Horiba (6856) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $881.74B
• Dividend Yield: 0.65%
• Average Volume (3M): 206.28K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 23.8
• Beta (1Y): 1.33
• Revenue Growth: 8.50%
• EPS Growth: 14.06%
• Country: JP
• Employees: 8,955
• Sector: Technology
• Sector Strength: 88
• Industry: Hardware, Equipment & Parts
• EPS (TTM): 309.47
• Shares Outstanding: 42,233,253
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 261,620
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 206,283
• PEG Ratio: 1.72
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.92
• Price to Sales (P/S): 2.01
• P/FCF Ratio: 23.02
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 0.89
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 2.43
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 5.55
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 11.82
• 1Y Price Target: $20,505.62
• Price Target Upside: -2.56% Downside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 3
• EPS Forecast (FY): 1,014.29
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $351.14B

• Rating: 78 Outperform
• Price Target: ¥21,945.00 ▲(4.28% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/18/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/18/26

The score is driven primarily by solid financial performance (strong margins and a low-leverage, strengthening balance sheet) with some risk from slowing growth and uneven cash conversion. Technicals are supportive with a clear uptrend and positive momentum, while valuation is acceptable but not notably discounted (P/E ~22 with a ~2.34% yield).

Positive Factors

Healthy profitability margins

Sustained high gross and operating margins indicate durable pricing power and cost control across HORIBA's instrument and services mix. Strong margins support reinvestment in R&D and service capabilities, cushioning earnings through cycles and enabling long-term competitiveness.

Conservative, strengthening balance sheet

A materially larger equity base and low leverage provide financial flexibility for capex, acquisitions, and downturns. The conservative balance sheet reduces refinancing risk, supports stable operations in capital-intensive segments, and preserves strategic optionality over years.

Diversified recurring revenue streams

A business mix including consumables, services, calibration and software yields recurring revenue tied to installed base and regulated markets. This creates steady follow-on cash, higher customer retention, and resilience versus pure product sales, supporting durable cashflows.

Negative Factors

Slowing revenue growth

Decelerating top-line growth reduces the benefit of scale and may pressure future margin expansion and returns. If growth remains tepid, the company must rely more on margin improvement or recurring services to sustain earnings momentum and justify reinvestment levels.

Uneven cash conversion

Persistent variability between net income and free cash flow signals working-capital swings or timing of investments. This uneven cash conversion can constrain discretionary spending, dividends, or buybacks, and raises execution risk in funding growth or smoothing returns.

Easing return on equity

ROE decline as equity expands implies capital deployment hasn't matched prior profit growth, lowering capital efficiency. Sustained lower returns could limit shareholder value creation unless management accelerates profit growth or improves asset turnover.

Horiba Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

HORIBA, Ltd. manufactures and sells instruments and systems for various applications. It operates in five segments: Automotive, Process & Environmental, Medical-Diagnostic, Semiconductor, and Scientific. The Automotive segment offers automotive emission analyzers, emission measurement systems, drive line test systems, engine test and fuel cell test systems, and battery test systems; test systems for engines, chassis, powertrains, brakes, and catalysts; and vehicle development engineering and testing engineering services, as well as leases and manages R&D facilities. The Process & Environmental segment provides stack gas analyzers, industrial water quality analyzers, water quality analysis and examination systems, air pollution analyzers, environmental radiation meters, and process measurement equipment. The Medical-Diagnostic segment offers hematology and CRP, immunology, clinical chemistry, and blood glucose analyzers. The Semiconductor Instruments & Systems segment provides mass flow controllers, chemical concentration monitors, reticle/mask particle detection systems, residual gas analyzers, and vaporizers. The Scientific segment offers Raman spectrometers, pH meters, particle-size distribution analyzers, X-Ray fluorescence analyzers, elemental analyzers, fluorescence spectroscopy/fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy, optical components, spectrometers and detectors, and gratings. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.

How the Company Makes Money

Horiba generates revenue through multiple streams, primarily through the sale of its analytical and measuring instruments, which cater to various industries, including automotive, semiconductor, and healthcare. The company earns income from product sales, service contracts, and maintenance agreements, with a significant portion of its revenue stemming from ongoing support and calibration services. Additionally, Horiba benefits from strategic partnerships with other technology companies and research institutions that enhance its product offerings and market reach. The company's ability to provide integrated solutions, along with its focus on R&D, positions it favorably in competitive markets, thereby contributing to its overall earnings.

Horiba Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Strong and improving scale with healthy profitability (2024 gross margin ~43%, EBIT margin ~15%, net margin ~10.6%) and a conservative, strengthening balance sheet (lower leverage; 2024 debt-to-equity ~0.20). Main offsets are slowing revenue growth into 2025 (~2.9%) and uneven cash conversion (notable 2023 dip; 2024 free cash flow below net income).

Income Statement

Horiba shows solid and improving scale, with revenue rising from 187.1B (2020) to 333.1B (2025). Profitability is healthy for the group, with 2024 gross margin at ~43% and net margin at ~10.6%, and strong operating profitability (2024 EBIT margin ~15%). The main weakness is decelerating growth (2025 revenue growth ~2.9% vs. higher rates in prior years) and some variability in bottom-line performance (net margin and net income fluctuate year to year).

