Kioxia and Ibiden to split shares Oct 1 to lower entry cost

What happened

Kioxia HD and Ibiden will each conduct stock splits effective October 1, with Kioxia splitting 1 share into 3 and Ibiden 1 share into 2. Based on September 4 closing prices, the minimum investment for 100 shares would drop to about ¥1.82 million for Kioxia and about ¥1.02 million for Ibiden.

Why it matters

Both stocks remain expensive. The Tokyo Stock Exchange recommends an investment unit of ¥50,000 or more but less than ¥500,000; even after the split, buying 100 shares would still cost over ¥1 million. The stock split does not change corporate value, so investors should judge by earnings growth and how much is already priced into the stock.

What to watch

Kioxia reported a first-quarter profit of ¥842.1 billion, about 46 times the prior year's figure, driven by AI data center demand and higher memory prices. Ibiden raised its full-year operating profit forecast from ¥90 billion to ¥127 billion. Kioxia plans to invest about ¥5 trillion in Japan with government support, while Ibiden faces reliance on specific customers and recovering large capital investments.