Company Reports

Kikkoman's second-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue rose 11.2%, supported by overseas growth and favorable foreign exchange rates. Operating margin improved to 12.5% from 11.9%, largely due to one-off tariff refunds in the US.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th-century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, and the company itself is the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its establishment in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.

Kikkoman reported 15% year-over-year revenue growth in its June quarter for fiscal March 2027. Business profit rose 29.3% to JPY 25 billion, driven by margin expansion to 12.5% from 11.1% and solid top-line growth.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th-century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, and the company itself is the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its establishment in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.

Kikkoman's fiscal 2026 revenue and operating profit increased by 5% and 3% year-on-year, respectively. Japan and overseas markets drove top-line growth. However, the margin for the overseas wholesale business declined due to the impact of tariffs in the first half of the fiscal year.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th-century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, and the company itself is the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its establishment in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, and the company itself is the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its set up in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.

Kikkoman reported fiscal third-quarter results (ending December 2025) with revenue and operating profit increasing 7.9% and 6.7% year on year, respectively. Overseas, the wholesale business' revenue growth accelerated in the quarter due to price adjustments and product mix shift.

Kikkoman reported fiscal second-quarter results (ending March 2026), with revenue and business profit rising 3.2% and 4.8% year on year, respectively. It slightly increased its operating margin guidance for the current fiscal year to 10.7% from 10.4%.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture and the company itself the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its set up in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.

Kikkoman's fiscal first-quarter (ending March 2026) revenue and business profit fell by 1.4% and 10.8% year on year, respectively, dragged by foreign exchange headwinds and the declining margin of the overseas wholesale business.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture and the company itself the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its set up in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture and the company itself the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its set up in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.

Kikkoman's fiscal fourth-quarter (ending March 2025) net income fell 5.1% year on year, as rising production and labor costs caused gross margin to decline 1.6 percentage points. Overseas sales growth continued to outpace the domestic segment.

Wide-moat Kikkoman reported fiscal 2025 (ending March 2025) third-quarter results, where revenue was 2.4% above our estimates but business profit was 60 basis points below our expectations. We maintain our fourth-quarter projections and continue to expect business profit to be slightly lower than management guidance (JPY 75.3 billion versus JPY 76.9 billion). We think the company still faces challenges in top-line growth of wholesale business in the US, as competition weighs on selling prices. Domestically, rising raw material costs and operating expenses continued to weigh on profit margins, which may only be reversed if the company implements further price hikes.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture and the company itself the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its set up in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture and the company itself the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its set up in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.

Wide-moat Kikkoman reported fiscal 2025 (ending March 2025) second-quarter results, with revenue and business profit coming in fractionally above our estimates. Business profit growth was mainly driven by expanding sales of food products across the United States and Europe. Elevated input prices weighed on margins in the domestic food manufacturing business. We slightly increased our fiscal 2025 revenue and net profit estimates due to stronger second-quarter numbers. However, the adjustment is insufficient to change our fair value estimate, which stays at JPY 1,540 per share and implies 24 times fiscal 2025 price/earnings, 12 times enterprise value/EBITDA, and 1.4% dividend yield. We continue to see shares as overvalued. Management announced, in late October, the plan to buy back around 1.15% of outstanding shares. Given the scale of the buyback, we think the impact on Kikkoman’s share price is immaterial.

Wide-moat Kikkoman reported fiscal 2025 (ending March 2025) first-quarter results with revenue broadly consistent with our estimates, but business profit exceeded our projections by 4%. The domestic business delivered decent top-line growth, but overseas sales, on a local currency basis, were dragged by softening trends in the US market. That said, the company was able to reduce operating expenses in overseas markets and expanded operating margins. The recent strong rally of the Japanese yen should pose headwinds to the company’s fiscal second-quarter revenue growth. Therefore, we lowered our revenue growth projection for fiscal 2025 and only raised net profit estimates by 1% despite the first-quarter beat.

In our view, Kikkoman is one of the best-known soy sauce brands globally, with its soy sauce dating back to 17th century Japan in Noda, Chiba Prefecture and the company itself the leading soy sauce manufacturer since its set up in 1917. More recently, Kikkoman has been focused on diversifying and internationalizing its products as the per capita consumption of soy sauce declines and population growth retreats in Japan. It has expanded its product portfolio to include foods that fit the rising health awareness of consumers.