On October 30, Japanese semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron released its second-quarter financial results for fiscal year 2027. Driven by growing investment in AI servers and data center infrastructure, the company's revenue rose 20.9% year-on-year to 588.5 billion yen, while net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company increased 26.7% year-on-year to 104.78 billion yen. The company also issued a full-year forecast and announced a share buyback program worth up to 150 billion yen.

AI investment has fueled rising demand for semiconductor equipment, with first-half results exceeding expectations. For the six months ended September, Tokyo Electron reported cumulative revenue of 1.67 trillion yen, up 41.3% year-on-year, operating profit of 506.78 billion yen, up 67.2% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company of 376.93 billion yen, up 56%. The company stated that first-half results comprehensively surpassed its previous forecasts, with revenue coming in 2.9% above expectations, operating profit exceeding projections by 10.6%, and net profit attributable to the parent beating forecasts by 8%. The growth was primarily driven by continuously expanding demand for AI servers and increased equipment investment by semiconductor manufacturers.

Looking ahead to the full fiscal year 2027, Tokyo Electron provided its annual earnings forecast for the first time, projecting revenue of 3.7 trillion yen, operating profit of 1.169 trillion yen, and net profit attributable to the parent company of 865 billion yen. The company expects that growing demand for AI servers in data centers and continued expansion of semiconductor equipment investment by customers will continue to support its business performance.

The company announced a 150 billion yen share buyback program and revised its year-end dividend forecast. On shareholder returns, Tokyo Electron approved a share buyback plan worth up to 150 billion yen, to be implemented from November 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027. In addition, the company adjusted its year-end dividend forecast to 108 yen per share. Taking into account the five-for-one stock split effective October 1, the adjusted year-end dividend is equivalent to 540 yen per share on a pre-split basis. Combined with the interim dividend of 415 yen per share already paid, the full-year dividend is expected to be 955 yen per share on a pre-split basis.