Kioxia overtakes Toyota as Japan’s most valuable company

Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. has surpassed Toyota Motor Corp. to become Japan’s most valuable company by market capitalization, as investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-related semiconductor firms continues to reshape the country’s equity market, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

Kioxia’s shares rose 7.6% on Friday, pushing its market value above 44 trillion yen ($274 billion), just 18 months after its stock market debut.

Toyota, which has long held the position of Japan’s largest listed company, ended the trading session with a market capitalization of $273.1 billion, losing the top spot as its shares remained under pressure.

Kioxia’s rapid ascent reflects a broader shift in global financial markets, where semiconductor and AI-linked companies are attracting strong capital inflows driven by rising demand for chips used in data centers and artificial intelligence applications.

The company’s stock has surged more than 670% since the start of the year, making it one of the world’s best-performing major equities.

Japan’s largest listed companies now include several AI-related firms such as Murata Manufacturing, a supplier of electronic components used in data centers, and Advantest, a leading producer of semiconductor testing equipment.

SoftBank Group had briefly overtaken Toyota earlier this month, fueled by investor optimism over its artificial intelligence investments and expectations related to OpenAI’s potential future listing. However, SoftBank later fell in the rankings following broader risk-off sentiment in markets.

Kioxia traces its origins to Toshiba’s memory chip division, which played a key role in developing NAND flash memory technology. The unit was spun off and acquired by a Bain Capital-led consortium in 2018 before being renamed Kioxia in 2019.

Toyota’s shares have fallen around 17% so far this year, weighed down by higher oil prices, tensions in the Middle East, and concerns over the global auto industry’s transition toward electric vehicles and software-driven mobility.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev