Kureha (4023) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: ¥187.44B
• Dividend Yield: 3.76%
• Average Volume (3M): 409.12K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 19.4
• Beta (1Y): 0.58
• Revenue Growth: -7.81%
• EPS Growth: 25.04%
• Country: JP
• Employees: 4,217
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 58
• Industry: Chemicals - Specialty
• EPS (TTM): 100.87
• Shares Outstanding: 49,942,223
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 239,800
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 409,116
• PEG Ratio: -1.38
• Price to Book (P/B): 0.69
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.89
• P/FCF Ratio: -10.04
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: ¥4,025.00
• Price Target Upside: -2.66% Downside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 2
• EPS Forecast (FY): 244.55
• Revenue Forecast (FY): ¥163.15B

• Rating: 60 Neutral
• Price Target: ¥4,914.00 ▲(18.84% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/11/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/11/26

The score is held back primarily by weak cash generation (negative TTM free cash flow) alongside higher leverage and modest ROE, despite stable profitability. Technicals are supportive with a strong uptrend, but overbought signals add near-term risk. Valuation is reasonable with a supportive dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Diversified specialty portfolio

Kureha's mix of specialty resins, performance chemicals and agrochemicals provides durable revenue diversification across end markets. Specialized product lines and long-term supply relationships reduce single-market exposure and support margin resilience through product mix shifts over a multi-quarter horizon.

Defensive margin profile

Sustained gross and net margins indicate underlying process economics and pricing power in specialty segments. An improving EBIT margin suggests operational levers and cost control can restore profitability even with muted top-line growth, supporting durable earnings capacity over several quarters.

Dividend support

A persistent ~3.3% dividend provides a structural cash return to shareholders and signals capital allocation discipline. Even if growth is modest, a stable yield can anchor investor returns and reflects management's willingness to prioritize payouts, a durable element of shareholder value.

Negative Factors

Negative free cash flow

Recurring negative free cash flow undermines financial flexibility and means reported earnings are not translating into spendable cash. Over 2-6 months this raises reliance on debt or asset sales, constrains reinvestment and makes sustaining dividends or funding growth initiatives riskier.

Rising leverage

Higher leverage reduces shock absorption and increases interest expense sensitivity. With debt-to-equity approaching 0.65, refinancing or cyclical downturns would more quickly strain cash flow, limiting strategic flexibility and increasing the importance of restoring cash generation.

Muted top-line growth

Stagnant revenue after prior contractions signals limited demand expansion or pricing headwinds in core markets. Over several quarters this constrains operating leverage, makes margin restoration harder without cost cuts, and limits returns on incremental investment or R&D spend.

Kureha Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Kureha Corporation manufactures and sells functional materials, specialty chemicals, and plastics in Japan and internationally. It operates through four segments: Advanced Materials, Specialty Chemicals, Specialty Plastics, Construction, and Other Operations. The Advanced Materials segment offers polyphenylene sulfide, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), processed polyglycolic acid products, carbon fibers, and bead-shaped activated carbon products. The Specialty Chemicals segment provides therapeutic agents for chronic renal failure, agricultural and horticultural fungicides, chlorine, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, sodium hypochlorite, monochlorobenzene, para-dichlorobenzene, trichlorobenzene, and ortho-dichlorobenzene. The Specialty Plastics segment offers household products, including household plastic wrap, storage containers, cooking sheets, food storage bags, strainable garbage bags, garbage deodorizing sheets; antibacterial dishcloths, range hood filters, and plastic bag clips; PVDF fishing lines; polyvinylidene chloride films; heat-shrink multilayer films; and machinery for auto-seal food packaging. The Construction segment provides construction, civil engineering, housing, factory-related services, and plant engineering and maintenance services. The Other Operations segment offers industrial waste management services and environmental related treatment facilities; real estate, building management, travel agency, insurance, and staffing services; medical care services; transport and storage services; and trades in chemical products. The company was incorporated in 1944 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

How the Company Makes Money

Kureha generates revenue through multiple key streams. The company sells its products across several sectors, including specialty chemicals, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. Its advanced materials, particularly polylactic acid (PLA), are in high demand due to the growing market for biodegradable products, which has become a significant revenue driver. Additionally, Kureha benefits from partnerships with other companies and research institutions that enable collaborative development of new technologies and products. The company's focus on innovation and sustainability also positions it favorably to capitalize on emerging market trends, increasing its earnings potential.

Kureha Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Income statement is stable but low-growth (TTM revenue ~+0.3%) with decent margins, while the balance sheet shows higher leverage (debt-to-equity ~0.65) and modest ROE (~4%). The key drag is cash flow: TTM free cash flow is negative and weaker vs. prior year, indicating earnings are not translating into spendable cash.

Income Statement

TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) revenue is essentially flat (+0.3%), following two years of annual revenue contraction, which signals a muted growth profile. Profitability remains decent for the sector (TTM gross margin ~27% and net margin ~6%), and EBIT margin improved versus the latest annual period, but margins are still well below the 2022–2023 peak levels. Overall, the income statement shows stable—but not accelerating—earnings power with some margin compression versus prior highs.

