Kioxia's SSD revenues explode

What happened

Kioxia reported record revenue of ¥2.48 trillion (c $15.8 billion) for the July–September quarter of fiscal 2026 (Q2 FY2026), up 453 percent year on year, with net profit of ¥1.35 trillion ($8.6 billion), 3,200 percent higher annually and around 50–57 percent more quarter on quarter. Kioxia said the quarter-on-quarter increase was primarily due to a significant increase in average selling prices (ASPs) resulting from strong demand from datacenter customers focusing on generative AI, as well as an increase in bit shipments; this quarter's revenue exceeded the entire 2025 year (¥2.4 trillion / $15.6 billion). Segment results: SSD and storage ¥1.62 trillion ($10.3 billion) with c65 percent for datacenters and c35 percent for smart phones; smart devices ¥789 billion ($5 billion), driven mostly by price increases; other ¥75.2 billion ($478 million). Kioxia has started mass production of its LC9 Series QLC SSDs, including a 245TB model, with customer qualification progressing steadily. On the downside, PC shipments were pressured by higher costs, with PC NAND demand expected to decline throughout calendar 2027, and slowing unit shipments of lower-priced smartphone models are hindering the smart devices segment. Revenue guidance for the third fiscal 2026 quarter is ¥2.5 trillion ($15.9 billion), 360 percent higher Y/Y but up just 0.8 percent on the current quarter, as Kioxia anticipates a negative impact of exchange rates with Q3 revenue and profit broadly in line with Q2. Kioxia expects NAND bit growth in the high teens percent for the rest of calendar 2026, accelerating to the low 20 percent range in 2027, with more growth in 2028. Its NAND fab joint-venture partner Sandisk posted flash revenues of $11 billion, up 378 percent — smaller and rising more slowly than Kioxia's. The pair are increasing NAND output by expanding production facilities at Yokkaichi Fab 7 and Kitakami Fab 2, with a Fab 3 at Kitakami being built and operations expected to start there in 2029. Multi-year LTAs cover more than 50 percent of production volume in calendar 2028, production capacity for the rest of 2027 is sold out, and Kioxia has begun discussions with customers on longer-term horizons such as CY2029 and CY2030. The company is paying ¥48 billion in interim dividends (¥90/share) and completed a 3-for-1 stock split effective October 2026.

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

Source: Blocks & Files · 11/2/2026 · View original source