HOYA Corporation Overview
HOYA turns 85 years of optical-glass chemistry into two very different businesses. Life Care earns 62% of revenue. It is the world's second-largest maker of eyeglass lenses and also sells the MiYOSMART myopia-control lens, the Eyecity contact-lens retail chain in Japan, intraocular lenses (IOLs) and PENTAX Medical flexible endoscopes. Information Technology earns 38% of revenue but more than half of profit. HOYA is the leading supplier of EUV mask blanks, the substrates on which photomasks for leading-edge logic and DRAM are patterned. It is also, in effect, the only supplier of glass substrates for hard disk drives (HDDs). It makes FPD photomasks, and its Optical Solutions business makes optical glass, CUPO polarization glass for optical transceivers, and lenses for wearables. In FY2025 the group earned a 34.6% pretax margin and a 21.1% ROIC while carrying ¥532 billion of net cash. It is now putting more capital into AI-driven capacity, while reviewing whether to keep its endoscope business.
Company description. HOYA describes itself as a global med-tech company and a leading supplier of high-tech and medical products. In healthcare it supplies eyeglasses, medical endoscopes, intraocular lenses and optical lenses. In information technology it supplies key components for semiconductor devices, LCD panels and HDDs. Its statutory business report sets out three reportable segments:
Life Care: health-care products such as eyeglass lenses and contact lenses, plus medical products.
Information Technology: glass components and materials that semiconductor manufacturing, digital devices and imaging depend on.
Other: after the sale of the speech-synthesis software business, mainly information-system services.
Business model. HOYA runs a portfolio of niche businesses, each among the top players in its market and each run with its own P&L. Head office allocates capital using ROE and ROIC hurdles and rotates the portfolio by buying and selling businesses. Management calls this "profitable growth": revenue growth with expanding margins.
The two segments behave differently:
Life Care: sells mostly to eye-care professionals, optical retailers, hospitals and consumers. Demand is steady and grows with population ageing and rising myopia. More than 80% of Life Care sales come from Europe, the Americas and Japan.
Information Technology: sells to a small number of very large industrial customers: photomask makers and chipmakers for blanks, HDD makers for substrates, and panel makers for FPD masks. More than 80% of IT sales are in Asia. One customer group of the IT segment accounted for ¥92.8 billion of revenue in FY2024, up from ¥54.8 billion in FY2023.
Revenue model. Almost all revenue comes from selling manufactured products. Services make up a small share: prescription-lens laboratory finishing, contact-lens retail through Eyecity (including subscription plans and the hoyaONE private-label brand), and endoscope service. The subscription-software income from ReadSpeaker ended when that business was sold in FY2025. HOYA does not disclose a split between product, service and subscription revenue.
Value chain position. The two segments sit at different points in their supply chains:
Semiconductor chain: HOYA is a tier-2 materials supplier. It polishes and coats quartz substrates into mask blanks, which photomask makers (merchant mask shops and chipmakers' in-house mask operations) pattern into photomasks for EUV and DUV lithography. In display, HOYA patterns FPD photomasks itself, including through its Chongqing joint venture with BOE.
Eye care: HOYA is vertically integrated, from lens design and casting through prescription laboratories to distribution to eye-care professionals. In Japan it also owns the retail channel for contact lenses.
End markets. Life Care serves vision correction (single-vision, progressive and myopia-management lenses), contact lenses, cataract surgery (IOLs), gastrointestinal and pulmonary endoscopy, orthopaedic and dental bone substitutes, metal implants, and endoscope reprocessing. Information Technology serves advanced logic and memory lithography (EUV, phase-shift and DUV blanks), display panels, nearline data-centre storage (3.5-inch HDD substrates, including those for heat-assisted magnetic recording, or HAMR), legacy 2.5-inch drives, optical communications (CUPO polarization glass for transceivers), smart glasses and wearables, and other optical components.
Independent characterization. HOYA is two companies with one balance sheet:
A defensive consumer-medical franchise: Life Care's eyeglass and contact-lens operations behave like a consumer-staples business with a pricing tailwind from myopia management. Endoscopes and IOLs are the weaker links, squeezed by Olympus's dominance in endoscopy and by China's volume-based procurement for IOLs.
A high-margin AI-infrastructure materials business: IT runs at a segment pretax margin above 50% because it combines near-sole-supplier positions with long customer qualification cycles.
The portfolio is moving toward IT and the eye-health core, and the medical-device periphery is being pruned.
Strategy
Stated strategic themes (Integrated Report 2026 and results briefings).
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"Profitable growth": revenue growth together with wider margins, measured by ROIC.
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Portfolio management: respond quickly and flexibly to market change and use management resources efficiently.
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New businesses and technologies: create them through in-house development and M&A. HOYA Incubation Laboratories was launched in FY2026 to connect internal technologies with commercialization.
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Growth markets: expand in eye health and health products, and in semiconductor and data-storage applications for the digital society.
