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Designs factory-automation sensors, machine vision and measuring instruments, sold via a direct, high-touch sales model.
Designs factory-automation sensors, machine vision and measuring instruments, sold via a direct, high-touch sales model.
Designs its sensors and vision systems but outsources nearly all manufacturing, and sells direct through its own engineers rather than distributors, which is why it can charge premium prices. More than half of sales come from outside Japan.
In one line: A Japanese Cognex/Fanuc hybrid with Apple-like margins.
Moat: wide (distribution, brand, process know-how). Direct-sales/application-engineering model builds sticky customer relationships and pricing power fabless rivals can't match.
Headquarters: Osaka, Japan · Founded: 1974 · Employees: 12,784
Size Keyence (6861.T) is a Japan Information Technology company (Electronic Equipment/Instruments) with a market value of $107B, the 13th largest of 1,379 Japan companies the cockpit tracks. Shares closed at ¥69,750 on 6 Nov 2026.
Performance Over six months the shares fell 2.2%, against -0.9% for the median peer and +1.8% for the Japan market (cap-weighted) — 3rd lowest of 6 in its peer set.
Growth Revenue grew 24.8% over the last twelve months (peer median +9.7%); the operating margin is 53.8% (peer median 21.0%).
Valuation It trades at 28.7× forward earnings against a peer median of 27.5× (3rd most expensive of 6).
Price implies For today's price to make sense, revenue must grow about 21% a year for seven years (Req g). Recent delivered growth is +17%, so the hurdle is +4 pp: the price needs faster growth than the company has been delivering — of companies that just grew 25–50% a year, 93.8% slowed down over the next four years.
Capital Return on invested capital runs 11.8 points above its cost of capital (11.3% WACC).
Next results Next results expected around 29 Jan 2027 (exchange calendar; dates can move).
| TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ¥1.36T | ¥1.17T | ¥1.06T | ¥967B | ¥922B |
| Revenue growth | — | +10% | +9% | +5% | — |
| Gross profit | ¥1.15T | ¥971B | ¥888B | ¥803B | ¥755B |
| EBITDA | ¥750B | ¥613B | ¥565B | ¥509B | ¥510B |
| Net income | ¥544B | ¥445B | ¥399B | ¥370B | ¥363B |
| Free cash flow | n/a | ¥402B | ¥395B | ¥375B | ¥263B |
| Capital expenditure | n/a | ¥28.4B | ¥14.3B | ¥12.5B | ¥39.3B |
| Total debt | ¥0 | ¥0 | ¥0 | ¥0 | ¥0 |
The default views of Competitor Analysis ▸ Charts, drawn from the same data. Open them in the cockpit to change the axes, pin companies and read every value.
| Company | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keyence 6861.T | $107B | -2% | +25% | 54% | 28.7× | 21.1% |
| Omron 6645.T | $5.79B | -17% | -2% | 9% | 16.7× | 11.7% |
| Cognex CGNX | $8.04B | -27% | +17% | 22% | 24.8× | 25.6% |
| Mitsubishi Electric 6503.T | $59.9B | -28% | +12% | 10% | 17.1× | 13.2% |
| Fanuc 6954.T | $31.2B | -23% | +13% | 23% | 22.0× | 16.9% |
Peer set: Industry: the same industry and sector in any market, nearest in size. This is the same default set the interactive Competitor Analysis opens with.
| Measure | 6861.T | Peer median | Rank in peer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month return | -14.4% | -6.0% | 3rd lowest of 6 |
| 6-month return | -2.2% | -0.9% | 3rd lowest of 6 |
| Distance from 52-week high | -20.7% | -23.8% | 2nd highest of 6 |
| Revenue growth (TTM) | +24.8% | +9.7% | 3rd highest of 6 |
| Operating margin | 53.8% | 21.0% | highest of 6 |
| Forward P/E | 28.7× | 27.5× | 3rd most expensive of 6 |
| Growth the price implies (Req g, 7 yrs) | 21.1% | 18.2% | 2nd most demanding of 5 |
| Growth delivered (Del g) | +16.8% | +9.0% | 2nd highest of 5 |
| Hurdle (Req g minus delivered) | +4.3 pp | +6.8 pp | 2nd least demanding of 5 |
| ROIC minus cost of capital | +11.8 pp | +1.6 pp | 2nd highest of 6 |
| EV / EBITDA | 20.6× | 23.3× | 2nd cheapest of 4 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | -2.0× | 0.1× | least indebted of 4 |
| Company | Market | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g | Delivered g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keyence 6861.T | Japan | $107B | -2% | +25% | 54% | 28.7× | 21.1% | +16.8% |
| Advantest 6857.T | Japan | $124B | -1% | +48% | 50% | 27.5× | 36.4% | +29.3% |
| Keysight Technologies KEYS | United States | $46.3B | -24% | +26% | 24% | 20.3× | 20.9% | +5.0% |
| Legrand LR.PA | France | $38.0B | -16% | +10% | 21% | 22.0× | 15.6% | +9.2% |
| Hexagon HEXA-B.ST | Sweden | $29.4B | +14% | -20% | -14% | 30.0× | 9.1% | +8.7% |
| AVIC Chengdu Aircraft 302132.SZ | China | $28.0B | +4% | +3% | 5% | 49.6× | n/a | n/a |