Corporate Ordinary Profits for Apr–Jun 2026 Reach ¥44.7 Trillion, Up 24.6% Year on Year, Highest Quarter Since 1954 Records Began (MOF Corporate Statistics)

Explanation

The Ministry of Finance published the results of its Financial Statements Statistics of Corporations for the April–June 2026 quarter on September 1, 2026. The survey covers companies with capital of ¥10 million or more (excluding finance and insurance industries) and compiles sales, profits, and capital investment on a quarterly basis; it is also used in revisions of gross domestic product (GDP) figures.

Ordinary profit was ¥4,466.68 billion, up 24.6% from the same period the previous year — the highest of the 289 quarters on record since 1954. By industry, manufacturing rose sharply by 57.0%, with information and communication equipment up 171.2% and transportation equipment up 50.6%. Sales were ¥393,937.7 billion, up 5.9% — the sixth-highest level on record, growing less than profits. Sales growing 6% while profits grew 25% means that the ratio of profit to sales (profit margin) rose.

Meanwhile, capital investment was only ¥1,302.5 billion, up 1.6% from the same period the previous year. Limited to manufacturing, it fell 3.7% — the manufacturing sector, whose profits rose 57%, is cutting investment. Ranked among the past 100 quarters, this growth rate is 26th, neither particularly high nor low.

Profits hit a record high while investment stayed flat. This statistic alone does not reveal where companies are channeling the money they have earned.