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Cyber security: treated as a stand-alone management priority.
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Geopolitics: respond to tariffs and raw-material restrictions and optimize production locations.
Management's framing for FY2025 was "quietly, yet steadily building corporate value." It also set a capital-allocation rule of "internal investment first."
Strategic initiatives over the last 24 months
Singapore EUV-blank plant: Date: Approved April 2026; Scope and target: About ¥42 bn for Phase 1; construction starts FY2026; mass production FY2028; serves demand from existing customers
Vietnam HDD-substrate plant: Date: Approved April 2026; Scope and target: About ¥50 bn for Phase 1; about 1.5 times an existing Vietnamese plant's capacity; contribution from about FY2028
CUPO capacity expansion: Date: 2026; Scope and target: Polarization glass for AI data-centre optical transceivers
Capital-policy reset: Date: April 2026; Scope and target: Target net cash of about ¥460 bn; return the roughly ¥110 bn excess over three years; working capital of about two months of sales; M&A pool of about ¥300 bn, not a hard limit; debt financing allowed
Progressive dividend: Date: FY2025; Scope and target: Target payout ratio of 40%; FY2025 dividend ¥295, up from ¥160
Buyback programme: Date: July 2026; Scope and target: Up to ¥200 bn and 10 million shares (2.99%), from 3 August 2026 to 24 March 2027
Endoscope restructuring and strategic review: Date: FY2025–FY2026; Scope and target: Cost streamlining; Japanese company split on 1 August 2026; review of all options including a sale, announced 31 July 2026
China IOL strategy reset: Date: Q3 FY2025; Scope and target: Faster buy-out of the joint venture to gain flexibility under NVBP
Myopia-management expansion: Date: FY2025–FY2026; Scope and target: MiYOSMART iQ in China (FY2025) and Canada (July 2026); MiYOSMART in Japan (June 2026)
Eyeglass-lens premiumization: Date: FY2026; Scope and target: More high-value products and progressive lenses; Sensity 3; LensPreview
Imaging renamed Optical Solutions: Date: Q1 FY2026; Scope and target: Shift toward optical communications and wearables
Divestitures: Date: FY2025; Scope and target: ReadSpeaker (speech synthesis), C2 CryoBalloon and certain endoscope products
Renewable electricity: Date: Ongoing; Scope and target: RE100; 60% renewable electricity by FY2030 and 100% by FY2040
Supply-chain resilience: Date: FY2025–FY2026; Scope and target: Price increases with suppliers; qualification of second-source suppliers
Medium-term targets and guidance
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IT operating margin of about 50% over the cycle.
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Eyeglass-lens operating margin of about 20%.
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EUV-blank growth of 10–15% a year over the medium term.
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FY2026 qualitative guidance:
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mask blanks: 10% or more, possibly about 15%
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HDD substrates: more than 15%, raised in October 2026, with 3.5-inch above 20%
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Optical Solutions: high single digits to about 10%
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Life Care: mid-single digits
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R&D: up a few percent
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depreciation: up 5–6%
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cash capex: about the same as FY2025, with ¥120–130 bn of investment decisions
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FY2026 revenue forecast of ¥1,043 bn (+10.1%), disclosed because it crosses a disclosure threshold. HOYA does not issue full-year profit guidance.
Products & Services
Life Care — Health Care
| Product line / brand | Description and capabilities | Target customer | Latest version / timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOYA Vision Care eyeglass lenses | Single-vision, progressive, office and premium coated prescription lenses, made through a global network of plants and laboratories. HOYA ranks itself second in the world by share | Eye-care professionals, optical retail chains | Continuous | Mid-single-digit growth targeted for FY2026; eyeglass-lens operating-margin goal of about 20% |
| MiYOSMART | Myopia-control spectacle lens for children using D.I.M.S. (Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments) technology, co-developed with Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Sold in more than 50 countries | Children with progressing myopia; ophthalmologists and opticians | Launched 2018; Japan launch 1 June 2026; Japanese prescription range extended from −10.00D to −13.00D from 1 September 2026 | Requires an ophthalmologist's prescription in Japan; not approved in the US |
| MiYOSMART iQ | Second-generation myopia-control lens. A 12-month randomized trial presented at ARVO 2026 showed, on average, no myopia progression in children aged 4–12 | Same | Launched in China in FY2025; in Canada July 2026 | Sold at a premium to the original MiYOSMART |
| Sensity 3 | Third-generation photochromic (light-adaptive) lens with longer activation life and better colour stability | Eye-care professionals | Announced April 2026 | — |
| HOYA Polarized family (incl. Lumacore mirrors, Polarized HEV) | Polarized sun lenses | Eye-care professionals | 2025 promotions in North America | — |
| HOYA LensPreview | Virtual try-on tool for photochromic, polarized and mirror lenses | Eye-care professionals in North America | January 2026 | Digital sales tool |
| Eyecity (HOYA Eye Care Company) | Contact-lens retail chain in Japan; offers subscriptions and premium lenses | Japanese consumers | Continuous | Growth from customer traffic, subscriptions and the hoyaONE private label |
| hoyaONE | Private-label contact lenses sold through Eyecity | Eyecity customers | Continuous | Helps customer retention |
| Eyecity eco project | Collects and recycles empty contact-lens cases, run with municipalities | Communities in Japan | Agreements signed March 2026 | ESG initiative |
Life Care — Medical
| Product line / brand | Description and capabilities | Target customer | Latest version / timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PENTAX Medical flexible endoscopes | Reusable video endoscopes and processors for gastrointestinal, ENT and pulmonary use | Hospitals and endoscopy units | Continuous | Under strategic review since 31 July 2026; Japanese operations split into a subsidiary on 1 August 2026 |
| DEC duodenoscope | Duodenoscope with a disposable elevator cap, developed with Advanced Sterilization Products (Fortive); has an FDA-cleared sterilization cycle | US hospitals | US launch announced | Responds to duodenoscope infection-control concerns |
| C2 CryoBalloon | Cryoablation system | Gastroenterologists | Sold to Merit Medical, October 2025 | Divested to focus on core reusable endoscopy |
| Vivinex IOL family (incl. multiSert preloaded injector; trifocal models) | Hydrophobic acrylic IOLs for cataract surgery, including advanced-technology IOLs (ATIOLs) | Ophthalmic surgeons | Continuous; trifocal adoption raised the ATIOL share in Q1 FY2026 | China wholly owned since Q3 FY2025; volume-based procurement (NVBP) is shrinking the addressable Chinese market |
| Artificial bone, metal implants | Ceramic bone substitutes and metal orthopaedic implants | Orthopaedic and dental surgeons | Continuous | — |
| Endoscope disinfection washers | Automated reprocessing equipment | Hospitals | Continuous | — |
| Chromatography media | Ceramic media used in bioprocess purification | Biopharma manufacturers | Continuous | Declined in Q1 FY2026 |
Information Technology — Electronics
| Product line | Description and capabilities | Target customer | Latest version / timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUV mask blanks | Ultra-flat, near-defect-free multilayer blanks on low-thermal-expansion substrates for 0.33-NA EUV lithography, including phase-shift (PSM) EUV blanks for advanced nodes. HOYA's roadmap runs from 0.33 NA to High-NA (0.55) and Hyper-NA | Photomask makers and leading-edge logic and DRAM manufacturers | Continuous; Singapore expansion (about ¥42 bn) to mass-produce from FY2028 | Medium-term growth outlook of 10–15% a year |
| DUV mask blanks (ArF/KrF, binary and PSM) | Blanks for deep-ultraviolet lithography across mature and advanced nodes | Photomask makers | Continuous | Q4 FY2025 growth moderated because plants were already near full capacity |
| FPD photomasks | Large-format photomasks for LCD and OLED panel production, including from the Chongqing joint venture with BOE | Panel makers, especially in China | Chongqing ramp-up drove FY2025 growth | Revenue up 37% in Q4 FY2025 |
| HDD glass substrates — 3.5-inch | Glass platters for high-capacity nearline HDDs, including HAMR drives | HDD makers | Second customer starting H2 FY2026, third customer from FY2027; Vietnam plant (about ¥50 bn) from FY2028 | FY2026 growth guidance raised to more than 15%; 3.5-inch growth expected above 20% |
| HDD glass substrates — 2.5-inch | Platters for mobile and legacy drives | HDD makers | Mature | Declining |
Information Technology — Optical Solutions (formerly Imaging)
| Product line | Description and capabilities | Target customer | Latest version / timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CUPO polarization glass | Near-infrared polarizing glass used in optical transceivers | Optical-module makers serving data centres | Capacity being expanded (2026) | The main driver of Optical Solutions' 28% growth in FY2025 |
| Lenses for smart glasses and wearables | Precision optics for AR and smart-glass devices | Consumer-electronics makers | Growing since FY2025 | — |
| Optical glass and molded aspherical lenses | Optical-glass materials and molded lenses for cameras and industrial optics | Camera and optics makers | Mature | Long-term decline of the digital-camera market |
| Light sources and laser equipment | UV light sources and laser equipment | Industrial customers | Continuous | — |
Other
| Product line | Status |
|---|---|
| ReadSpeaker text-to-speech (SaaS, SDK, server) | Transfer to Marunouchi Capital Fund III agreed in September 2025; the gain was booked in Q3 FY2025 |
| Information-system services | Small; continuing |
HOYA does not publish list prices for its products. Pricing is negotiated with industrial customers and set through eye-care professional channels in Life Care.
Financial Narrative
All figures are IFRS and consolidated, in JPY billions unless stated, from the annual results releases and the 88th AGM business report. HOYA presents expenses by nature and does not report cost of sales, so gross profit is not a reported line.
Income statement
From FY2021 to FY2025, revenue grew at a 9.4% compound annual rate, pretax profit at 11.7% and basic EPS at 13.6%. EPS grew faster than profit because buybacks cut weighted shares from 368.5 million to about 340 million. On HOYA's reference basis, operating profit rose 12% to ¥285.2 billion in FY2025, a 30.1% margin.
Commentary.
FY2021: was a strong post-pandemic rebound (+20.7%).
FY2022–FY2023: growth slowed to 5–9%. HDD and blank customers ran down inventory in FY2023, and the IT segment took the hit; Life Care grew only 4% in FY2023.
FY2024: was the turning point. IT revenue rose 36% as blank and HDD demand returned. Life Care profit fell because of spending to recover from the cyberattack, so the group pretax margin slipped to 30.0%.
FY2025: gained from IT mix and about ¥35 billion of Q3 one-offs: a ¥23.5 billion IOL joint-venture gain, more than ¥7.0 billion from two divestitures, and a ¥3.8 billion foreign-exchange gain. Underlying operating profit growth of 12% is the better measure of momentum. The jump in the pretax margin to 34.6% overstates it.
Balance sheet
At 31 March 2026, property, plant and equipment was ¥235.7 billion, goodwill ¥54.4 billion and other intangibles ¥21.6 billion. Most of the debt is lease liabilities: bank borrowings were only about ¥16.6 billion. Cash rose partly because the weak yen increased the yen value of foreign-currency deposits.
Cash flow and shareholder returns
HOYA's own free-cash-flow measure is operating plus investing cash flow. On that basis FY2025 free cash flow was ¥270.9 billion (OCF ¥278.4 billion, investing cash flow −¥7.6 billion). Divestiture proceeds and the release of investments offset most of the capex. Capex on an accrual basis was ¥65.7 billion in FY2025, split ¥30.2 billion for Life Care (eyeglass capacity) and ¥34.2 billion for IT (mask blanks).
Returns, liquidity and efficiency ratios
HOYA reported ROIC of 21.1% for FY2025 and 23.8% for Q1 FY2026. Because cost of sales is not reported, a cash conversion cycle cannot be built on the usual basis. Inventory has stayed at a steady 14–16% of revenue, and at 31 March 2026 receivables were ¥209.6 billion, about 81 days of revenue.
Trend commentary. Three things stand out:
Returns are above 20% with almost no leverage: HOYA is effectively debt-free: interest cover is above 100x and net cash exceeds a full year's EBITDA.
Returns depend on keeping the balance sheet lean: In April 2026, management set a target net-cash level of about ¥460 billion and said it would return the roughly ¥110 billion excess over three years, mainly through buybacks.
Capital intensity is rising: Capex reached 6.0% of revenue in FY2025, up from 4.4% in FY2021. Depreciation is guided up 5–6% in FY2026 and to peak in FY2028–FY2029 as the Singapore and Vietnam plants come online. Equipment is depreciated straight-line over three years, which front-loads the margin pressure.
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View Subscription PlansFinancial Detail
Revenue by Segment
| Segment / sub-category | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
Life Care revenue (JPY Bn) | 530.0 | 550.9 | 590.7 |
Health Care revenue (JPY Bn) | 393.7 | 417.7 | 450.8 |
Medical revenue (JPY Bn) | 136.4 | 133.2 | 139.9 |
Information Technology revenue (JPY Bn) | 228.3 | 311.1 | 354.8 |
Electronics revenue (JPY Bn) | 189.3 | 265.2 | 295.8 |
Imaging / Optical Solutions revenue (JPY Bn) | 39.1 | 45.9 | 59.0 |
Other revenue (JPY Bn) | 4.3 | 4.0 | 2.3 |
Group revenue (JPY Bn) | 762.6 | 866.0 | 947.7 |
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View Subscription PlansResults by Segment and Segment Margins & Growth (%)
| Metric | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
Life Care segment PBT (JPY Bn) | 121.0 | 90.4 | 129.5 |
Information Technology segment PBT (JPY Bn) | 107.9 | 170.4 | 192.3 |
Life Care PBT margin (%) | 22.8 | 16.4 | 21.9 |
Information Technology PBT margin (%) | 47.3 | 54.8 | 54.1 |
Life Care share of group revenue (%) | 69.5 | 63.6 | 62.3 |
Information Technology share of group revenue (%) | 29.9 | 35.9 | 37.4 |
Segment Margins & Growth (%)
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
Life Care revenue growth (%) | 3.9 | 7.2 |
Information Technology revenue growth (%) | 36.2 | 14.0 |
Life Care segment PBT growth (%) | -25.3 | 43.3 |
Information Technology segment PBT growth (%) | 57.9 | 12.9 |
Results by Segment
| Metric | FY2023 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|
Life Care operating profit (JPY Bn) | 106.7 | 95.4 |
Information Technology operating profit (JPY Bn) | 108.3 | 168.4 |
Revenue by Segment (Quarterly)
| Metric | Q1 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | H1 FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
Group revenue (JPY Bn) | 255.7 | 260.2 | 515.9 |
Profit from normal business activities (JPY Bn) | 82.4 | 89.4 | 171.7 |
Pretax profit (JPY Bn) | 86.0 | 91.6 | 177.6 |
Profit for the period (JPY Bn) | 65.8 | 70.6 | 136.4 |
Life Care revenue (JPY Bn) | 154.8 | 153.4 | 308.2 |
Information Technology revenue (JPY Bn) | 101.0 | 106.7 | 207.7 |
Income Statement and Margin Analysis (%)
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue (JPY Bn) | 661.5 | 723.6 | 762.6 | 866.0 | 947.7 |
Revenue growth (%) | 20.7 | 9.4 | 5.4 | 13.6 | 9.4 |
Profit before tax (JPY Bn) | 210.7 | 215.8 | 236.6 | 260.0 | 327.7 |
Profit attributable to owners (JPY Bn) | 164.5 | 168.6 | 181.4 | 202.1 | 253.1 |
Depreciation and amortization (JPY Bn) | 43.0 | 49.6 | 47.2 | 48.6 | 58.2 |
EBITDA, pretax profit plus D&A (JPY Bn) | 253.7 | 265.4 | 283.8 | 308.5 | 385.9 |
Basic EPS (JPY) | 446.45 | 469.76 | 515.48 | 581.45 | 743.93 |
Diluted EPS (JPY) | 445.93 | 469.47 | 515.27 | 581.26 | 743.82 |
Dividend per share (JPY) | 110 | 110 | 110 | 160 | 295 |
Pretax margin (%) | 31.9 | 29.8 | 31.0 | 30.0 | 34.6 |
EBITDA margin (%) | 38.4 | 36.7 | 37.2 | 35.6 | 40.7 |
Net margin (%) | 24.9 | 23.3 | 23.8 | 23.3 | 26.7 |
Dividend payout ratio (%) | 24.6 | 23.4 | 21.3 | 27.5 | 39.7 |
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View Subscription PlansBalance Sheet and Margin Analysis (%)
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total assets (JPY Bn) | 992.8 | 1,028.3 | 1,203.6 | 1,234.3 | 1,300.9 |
Cash and cash equivalents (JPY Bn) | 419.4 | 405.9 | 525.2 | 534.0 | 574.1 |
Short-term interest-bearing debt incl. leases (JPY Bn) | 7.8 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 9.3 | 10.7 |
Long-term interest-bearing debt incl. leases (JPY Bn) | 13.8 | 16.0 | 20.6 | 28.0 | 31.5 |
Total interest-bearing debt (JPY Bn) | 21.6 | 24.6 | 29.2 | 37.3 | 42.2 |
Net cash (JPY Bn) | 397.8 | 381.3 | 495.9 | 496.7 | 531.9 |
Total equity (JPY Bn) | 789.1 | 814.6 | 962.3 | 971.6 | 1,035.0 |
Goodwill and intangible assets (JPY Bn) | 75.4 | 82.6 | 86.8 | 76.8 | 76.0 |
Inventories (JPY Bn) | 91.4 | 105.2 | 119.1 | 124.6 | 132.5 |
Working capital (JPY Bn) | 535.6 | 554.2 | 687.7 | 700.2 | 761.1 |
Equity-to-assets (%) | 79.5 | 79.2 | 79.9 | 78.7 | 79.6 |
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View Subscription PlansCash Flow and Margin Analysis (%)
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Operating cash flow (JPY Bn) | 190.1 | 201.8 | 222.8 | 235.1 | 278.4 |
Capital expenditure, cash (JPY Bn) | 28.9 | 33.5 | 41.1 | 47.9 | 56.6 |
Free cash flow, OCF minus capex (JPY Bn) | 161.2 | 168.4 | 181.7 | 187.2 | 221.9 |
Dividends paid (JPY Bn) | 33.2 | 39.8 | 38.8 | 38.4 | 81.9 |
Share buybacks (JPY Bn) | 65.8 | 154.0 | 56.1 | 150.0 | 172.0 |
Total cash returned (JPY Bn) | 99.0 | 193.8 | 94.8 | 188.4 | 253.9 |
Capex to revenue (%) | 4.4 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 6.0 |
Free cash flow to net profit (%) | 98.0 | 99.8 | 100.2 | 92.6 | 87.7 |
Returns & Leverage Ratios (%) and Financial Ratios (x)
| Ratio | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ROE on year-end equity (%) | 20.8 | 20.7 | 18.8 | 20.8 | 24.5 |
ROA on year-end assets (%) | 16.6 | 16.4 | 15.1 | 16.4 | 19.5 |
Current ratio (x) | 4.63 | 4.55 | 5.07 | 4.90 | 4.81 |
Debt to equity (x) | 0.027 | 0.030 | 0.030 | 0.038 | 0.041 |
Net cash to EBITDA (x) | 1.57 | 1.44 | 1.75 | 1.61 | 1.38 |
Interest coverage, (PBT plus finance costs) / finance costs (x) | 127.6 | 119.9 | 123.9 | 179.2 | 165.6 |
Asset turnover (x) | 0.67 | 0.70 | 0.63 | 0.70 | 0.73 |
Inventory to revenue (%) | 13.8 | 14.5 | 15.6 | 14.4 | 14.0 |
Revenue by Region
| Country / region | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
Japan revenue (JPY Bn) | 177.1 | 182.8 | 193.1 |
