[News] Kioxia Targets ¥470B Yearly Capex in FY26–28, Up 66% from FY25, Reportedly Weighing Third Kitakami Fab and M&A
After projecting a 48-fold year-on-year surge in net profit for the April–June quarter, Japan’s NAND heavyweight Kioxia delivered an even more bullish outlook at its Investor Day on June 2. According to EE Times Japan, the company plans to ride the memory upcycle with average annual capital expenditure of around ¥470 billion from FY2026 to FY2028—about a 66% increase from FY2025—bringing total investment over the three-year period to roughly ¥1.4 trillion.
Against this investment backdrop, the report further details how Kioxia is aligning capital deployment with its expansion plans. According to EE Times Japan, utilization at its Yokkaichi Fab 7 and Kitakami Fab 2 currently stands at around 50%, with the company prioritizing equipment installation within available capacity first. Beyond that, it is also considering the construction of a third building at the Kitakami plant in line with future market growth.
Notably, EE Times also adds that the company will also consider optimal business acquisitions, including areas beyond flash memory, signaling the possibility of M&A.
Kioxia Targets 50% LTA Coverage by 2028
Executive Vice President and CFO Yoshihiko Kawamura, as cited by EE Times Japan, said Kioxia is entering what he described as a new “super cycle” of growth, driven by a structural shift toward more stable, higher-margin business and reduced cyclicality.
Notably, in line with management’s remarks, an investor day summary from Quartr indicates that Kioxia is expanding long-term agreements (LTAs) with hyperscalers and enterprise customers to enhance revenue stability and investment visibility, targeting around 50% coverage by 2028.
Kioxia’s presentation also showed that the company plans to make data center and enterprise storage its primary growth engine, targeting more than 60% of total revenue from these segments by fiscal 2028.
Inference AI NAND Demand Projected to Surge at 86% CAGR
EE Times Japan, citing Kioxia’s presentation, also highlights a bullish outlook for the NAND flash market. According to the company, global NAND bit demand is expected to grow at a 22% CAGR from FY2025 to FY2028.
Within that, data center demand is projected to expand even faster at a 46% CAGR, while NAND demand specifically driven by inference AI is expected to surge at an even more aggressive 86% CAGR, the company says.
Against this backdrop, Chief Strategy Officer Junichiro Yaguchi, cited by EE Times Japan, noted that supply-demand conditions are expected to remain tight through 2027, supporting an upward trend in NAND pricing and driving rapid expansion in overall market value.
BiCS 10 Sampling Set for Summer 2026
Meanwhile, Kioxia also highlights progress on BiCS 10, which ZDNet previously reported features 332 layers, delivering a 59% increase in storage density per unit area and a 33% boost in data transfer speed compared with the 218-layer generation. The company said sample shipments for BiCS 10 are targeted for summer 2026.
As Nikkei notes, unable to keep pace with rivals in sheer layer scaling, Kioxia has pivoted to an alternative scaling strategy centered on its bonding technology. As explained by the report, NAND devices combine memory cells for data storage and peripheral control circuits, typically built on a single silicon wafer.
However, Kioxia’s CBA (CMOS directly Bonded to Array) approach separates these two elements onto different wafers before bonding them together, enabling a more efficient layout and higher storage density. According to an analyst cited by the report, Kioxia’s NAND delivers read and write speeds roughly 20–30% faster than competitors. Sources cited by ZDNet suggest that Kioxia aims to mass produce BiCS 10 NAND in 2027.
Read more
- [News] Japan–U.S. NAND Alliance Steps Up Investment as Kioxia–SanDisk Capex Reportedly Rises 40% YoY
- [News] Kioxia Reportedly Forecasts 48-Fold April Quarter Profit Jump, Eyes U.S. ADS Listing Amid Memory Boom
(Photo credit: Kioxia)
