Kioxia shares drop as profit outlook misses analyst expectations
Tokyo-based Kioxia Holdings shares fell by 15% after forecasting a lower-than-expected operating profit for the December quarter, fueling concerns about cooling demand for AI-related storage.
Kioxia Holdings shares declined as much as 15% on November 2 following a profit outlook that failed to meet market expectations. The company projected an operating profit of 2 trillion yen (US$12.7 billion) for the December quarter, falling short of the 2.4 trillion yen (US$14.9 billion) consensus estimated by analysts.
Management attributed the tepid forecast to the timing of shipments rather than a fundamental decline in demand. The company noted that while some orders were pulled forward into the September quarter, others were delayed until the March quarter due to the lengthy production lead times required for enterprise storage hardware.
CFO Yoshihiko Kawamura maintained that demand from AI data center operators remains strong. The industry is currently watching for signs of a broader shift in strategy, with competitors such as Samsung and SK Hynix increasingly prioritizing high-margin SSD upgrades over sheer production volume.