United States revenue (JPY Bn) | 117.5 | 129.2 | 137.5 |
Singapore revenue (JPY Bn) | 58.1 | 102.2 | 113.8 |
China revenue (JPY Bn) | 78.3 | 80.6 | 93.9 |
Other countries incl. South Korea revenue (JPY Bn) | 331.6 | 371.2 | 409.4 |
Total revenue (JPY Bn) | 762.6 | 866.0 | 947.7 |
Region Margins & Growth (%)
| Country / region | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
Japan growth (%) | 3.2 | 5.6 |
United States growth (%) | 10.0 | 6.5 |
Singapore growth (%) | 75.9 | 11.4 |
China growth (%) | 3.0 | 16.5 |
Other countries growth (%) | 11.9 | 10.3 |
Valuation Snapshot
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Share price (JPY) | 24,775 |
52-week high (JPY) | 30,400 |
52-week low (JPY) | 21,955 |
Market capitalization (JPY tn) | 8.3 |
Enterprise value, market cap less net cash at March 2026 (JPY tn) | 7.8 |
P/E on FY2025 EPS of ¥743.93 (x) | 33.3 |
P/E on trailing-12-month EPS of ¥839.18 (x) | 29.5 |
EV/EBITDA, FY2025 reference operating profit plus D&A of ¥343.4 bn (x) | 22.6 |
EV/Sales, trailing-12-month revenue of ¥1,008.7 bn (x) | 7.7 |
P/B on March 2026 book value per share of ¥3,041.71 (x) | 8.1 |
Dividend yield on FY2025 DPS of ¥295 (%) | 1.2 |
Margin Analysis (%)
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
Calendar-year share price change (%) | 38.72 | 12.43 | 19.53 |
Per-Share Data
| Metric | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dividend per share (JPY) | 110 | 110 | 110 | 160 | 295 |
Analyst Conclusions
Management guidance.
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FY2026 revenue of ¥1,043 billion (+10.1%). H1 came in at ¥515.9 billion, ahead of the ¥521.0 billion H1 guide on profit (H1 operating profit ¥171.7 billion against a ¥165.0 billion guide).
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Segment expectations: HDD substrates more than 15%, mask blanks 10–15%, Optical Solutions high single digits to about 10%, Life Care mid-single digits.
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Depreciation up 5–6%, peaking in FY2028–FY2029.
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Return the ¥110 billion of excess net cash over three years.
Consensus expectations. The sell side expects revenue growth of about 8–10% in FY2026, with operating profit growing faster as Life Care margins recover. Morgan Stanley MUFG models 3.5-inch HDD-substrate growth of 30% in FY2026, 26% in FY2027 and 28% in FY2028.
Bull case
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AI pulls three IT engines at once: EUV blanks (LSI +21% in Q1 FY2026), nearline and HAMR HDD substrates (guidance raised to more than 15% with new customers), and CUPO for optical interconnect. Together they could sustain IT growth in the high teens through FY2027 at margins above 50%.
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Portfolio surgery lifts quality. Selling PENTAX Medical would remove the lowest-margin, lowest-growth unit, and Life Care would converge on eye health with an approximately 20% eyeglass margin target and MiYOSMART growth.
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Capital returns compound EPS. A 40% payout, up to ¥200 billion of buybacks and an explicit net-cash target should keep lifting EPS faster than profit, as the 13.6% EPS CAGR in FY2021–FY2025 shows.
Bear case
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IT is at peak utilization and peak margin. Depreciation from about ¥92 billion of new plants, on three-year lives from FY2028, plus AGC's capacity additions, could pull IT margins back toward the 50% target just as AI capex growth slows.
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Life Care is stalling. It grew only 1.2% at constant currency in H1 FY2026, with weak US eyeglass lenses, shrinking endoscopes and IOL price controls in China. This undermines the defensive half of the investment case, and the 5.5% share-price fall after Q2 showed how sensitive the market is to it.
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The valuation leaves little room for error. At about 30x trailing P/E and 8x book, with yen-driven reported growth (Q1 FY2026: +16% reported against +7% at constant currency), a stronger yen or a semiconductor inventory correction could compress both earnings and the multiple.
