Fujikura Cuts Ties With Chinese JV, Channels 260 Billion Yen Into US Fiber for AI Boom

Fujikura sells 60% Wuhan fiber-optic stake to FiberHome for $70M, redirecting ~$2.4B to US capacity for AI-driven fiber demand. Record revenue and profit in FY2026.

Seventeen years of shared ownership in Wuhan are coming to an end. Fujikura has agreed to sell its entire 60% stake in the fiber-optic joint venture Fujikura FiberHome Opto-Electronics Material Technology to its long-standing partner FiberHome Telecommunication Technologies. The deal, announced on July 10, 2026, is valued at roughly 500 million renminbi — equivalent to around 12 billion yen — and is expected to close by September. Both sides acknowledged that the joint venture, which produces optical fiber preforms, had fulfilled its original strategic purpose, with FiberHome now consolidating full ownership in China’s optical communications market.

The divestiture marks a clean break from a partnership forged in 2009, but it also underscores a far bigger shift in Fujikura’s global posture. The company is redirecting capital and attention toward the United States, where hyperscalers are racing to build out AI data centers and driving an insatiable appetite for high-end fiber-optic cable. Fujikura has earmarked up to 260 billion yen for US production expansion, with an additional 40 billion yen destined for its Japanese facilities. The goal is to boost capacity and upgrade manufacturing technology to meet what executives describe as long-term, AI-generated demand surges.

The timing of the sale coincides with a buoyant session for Japanese equities. The Nikkei 225 climbed 813 points on Friday, pushing through the 68,500 mark as investor enthusiasm for AI and tech infrastructure lifted the broader market. Fujikura’s shares rode that wave, trading at €27.94 — up 1.21% from the previous close of €27.61 and giving the company a market capitalization of €43.03 billion. Over the past month, the stock has surged about 25%, though the seven-day picture shows a 4.05% pullback. The relative strength index sits at 47.0, neutral territory, while annualized 30-day volatility remains elevated at 128.68%.

The JV itself contributed modestly to the group: in the fiscal year through March 2025, the Wuhan unit generated revenue of 8.07 billion yen and an operating profit of 513 million yen. By contrast, Fujikura’s overall results for the year ended March 2026 were a record breaker. Revenue crossed the 1 trillion yen mark for the first time in company history, while net profit jumped more than 70% year on year. The information and communications division alone delivered an operating profit of 152.7 billion yen, accounting for over 80% of the entire group’s operating income. To reward shareholders, the board raised the annual dividend and executed a 6-for-1 stock split effective April 1, 2026.

Analysts have maintained their buy ratings on Fujikura, with a price target of 9,300 yen, citing the leaner corporate structure post-exit. The China sale does not bring in transformative cash relative to the billions being poured into US capacity — but that is not the point. For Fujikura, the message is one of resource concentration. By walking away from Wuhan, the company is betting that the next wave of fiber demand will come not from China, but from the AI-enabled data centers of America.