--- title: "Kokusai Electric hit its daily limit, down 15.6% and 56% below its July peak, after the midterms" description: "The memory-tool maker printed a record June quarter, raised guidance, then closed November 5 pinned to its daily limit, 56% below the July peak. The November 9 results decide whether DRAM demand compounds or peaked in 2026." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-11-05T15:09:44.407Z modified: 2026-11-05T15:09:44.407Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/kokusai-electric-hit-its-daily-limit-down-15-6-and-56-below-its-july-peak-after-the-midterms language: en keywords: "Japan, Semiconductors, Chip Equipment, Memory, Stock Moves" --- # Kokusai Electric hit its daily limit, down 15.6% and 56% below its July peak, after the midterms > The memory-tool maker printed a record June quarter, raised guidance, then closed November 5 pinned to its daily limit, 56% below the July peak. The November 9 results decide whether DRAM demand compounds or peaked in 2026. ## A limit-down day for the AI memory trade [Kokusai Electric](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/kokusai-electric), the Tokyo maker of batch furnaces that deposit and bake films onto memory wafers, [closed at ¥5,400 on November 5](https://finance.yahoo.co.jp/quote/6525.T), down 15.63% and pinned to its daily lower limit on 8.3 million shares; it traded at ¥5,320 after the close [1]. The Nikkei 225 fell for a fourth straight session, down 1,110 points to 61,077.90, and test-equipment maker Advantest alone subtracted about 1,097 of them [2]. The trigger was political: [the November 3 US midterm elections](https://newsonjapan.com/article/151257.php) gave the Democratic Party majorities in both houses of Congress, raising expectations of tighter oversight of AI development and data-center construction [2]. The broader Topix index still rose 1.16% [2]. ## The record quarter underneath The June quarter, reported on August 5, was the best in the company's history [1][3]. [Revenue reached a record ¥75.4 billion](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/ai-demand-leads-kokusai-electric-corporation-to-record-quarterly-revenue-ce785fd9d18bf026), up 45.6% year on year, on DRAM and logic demand from outside China [1][3]. Orders came in near ¥140 billion, far above the initial outlook and close to twice what was booked as revenue [3]. Operating margin widened to 21.1% from 18.8%, net profit rose 70.6% to ¥11.6 billion, and free cash flow more than tripled to ¥6.6 billion [3]. Management lifted its full-year forecast and its dividend [1]. Spun off from Hitachi Kokusai Electric in 2018 and listed in Tokyo in 2023 [4], the company still counts buyout firm KKR's vehicle among its largest holders, at 10.37% [1]. *Chart: **Every line of the June quarter grew faster than the one above it** Bar chart of year-on-year growth in Kokusai Electric's June 2026 quarter: revenue 45.6%, operating profit 63.9%, net profit 70.6%, free cash flow 230% marked as a calculated figure.* *Year-on-year growth, June 2026 quarter (fiscal Q1 2027). Free-cash-flow growth is calculated from the stated levels of ¥6.6 billion versus ¥2.0 billion; the other three rates are as reported. Source: MarketScreener recap of company results, November 5, 2026. [3]* ## Two camps, one question about 2027 The Wall Street research firm Bernstein [made Kokusai a top Japan long](https://news.trustfinance.com/news/en-US/bernstein-names-advantest-kokusai-top-japan-chip-picks-ahead-of-q3-earnings) in late October, expecting another guidance raise on memory orders from Chinese and non-Chinese customers [5]. Eleven of 13 analysts are buyers, with an average target of ¥10,993.9, about twice the limit-down price [3]. Capital Research and Management, one of the largest institutional holders, went the other way, [selling $130.4mn on October 19](https://thehillledger.com/articles/2026-10-27-jp-capital-research-lifts-resonac-stake-and-cuts-kokusai-electric-holding) and cutting its stake to 9.04% [1][6]. The customers split the vote the same week. Memory maker [Kioxia closed 16% lower on November 2](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/another-chip-stock-selloff-shows-how-the-ai-trade-is-getting-pickier/ar-AA2gyOIQ) after