Balance Sheet

Leverage has risen materially: debt-to-equity moved from low levels in 2022–2023 to ~0.65 in TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months), reflecting a meaningful increase in balance-sheet risk. Equity remains sizable relative to total assets, but returns on equity are modest (TTM ~4%) and below the stronger 2022–2023 period, indicating less efficient capital generation. The balance sheet is still serviceable, but the trajectory is weaker due to the higher debt load and lower returns.

Cash Flow

Cash generation quality is the main concern: TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) free cash flow is negative and sharply lower versus the prior year, despite solid operating cash flow. Free cash flow is also negative relative to net income, suggesting profitability is not translating into spendable cash after investments. While operating cash flow is positive, the recurring free-cash-flow shortfall increases reliance on the balance sheet and reduces financial flexibility.

Breakdown	TTM	Mar 2025	Mar 2024	Mar 2023	Mar 2022	Mar 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	157.77B	162.01B	177.97B	191.28B	168.34B	144.57B
Gross Profit	42.73B	42.49B	51.34B	54.79B	50.88B	42.87B
EBITDA	25.10B	23.12B	26.40B	34.67B	30.09B	28.17B
Net Income	9.94B	7.80B	9.73B	16.87B	14.16B	13.49B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	359.22B	345.30B	330.63B	296.40B	282.64B	256.92B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	25.66B	21.50B	23.13B	32.22B	30.64B	17.84B
Total Debt	118.05B	80.53B	51.02B	21.99B	26.18B	26.86B
Total Liabilities	175.25B	134.16B	107.48B	79.63B	81.92B	71.40B
Stockholders Equity	182.15B	209.37B	221.38B	215.20B	199.22B	183.83B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-4.08B	-14.31B	-21.10B	8.51B	15.99B	13.83B
Operating Cash Flow	24.63B	29.52B	11.60B	22.74B	28.58B	26.70B
Investing Cash Flow	-22.09B	-39.44B	-34.29B	-11.10B	-11.00B	-3.88B
Financing Cash Flow	-2.20B	8.44B	12.13B	-10.48B	-6.11B	-12.52B

Kureha Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 4135.00
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Negative
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For JP:4023, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 4135 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 4686.25, below the 50-day MA of 4424.00, and above the 200-day MA of 3745.04, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 133.61 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 71.29 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 87.06 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for JP:4023.

Kureha Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
4205	79 Outperform	¥408.97B	12.16	9.65%	3.91%	0.87%	16.71%
4203	76 Outperform	¥527.48B	20.36	6.52%	1.82%	3.25%	-11.31%
7970	74 Outperform	¥180.92B	17.43	―	2.84%	6.06%	19.76%
4118	74 Outperform	$333.84B	12.62	5.47%	3.41%	2.60%	9.50%
6988	68 Neutral	$2.35T	18.48	11.98%	1.54%	1.84%	-6.57%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$10.43B	7.12	-0.05%	2.87%	2.86%	-36.73%
4023	60 Neutral	¥187.44B	19.37	4.24%	3.76%	-7.81%	25.04%

Kureha Corporate Events

Kureha Lifts Profits on Lower Sales, Doubles Down on Shareholder Returns

Kureha reported nine-month revenue to December 31, 2025, of ¥117.8 billion, down 3.5% year on year, but operating profit jumped 27.5% to ¥13.3 billion and profit attributable to owners rose 26.4% to ¥10.2 billion, lifting earnings per share to ¥251.90. Despite a decline in the equity ratio after substantial treasury share purchases, management kept its full-year forecast unchanged, targeting modest revenue growth, sharply higher profits, and a more than doubled annual dividend of ¥219 per share under its 5% DOE policy.

The balance sheet showed total assets increasing to ¥359.2 billion while equity attributable to owners fell versus March 2025, reflecting the impact of buybacks and a reduced share count. Kureha’s unchanged guidance, including a projected 48.5% rise in operating profit for the year and EPS of about ¥249.82, signals confidence in earnings resilience and underscores a strategy prioritizing shareholder returns even as top-line growth remains subdued.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:4023) stock is a Hold with a Yen4971.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Kureha stock, see the JP:4023 Stock Forecast page.

Kureha Reshapes Top Management, Promotes Natake to President and CEO

Kureha Corporation has announced a leadership reshuffle effective April 1, 2026, as part of establishing a new management structure, with current President and CEO Yutaka Kobayashi becoming Representative Director and Chairman of the Board. Senior Executive Vice President Katsuhiro Natake, who has extensive experience leading the Advanced Products Division, overseas operations, and key corporate initiatives including production transformation and carbon neutrality projects, will be promoted to Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer.
This planned transition signals a generational handover designed to strengthen governance and execution around Kureha’s growth and sustainability agenda, leveraging Natake’s deep operational background and project leadership while maintaining continuity through Kobayashi’s move to the chairmanship, a shift that will be closely watched by investors and stakeholders focused on the company’s long-term strategy and organizational reform.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:4023) stock is a Hold with a Yen4818.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Kureha stock, see the JP:4023 Stock Forecast page.