Key catalysts and monitorables (next 12 months)
Late Jan / early Feb 2027: Catalyst / monitorable: Q3 FY2026 results; What to watch: Tough comparison against the ¥35 bn of Q3 FY2025 one-offs; IT seasonality
H2 FY2026: Catalyst / monitorable: Outcome of the PENTAX Medical strategic review; What to watch: Buyer, price and use of proceeds
H2 FY2026: Catalyst / monitorable: Second HDD customer begins shipments; What to watch: Whether 3.5-inch growth exceeds 20%
Through Mar 2027: Catalyst / monitorable: Progress on the ¥200 bn buyback; What to watch: Pace against the 10-million-share cap
Late Apr / May 2027: Catalyst / monitorable: FY2026 results and FY2027 outlook; What to watch: Dividend at a 40% payout; any update to medium-term targets; Singapore and Vietnam construction
Ongoing: Catalyst / monitorable: AGC EUV-blank capacity and High-NA qualification; What to watch: Share and pricing in EUV blanks
Ongoing: Catalyst / monitorable: Life Care growth at constant currency and the US eyeglass recovery; What to watch: Return to mid-single-digit growth
Ongoing: Catalyst / monitorable: Yen exchange rates; What to watch: Translation effects on reported growth
Ongoing: Catalyst / monitorable: Derivative lawsuit proceedings; What to watch: Governance optics
Analyst verdict. HOYA is one of the highest-quality industrial franchises listed in Japan. It earns pretax margins of 30–35% and ROIC above 20%, converts nearly all of its profit to cash, and carries net cash above a year's EBITDA. FY2025 confirmed that the AI infrastructure build-out has become HOYA's main profit driver. IT revenue rose 14% on top of 36% the year before, and the segment's pretax margin held at 54% even as depreciation rose. Positions in EUV blanks and glass HDD substrates are protected by years-long qualification and unusual process know-how. Management is putting about ¥92 billion into new capacity while committing to return excess cash, a rare combination of growth investment and capital discipline.
The weak half is Life Care. Eyeglass lenses and myopia management are good businesses: MiYOSMART iQ's trial data is a real clinical advantage, and the June 2026 Japan launch opens the home market. Endoscopes and IOLs, however, are sub-scale against Olympus and Alcon and exposed to Chinese procurement policy. The strategic review of PENTAX Medical is therefore the most important portfolio decision since the 2008 PENTAX merger, and a clean exit would raise group margins and focus. Meanwhile, Life Care's 1.2% constant-currency growth in H1 FY2026 shows that the group's reported growth is increasingly carried by IT and a weak yen.
At about 30x trailing earnings, the shares already price in continued strength in AI demand. Upside from here depends on three things: HDD customer additions arriving on schedule, EUV-blank growth holding at the upper end of the 10–15% range, and an endoscope transaction that puts the value of the remaining eye-health franchise in sharper focus. The main risk is the timing of the capacity cycle. New plants depreciate over three years from FY2028, and if AI capex growth slows at that point, IT margins would be squeezed from both price and cost.
On balance, HOYA's governance, balance sheet and record of moving capital between businesses justify a premium valuation. The next leg of returns is more likely to come from compounding than from a re-rating, and investors should accumulate on dips caused by currency moves or Life Care headlines rather than chase IT-driven rallies.
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View Subscription PlansExecutive Leadership
Executive Leadership Team
| Name | Title | Tenure | Prior roles | Education | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eiichiro Ikeda | Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO; Chief Representative of the Singapore Branch | CEO since March 2022; director since June 2022 | Joined in 1992 as a chemical engineer; Co-CEO of the Memory Disk division (2010); head of Optical Lens (2010); Executive Officer and COO for Information Technology (2013); also CTO (2015); Group CTO (2020) | Bachelor of Engineering, Chuo University | 56 (born 17 March 1970) |
Ryo Hirooka | Director, Representative Executive Officer & CFO | CFO since June 2013; Representative Executive Officer since June 2014; director since June 2022 | Sumitomo Trust and Banking; joined HOYA in 2002; finance at HOYA Holdings N.V., Netherlands (2004–2009); Deputy CFO (2009) | Bachelor of Laws, Kwansei Gakuin University | — |
Tomoko Nakagawa | Executive Officer, Chief Sustainability (ESG) Officer and Head of General Affairs | CSO since March 2022 | Joined in 1990; compliance in the Legal Department; General Manager of General Affairs (2005); launched the Sustainability Committee (2019) | Bachelor of Psychology, Kenyon College (US) | — |
“—” = not publicly disclosed.
