Fujikura posted its strongest ever financial results for the year through March 2026, yet the market’s reaction to its medium-term plan was anything but celebratory. The Japanese fiber optics specialist saw its shares tumble 17% in a single session after unveiling “Accelerate X” in late May — a strategy that undershot analyst expectations by a wide margin. Now, with the 178th ordinary general meeting of shareholders set for June 26, the company is pushing forward with a series of governance changes designed to restore confidence.
On the agenda is a slate of board candidates, a new executive compensation framework, and a proposed switch of external auditor from PwC Japan to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu — a move the audit committee says will bring a global perspective and fresh oversight. Shareholders will also get their first chance to weigh in on the leadership reshuffle that took effect on April 1, 2026. Tatsuya Banno stepped down as representative director and CTO to become director and executive officer, while also taking the chairmanship of America Fujikura Ltd. His successor as CTO and head of R&D is Noriyuki Kawanishi, now an executive officer tasked with sharpening operational efficiency and driving sustainable growth.
The structural overhaul comes as Fujikura grapples with investor skepticism over its growth trajectory. Under Accelerate X, the company targets an operating profit of 315 billion yen for the fiscal year ending April 2028 — a figure roughly 30% below the 455 billion yen analysts had penciled in. The plan then calls for 380 billion yen by 2031 and 580 billion yen by 2036. Compounding the disappointment, Fujikura pushed back the start of its planned U.S. fiber optic cable factory to no earlier than 2030, with full capacity not expected until 2035.
Despite the delay, the U.S. push is gathering pace. Fujikura Optical Cable Systems LLC is slated to be incorporated in Delaware later this month. Domestically, a new plant at the Sakura Works site will cost around 40 billion yen, while up to 260 billion yen has been earmarked for the U.S. expansion. The overarching goal is to quadruple optical fiber cable production capacity versus fiscal 2022 levels, driven largely by demand from the AI data center market.
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The underlying business, however, is firing on all cylinders. Revenue rose 20.7% to about 1.18 trillion yen in the past fiscal year, operating profit climbed 39.2%, and net profit surged 72.5% to 157 billion yen — all records. For the current year, management expects operating profit to reach 211 billion yen, an increase of nearly 12%. That guidance, while solid, still fell short of analyst consensus.
The new compensation system for directors aims to align management incentives more tightly with the share price. It introduces an equity-based component capped at 500 million yen annually and up to 212,000 shares. The auditor transition, meanwhile, ends a relationship with PwC Japan that dates back at least to 1963.
Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive despite the stock’s rocky patch. Nine of twelve analysts rate the shares a buy, with none recommending a sell. The average price target stands at 5,837 yen, ranging from 3,500 to 8,100 yen. After the general meeting, the next major catalyst will be the quarterly report in August.
In the meantime, the stock has staged a partial recovery, posting three consecutive winning days. Fujikura shares last traded at 25.43 euros, up around 14% over the past week, though still about 15% lower on a 30-day basis. The relative strength index of 42 suggests room for further upside, but an annualized volatility above 129% reminds investors that the ride has been anything but smooth.
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