Publicly traded companies in Japan logged an 11.7% decrease in combined net profit for April-June from a year before as tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump weighed heavily on automakers.
A tally by SMBC Nikko Securities showed that 1,143 firms in the Topix stock price index posted a combined net profit of ¥12,740.2 billion in the fiscal first quarter.
Transportation machinery makers saw a 42.1% decrease in net profit. Nissan Motor and Mazda Motor swung to losses, while Toyota Motor marked a double-digit profit decline.
Electricity and city gas suppliers were also in the red, affected by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which booked huge charges related to the decommissioning of nuclear reactors.
Information and telecommunications service operators posted a 72.9% profit increase thanks to SoftBank Group, which had strong performance in its investment operations. Insurance firms reported a 35.8% profit rise.
For the full year ending in March 2026, publicly traded companies are expected to post a 7.5% decrease in net profit, to ¥49,891 billion, the first decline in six years.
Hikaru Yasuda, chief equity strategist at SMBC Nikko, said that attention should be paid to how well companies can absorb tariff impacts by passing on costs to customers or cutting costs.
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