Executive Leadership Team — Hiroaki Yoshihara
| Name | Status | Committees | Background | Director since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hiroaki Yoshihara | Lead Independent Director | Chair, Audit; member, Nomination, Compensation, Healthcare Compliance | KPMG: Vice Chairman and Global Managing Partner of KPMG International (to 2007) | Jun 2018 |
Yasuyuki Abe | Independent | Chair, Nomination; member, Compensation, Audit, Healthcare Compliance | Sumitomo Corporation senior managing executive officer; former president of Sumisho Computer Systems | Jun 2021 |
Takayo Hasegawa | Independent | Member, Nomination, Compensation, Audit | Former President and Group CEO of SWCC Showa Holdings; Chairperson of SWCC Corporation since April 2025 | Jun 2022 |
Mika Nishimura | Independent | Chair, Healthcare Compliance; member, Nomination, Compensation, Audit | Bain & Company, LEK; Guidant and EV3; Operational Partner at Gilde Healthcare | Jun 2022 |
Mototsugu Sato | Independent | Chair, Compensation; member, Nomination, Audit | Former Representative Director and EVP, Panasonic Holdings; former CEO, Panasonic Operational Excellence | Jun 2023 |
Eiichiro Ikeda | Internal | — | CEO | Jun 2022 |
Ryo Hirooka | Internal | — | CFO | Jun 2022 |
Directors' Remuneration
| Recipient | Fixed | Performance bonus | PSU | RSU | Stock options | Director fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eiichiro Ikeda (CEO) | 124 | 172 | 254 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 567 |
Ryo Hirooka (CFO) | 71 | 97 | 126 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 304 |
Tomoko Nakagawa (CSO) | 51 | 74 | 94 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 222 |
Five independent directors (combined) | 78 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 4 | 0 | 198 |
Major Shareholders
| Rank | Shareholder | Shares held (thousands) | Stake (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Master Trust Bank of Japan (Trust Account) | 62,126 | 18.51 |
| 2 | Custody Bank of Japan (Trust Account) | 23,084 | 6.88 |
| 3 | State Street Bank and Trust Company 505001 | 13,817 | 4.11 |
| 4 | Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas | 8,139 | 2.42 |
| 5 | State Street Bank and Trust Company 505103 | 6,145 | 1.83 |
| 6 | Government of Norway | 5,482 | 1.63 |
| 7 | BNYM as Agent/Clients 10 Percent | 5,466 | 1.62 |
| 8 | State Street Bank and Trust Company 505025 | 5,289 | 1.57 |
| 9 | BNYM as Agent/Clients Non-Treaty JASDEC | 5,000 | 1.49 |
| 10 | JPMorgan Chase Bank 385781 | 4,927 | 1.46 |
Competitive Landscape
Competitors by Segment
| Segment | Competitor | Scale and reference figures | Relative positioning |
|---|---|---|---|
Eyeglass lenses | EssilorLuxottica | FY2025 revenue €28.5 bn (+11.2% at constant currency); adjusted operating margin 15.7% | Global number one and vertically integrated into frames and retail; also leads myopia management with Stellest |
Eyeglass lenses | Carl Zeiss Vision Care | Unit of the Zeiss group | Premium optics competitor |
Eyeglass lenses | Nikon-Essilor (joint venture) | Japanese joint venture | Competes head-on with MiYOSMART in Japan through Stellest |
Eyeglass lenses | Rodenstock | Private, Germany | Premium progressive lenses in Europe |
IOLs | Alcon | Global ophthalmic leader | Dominant in premium IOLs and surgical equipment |
IOLs | Johnson & Johnson Vision | Diversified healthcare | Strong in premium IOLs |
IOLs | Bausch + Lomb, Carl Zeiss Meditec | Mid-sized ophthalmic players | Compete in mid-range and premium IOLs |
Flexible endoscopes | Olympus | FY Mar 2026 revenue ¥1,010.7 bn; adjusted operating margin 14.2%; R&D 10.9% of revenue | Global leader in gastrointestinal endoscopy, far larger than PENTAX Medical |
Flexible endoscopes | Fujifilm | Diversified | Number two in gastrointestinal endoscopy |
EUV mask blanks | AGC Inc. | FY2025 group revenue ¥2,058.8 bn; operating profit ¥127.5 bn | Second EUV-blank supplier; makes its own low-thermal-expansion material; expanding capacity |
DUV mask blanks | Shin-Etsu Chemical, S&S Tech | Materials companies | Compete mainly in DUV |
HDD substrates | Resonac and other aluminium-substrate makers | Aluminium platters | Aluminium is the substitute; HOYA is effectively the sole glass-substrate supplier |
FPD photomasks | SK-Electronics, LG Innotek, DNP, Toppan, Photronics | Photomask makers | Compete for large-format display masks in Korea, Japan and China |
Optical glass | Ohara, Schott, CDGM | Glass makers | Compete in optical glass and specialty materials |
Peer Comparison FY2025
| Company | Fiscal year | Revenue | Reported revenue growth (%) | Operating margin (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
HOYA | FY ended Mar 2026 | JPY 947.7 bn | 9.4 | 30.1 |
EssilorLuxottica | FY ended Dec 2025 | EUR 28.5 bn | 7.5 | 15.7 |
Olympus | FY ended Mar 2026 | JPY 1010.7 bn | 1.3 | 14.2 |
AGC | FY ended Dec 2025 | JPY 2058.8 bn | 0.0 | 6.2 |
