead. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]