Kioxia Holdings Corp. briefly became Japan’s most valuable company on June 3, surpassing automotive giant Toyota Motor Corp. The former Toshiba memory division hit an intraday market capitalization exceeding ¥45 trillion, or roughly $281 billion.
This surge marks a dramatic reversal for the semiconductor maker. Since its initial public offering in December 2024 at a valuation of just $5.2 billion, Kioxia’s shares have skyrocketed more than 3,500%. The stock climbed 7.2% on June 3, touching an intraday high of ¥83,140 per share before closing at ¥78,080.
The rally is fueled by intense global demand for NAND flash memory, a critical component in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Kioxia reported record quarterly earnings of ¥596.8 billion for the period ending March 2026. Analysts project even stronger performance ahead, with expected operating profits of ¥1.3 trillion, approximately $8.2 billion, for the upcoming quarter.
Toyota has now fallen to third place in Japan’s corporate rankings. SoftBank Group previously took the top spot on June 1 with a market cap exceeding ¥48 trillion. While Kioxia’s technical valuation dipped slightly below Toyota’s end-of-session mark, the event underscores a broader transition in Japan’s economic landscape toward technology and AI-driven sectors.
Despite the bullish momentum, investors should note that Bain Capital remains a dominant shareholder. Any large-scale divestment by the private equity firm could exert significant downward pressure on the stock price. Samsung and SK Hynix are also aggressively expanding capacity in the NAND flash market, intensifying competition.