Fujikura Trims Profit Guidance Even as Goldman Keeps the Faith

Fujikura's stock is taking heat from two directions at once. The shares were down 3.3% on Wednesday, caught in a broad retreat across Japanese fiber-optic cable names, with Furukawa Electric also slipping as the sector's AI-linked glow dimmed. Earlier in the week the pullback had run at 3.8%, as Reuters-reported anxiety over Nvidia rippled through technology equities worldwide.

Yet the operating story underneath the tape is a good deal brighter than the share price suggests — with one notable wrinkle.

A half-year surge, and a forecast trimmed at the margin

Fujikura's first-half figures, released Tuesday, showed revenue of ¥867.4 billion for the six months through September, up 55.2% year on year. Operating profit came in at ¥235.0 billion, a 160.6% jump, while net profit attributable to owners of the parent reached ¥180 billion.

The full-year outlook is where the picture gets more nuanced. Fujikura now projects operating profit of ¥429.0 billion for fiscal 2027 — below the ¥432 billion it had previously guided. Revenue is forecast at ¥1.768 trillion, with net profit attributable to shareholders seen at ¥326.0 billion.

Shareholders did get something back. The company lifted its annual dividend target to ¥80 per share, split evenly between a ¥40 interim payout and a matching year-end distribution.

Goldman cuts its target but keeps its rating

The valuation debate sharpened after Goldman Sachs lowered its price target on the stock to ¥5,000 from ¥7,600, according to media reports — while maintaining a buy recommendation. The split verdict captures the tension investors now face: a fundamentally positive view of the business set against markedly reduced expectations for where the shares should trade.

President Naoki Okada offered his own read on the demand backdrop, telling Japanese broadcaster TBS on Tuesday that investment in AI data centers is likely to keep expanding over the medium to long term. He added that Fujikura is watching the selloff in AI and semiconductor stocks with concern.

Morocco plant at full tilt as a stake heads for the exit

On the operational front, the company said Monday that glass fiber cable production at Fujikura Automotive Morocco Tangier has been running at full capacity since August, serving customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Corporate structure is shifting too. Fujikura agreed on November 5 to transfer its 60.8% stake in NISHI NIPPON ELECTRIC WIRE & CABLE to AGSPC43, a special-purpose vehicle backed by funds managed by or affiliated with Aspirant Group. The deal covers roughly 11.5 million shares, with completion scheduled for May 6, 2027. No purchase price was disclosed.

Once the transaction closes, NISHI NIPPON will drop out of Fujikura's consolidation scope. Management expects only a minor impact on group earnings.

There is also a date for the diary: Fujikura plans to showcase high-temperature superconducting wires at FUSION POWER WORLD 2026 in Osaka, running November 18 to 20.

What investors are actually weighing

The question now is whether earnings momentum can outrun a darker mood toward the AI investment cycle. If data-center spending holds up as Okada expects, the case for a fundamental recovery looks sturdier. If confidence in future profitability wobbles, multiple compression could prove the heavier force — even against growth already on the books. The trimmed operating guidance gives the skeptics a talking point; the doubled interim dividend gives the bulls one of their own.