Kioxia Could Plan Dividends and Buybacks After Stock’s 65% Plunge
Kioxia Holdings Corp. shares have crashed 65% from their June peak. The drop is now fueling speculation that the Japanese memory chipmaker will speed up dividend payouts and share buybacks.
The selloff has erased roughly $245 billion in market value since Kioxia's June 22 high. The stock briefly ranked as Japan's most valuable company just before the slide began.
From Boom to Bust
Kioxia listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December 2024 with momentum building through 2025, as data centers raced to secure NAND flash memory for the AI buildout. Shares surged more than 500% that year alone. The rally kept accelerating into 2026 as tight memory supply pushed Kioxia's profits sharply higher.
By June 22, the stock hit an all-time high of ¥112,700. Kioxia's market capitalization briefly overtook Toyota Motor, making it Japan's most valuable listed company.
A broader selloff in AI-related stocks spread across global markets in July. Investors grew wary of crowded positioning and fading momentum in the AI trade. Chinese NAND manufacturers also ramped up capacity, raising fears that Kioxia's pricing power would not last.
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