Kioxia Holdings, a Japanese NAND flash memory manufacturer, has announced plans to issue American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the New York Stock Exchange next spring. This move aims to capitalize on the current investment frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.
According to reports from Bloomberg and the Nikkei, Kioxia’s Chief Financial Officer, Yoshihiko Kawamura, stated during the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Thursday that it’s targeting ADR issuance between April and June, coinciding with the start of the next fiscal year. This project, which will directly connect us to the U.S. market, is of paramount importance, and it’s committed to its success.
Kawamura elaborated that establishing a connection with the U.S. market would not only help stabilize Kioxia’s stock price but also enable the company to raise capital directly in the U.S.
Kioxia’s fiscal year concludes at the end of March. ADRs are financial instruments that allow U.S. investors to trade shares of foreign companies without the need for direct listing on U.S. exchanges.
To boost accessibility for retail investors, the company is also planning a stock split. Kawamura indicated that it intends to split the stock to achieve a price point that’s more attractive to a broader range of investors. It expects to make an announcement on this shortly.
Currently, Kioxia’s stock price hovers around 100,000 JPY (about 618 USD). Given the standard 100-share trading unit on the Japanese market, this translates to a minimum investment exceeding 10 million JPY (about 61,800 USD), which can be prohibitive for individual investors. The planned stock split aims to address this barrier.
Riding the wave of surging AI-driven memory demand, Kioxia has emerged as a standout performer on the Japanese stock market this year. On the day of the announcement, the company’s shares surged by up to 15% during trading, bringing its year-to-date gains to a staggering 800%. At one point, Kioxia even claimed the top spot in market capitalization among Japanese listed companies.
This ADR initiative follows on the heels of SK Hynix’s recent announcement of its U.S. listing plans, signaling a broader trend among global memory manufacturers to tap into the world’s largest capital market. The move also comes in the wake of Micron Technology’s better-than-expected earnings report, which has bolstered investor confidence across the Asian semiconductor supply chain.
Kioxia specializes in NAND flash memory production. While NAND may not be as crucial as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for direct AI computations, its importance is growing as AI models expand and data storage needs skyrocket.
The ongoing shortage of HBM is also driving increased demand for NAND in data center storage solutions, further bolstering Kioxia’s performance.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hiroo Ota noted that it’s seeing a rise in long-term supply agreements with U.S. hyperscalers. As agent-based AI and physical AI continue to proliferate, it anticipates sustained growth in memory demand.
He added that they’re currently experiencing robust demand in the AI sector. Moreover, the upward trend in the NAND market extends beyond AI to encompass PC and smartphone markets as well.
In a move to enhance shareholder value, Kioxia plans to implement a progressive dividend policy. This strategy, which involves maintaining or increasing dividend payments, is slated to take effect as early as the fiscal year ending March 2027.