its December-quarter forecast missed consensus, a guide that Bernstein analysts led by Mark Li called "a massive miss" [7]. [SK Hynix](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/sk-hynix) rallied on record profit and said long-term agreements with 14 customers already cover more than half its capacity for 2027 and 2028 [7][9]. Even before the rout, at ¥6,778, the shares traded at 27.1x forward earnings, level with the two-year average of 27.3x [3]. Investors were paying the average multiple for record results, and the selloff has since taken a further fifth off the price [1]. *Chart: **From the July peak to the daily limit in four months** Line chart of Kokusai Electric's 2026 share price: 4,869 yen low in March, 12,220 yen high in July, then 7,265, 6,919, 6,400 and 5,400 at the daily lower limit on November 5.* *Kokusai Electric share price in yen: the 2026 low (March 31) and high (July 1), then the late-October and November selloff. Source: Yahoo Finance Japan, November 5, 2026. [1]* ## November 9 decides it The September-half results land on November 9 [1]. The bull case rests on the customers: Kioxia says its planned capacity for 2027 is already sold out [7], and [SK Hynix expects demand to exceed supply through 2030](https://thenextweb.com/news/sk-hynix-q3-2026-record-profit-memory-shortage-2030), with investment rising significantly next year [9]. The selling prices a fear rather than a fact: [SK Hynix fell 9.5% in the same wave](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/unternehmensnachrichten/sk-hynix-tumbles-as-washington-s-ai-rules-cast-a-shadow-over-memory-demand/70462562), no order cancellations have been reported, and no US rule has been enacted [8]. No document yet shows whether DRAM capital spending holds into the 2027 financial year [6][1][1]. Capital Research has answered with a $130.4mn sale [6][1]; the guidance answers in public on Monday [1]. ## Takeaway Kokusai Electric's limit-down day prices a political fear, not a reported order loss; the November 9 half-year results and guidance are the first hard answer on whether DRAM capex holds into 2027. ## Sources 1. [Yahoo Finance Japan, KOKUSAI ELECTRIC (6525.T) quote, earnings and major-shareholder page, 5 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.co.jp/quote/6525.T) 2. [News On Japan, Nikkei Plunges 1,110 Points on Thursday as Chip Stocks Tumble, 5 November 2026](https://newsonjapan.com/article/151257.php) 3. [MarketScreener, AI Demand Leads Kokusai Electric Corporation to Record Quarterly Revenue, 5 November 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/ai-demand-leads-kokusai-electric-corporation-to-record-quarterly-revenue-ce785fd9d18bf026) 4. [Wikipedia, Kokusai Electric, accessed 5 November 2026](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokusai_Electric) 5. [TrustFinance News, Bernstein Names Advantest, Kokusai Top Japan Chip Picks Ahead of Q3 Earnings, 28 October 2026](https://news.trustfinance.com/news/en-US/bernstein-names-advantest-kokusai-top-japan-chip-picks-ahead-of-q3-earnings) 6. [The Hill Ledger, Capital Research lifts Resonac stake and cuts Kokusai Electric holding, 27 October 2026](https://thehillledger.com/articles/2026-10-27-jp-capital-research-lifts-resonac-stake-and-cuts-kokusai-electric-holding) 7. [Business Insider via MSN, Another chip stock selloff shows how the AI trade is getting pickier, 2 November 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/another-chip-stock-selloff-shows-how-the-ai-trade-is-getting-pickier/ar-AA2gyOIQ) 8. [Ad Hoc News (boerse-global.de), SK Hynix Tumbles as Washington's AI Rules Cast a Shadow Over Memory Demand, 5 November 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/unternehmensnachrichten/sk-hynix-tumbles-as-washington-s-ai-rules-cast-a-shadow-over-memory-demand/70462562) 9. [The Next Web, SK Hynix profit jumps 632% as it says memory shortage will last to 2030, 28 October 2026](https://thenextweb.com/news/sk-hynix-q3-2026-record-profit-memory-shortage-2030) --- Kokusai Electric hit its daily limit, down 15.6% and 56% below its July peak, after the midterms — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/kokusai-electric-hit-its-daily-limit-down-15-6-and-56-below-its-july-peak-after-the-midterms