Fanuc orders jump 49.0% as Yaskawa robot profit falls 43.3%

The contrast sits inside a single thematic bet. Fanuc, Yaskawa and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are working together on a VTLA model that uses generative AI to operate robots, so all three carry the same physical-AI story. Yet Fanuc's first-half results — sales of 473.7 billion yen, up 16.2%, and an operating margin of 24.6% — show that story already converting into orders and profit, while Yaskawa's robot segment profit fell 43.3% to 6.0 billion yen over March–August even as its overall sales revenue grew 9.8%.

The split is framed as a question of whose earnings the special demand actually reaches, widening the lens beyond the three collaborators to Mitsubishi Electric and the reducer makers Nabtesco and Harmonic Drive Systems. Fanuc also announced a share buyback of up to 50 billion yen alongside its raised forecast, a signal that it sees the order strength as durable rather than a one-quarter blip.

The next test comes in November, when Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Nabtesco and Harmonic Drive Systems report. Their results may show whether the demand is concentrated in Fanuc's order book or spread across the component suppliers further down the chain — an outcome left open.