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Operates railways including Shinkansen bullet trains and regional lines across western Japan.
Operates railways including Shinkansen bullet trains and regional lines across western Japan.
Rail fares carry the business, with the Sanyo Shinkansen between Osaka and Fukuoka and commuter lines around Osaka and Kobe the biggest sources, supplemented by station retail and property. Fare changes need government approval. Created in 1987 when Japan's national railway was split and privatised; the Hokuriku Shinkansen extended to Tsuruga in 2024.
In one line: Japan's Amtrak, but a profitable private company.
Moat: wide (regulatory licence, installed base, network effects). Exclusive rail infrastructure and Shinkansen network are essentially impossible to replicate.
Headquarters: Osaka, Japan · Founded: 1987 · Employees: 47,225
Size West Japan Railway (9021.T) is a Japan Industrials company (Railroads) with a market value of $9.19B, the 151st largest of 1,379 Japan companies the cockpit tracks. Shares closed at ¥3,182 on 6 Nov 2026.
Performance Over six months the shares gained 12.4%, against +2.0% for the median peer and +1.8% for the Japan market (cap-weighted) — 3rd highest of 14 in its peer set.
Growth Revenue grew 6.4% over the last twelve months (peer median +5.2%); the operating margin is 10.3% (peer median 12.7%).
Valuation It trades at 13.8× forward earnings against a peer median of 15.5× (5th cheapest of 14).
Price implies For today's price to make sense, revenue must grow about 2% a year for seven years (Req g). Recent delivered growth is +15%, so the hurdle is -13 pp: the price already allows for a slowdown.
Capital Return on invested capital runs 0.5 points below its cost of capital (5.0% WACC).
Next results Next results expected around 3 Feb 2027 (exchange calendar; dates can move).
| TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ¥1.84T | ¥1.85T | ¥1.71T | ¥1.64T | ¥1.40T |
| Revenue growth | — | +8% | +4% | +17% | — |
| Gross profit | ¥456B | ¥448B | ¥405B | ¥384B | ¥257B |
| EBITDA | ¥371B | ¥376B | ¥350B | ¥343B | ¥245B |
| Net income | ¥118B | ¥127B | ¥114B | ¥98.8B | ¥88.5B |
| Free cash flow | n/a | ¥78.5B | -¥1.81B | ¥69.0B | ¥28.0B |
| Capital expenditure | n/a | ¥283B | ¥283B | ¥249B | ¥246B |
| Total debt | ¥1.65T | ¥1.67T | ¥1.57T | ¥1.61T | ¥1.70T |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Japan Railway 9021.T | $9.19B | +12% | +6% | 10% | 13.8× | 2.4% |
| East Japan Railway 9020.T | $27.4B | +13% | +9% | 14% | 15.8× | n/a |
| Central Japan Railway 9022.T | $25.1B | +11% | +5% | 40% | 8.0× | -6.8% |
| Kyushu Railway 9142.T | $3.53B | 0% | +5% | 14% | 11.3× | n/a |
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 | 9021.T | Peer median | Rank in peer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month return | +11.7% | +4.8% | 3rd highest of 14 |
| 6-month return | +12.4% | +2.0% | 3rd highest of 14 |
| Distance from 52-week high | -8.3% | -10.4% | 7th highest of 14 |
| Revenue growth (TTM) | +6.4% | +5.2% | 5th highest of 14 |
| Operating margin | 10.3% | 12.7% | 4th lowest of 14 |
| Forward P/E | 13.8× | 15.5× | 5th cheapest of 14 |
| Growth the price implies (Req g, 7 yrs) | 2.4% | 7.3% | 2nd least demanding of 5 |
| Growth delivered (Del g) | +14.9% | +9.6% | highest of 5 |
| Hurdle (Req g minus delivered) | -12.5 pp | -3.3 pp | 2nd least demanding of 5 |
| ROIC minus cost of capital | -0.5 pp | -1.4 pp | 5th highest of 14 |
| EV / EBITDA | 8.2× | 12.5× | 2nd cheapest of 12 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.9× | 5.6× | 3rd least indebted of 12 |
| Company | Market | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g | Delivered g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Japan Railway 9021.T | Japan | $9.19B | +12% | +6% | 10% | 13.8× | 2.4% | +14.9% |
| Getlink GET.PA | France | $12.3B | +9% | +9% | 40% | 35.3× | 10.1% | +14.3% |
| GATX GATX | United States | $6.38B | -2% | +30% | 30% | 17.0× | n/a | n/a |
| Daqin Railway 601006.SS | China | $14.5B | -7% | +3% | 6% | 16.3× | n/a | n/a |
| Keisei Electric Railway 9009.T | Japan | $4.51B | +26% | +4% | 11% | 15.5× | n/a | n/a |
| Aurizon AZJ.AX | Australia | $4.49B | -5% | +6% | 21% | 14.8× | 4.4% | +6.7% |
| Odakyu Electric Railway 9007.T | Japan | $3.80B | +11% | +3% | 13% | 15.1× | n/a | n/a |
| Tobu Railway 9001.T | Japan | $3.58B | +3% | +5% | 11% | 10.0× | n/a | n/a |
| Container Corporation of India CONCOR.NS | India | $3.55B | -16% | +1% | 14% | 25.4× | 33.8% | +7.2% |
| Kyushu Railway 9142.T | Japan | $3.53B | 0% | +5% | 14% | 11.3× | n/a | n/a |
| Guangshen Railway 601333.SS | China | $3.16B | +1% | +5% | 6% | 16.3× | -14.9% | +11.9% |
| East Japan Railway 9020.T | Japan | $27.4B | +13% | +9% | 14% | 15.8× | n/a | n/a |
| Keio 9008.T | Japan | $2.80B | +3% | +10% | 10% | 10.5× | n/a | n/a |
| Keikyu 9006.T | Japan | $2.73B | +2% | +4% | 11% | 13.4× | n/a | n/a |