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet looks conservative and strengthening: equity increased materially (178.7B in 2020 to 348.6B in 2025), while debt stayed relatively stable (~60–80B range). Leverage is modest (2024 debt-to-equity ~0.20, improved from ~0.43 in 2020), supporting resilience through cycles. The trade-off is that returns have eased from peak levels (2024 return on equity ~10.7% vs. ~14% in 2022–2023), suggesting profitability hasn’t fully kept pace with the expanding capital base.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is positive but somewhat uneven. Operating cash flow improved sharply in 2024 (40.3B) and 2025 (54.4B) versus a weak 2023 (16.7B), and free cash flow rebounded to 22.2B in 2024 and 29.1B in 2025. However, cash conversion has been inconsistent: free cash flow was meaningfully below net income in 2024 (free cash flow to net income ~0.55) and 2023 showed a pronounced dip in both operating and free cash flow, indicating periodic working-capital or investment swings.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	323.59B	333.08B	317.37B	290.56B	270.13B	224.31B
Gross Profit	141.50B	146.31B	136.85B	127.38B	116.67B	93.22B
EBITDA	66.41B	66.80B	61.40B	67.03B	57.19B	41.16B
Net Income	36.30B	37.09B	33.59B	40.30B	34.07B	21.31B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	478.91B	518.28B	481.62B	449.03B	416.74B	371.58B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	153.20B	164.57B	146.33B	134.78B	141.35B	137.03B
Total Debt	64.05B	66.48B	64.40B	60.39B	67.20B	80.18B
Total Liabilities	165.00B	169.64B	166.91B	165.30B	175.89B	167.09B
Stockholders Equity	313.89B	348.60B	314.69B	283.71B	240.83B	204.48B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	0.00	29.11B	22.18B	7.48B	21.88B	22.70B
Operating Cash Flow	0.00	54.38B	40.34B	16.65B	33.97B	35.27B
Investing Cash Flow	0.00	-24.92B	-17.56B	-7.32B	-10.74B	-14.66B
Financing Cash Flow	0.00	-11.99B	-15.93B	-20.96B	-22.45B	-4.04B

Horiba Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 21045.00
• 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:6856, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 21045 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 19502.25, above the 50-day MA of 18005.28, and above the 200-day MA of 13463.00, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 608.72 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 73.50 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 88.39 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for JP:6856.

Horiba Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
6861	80 Outperform	¥16.02T	38.32	12.80%	0.78%	7.09%	7.51%
6856	78 Outperform	$881.74B	23.82	11.99%	0.65%	8.50%	14.06%
6951	78 Outperform	¥351.36B	21.69	―	2.04%	-0.69%	-29.88%
7701	75 Outperform	¥1.28T	22.20	10.84%	1.46%	3.92%	9.99%
6965	74 Outperform	¥625.35B	47.17	4.19%	2.25%	3.97%	-41.76%
6728	62 Neutral	$516.13B	41.36	6.61%	2.35%	-9.06%	-35.95%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$37.18B	12.37	-10.20%	1.83%	8.50%	-7.62%

Horiba Corporate Events

Horiba Delivers Higher 2025 Profit, Boosts Dividends and Targets Further Growth in 2026

Horiba reported consolidated net sales of ¥333.1 billion for 2025, up 5.0% year on year, with operating income rising 9.7% to ¥53.0 billion and net income attributable to shareholders increasing 10.4% to ¥37.1 billion, reflecting improved profitability and a higher operating margin of 15.9%. The company strengthened its financial position with total assets of ¥518.3 billion, a shareholders’ equity ratio of 67.1%, robust operating cash flow of ¥54.4 billion, and raised its annual dividend to ¥450 per share, including a large special payout, while guiding for further gains in sales, earnings and dividends in 2026 despite acknowledging external economic and currency risks.

Horiba plans 2026 full-year net sales of ¥345.0 billion and net income of ¥40.5 billion, implying mid-single-digit growth in revenue and high-single-digit growth in profit, alongside a forecast dividend increase to ¥490 per share as it maintains a high payout ratio. The group also reported minor changes to its consolidation scope and adoption of revised accounting standards, signaling ongoing structural and governance adjustments as it seeks to sustain its capital efficiency and shareholder-focused policies.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:6856) stock is a Buy with a Yen23500.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Horiba stock, see the JP:6856 Stock Forecast page.

Horiba More Than Doubles FY2025 Dividend With Special Payout

Horiba, Ltd. has approved a substantial increase in its year-end dividend for fiscal 2025, raising the payout to 370 yen per share, including a 160 yen special dividend on top of the previously forecast 210 yen. Together with the interim dividend of 80 yen already paid, the total annual dividend will rise to 450 yen per share, up sharply from 270 yen in fiscal 2024, reflecting strong earnings and a commitment to enhanced shareholder returns under its 30% payout ratio policy.

The board’s decision more than doubles the total dividend payment to 15,538 million yen compared with the previous year, underscoring Horiba’s solid cash generation and willingness to return surplus capital while balancing investment opportunities. This move signals confidence in the company’s financial position and is likely to be welcomed by investors seeking higher yield and clearer visibility on Horiba’s capital allocation strategy.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:6856) stock is a Buy with a Yen20599.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Horiba stock, see the JP:6856 Stock Forecast page.

Horiba Lifts Earnings, Cash and Payouts as It Signals Confidence for 2026

Horiba reported consolidated net sales of ¥333.1 billion for 2025, up 5.0% year on year, with operating income rising 9.7% to ¥53.0 billion and net income attributable to shareholders climbing 10.4% to ¥37.1 billion. Profitability indicators remained solid, with operating margin near 16% and return on equity above 11%, while total assets increased to ¥518.3 billion and the equity ratio improved to 67.1%.

Robust cash generation lifted cash and cash equivalents to ¥162.5 billion, supporting a sharp dividend increase to an annual ¥450 per share for 2025, including a large special year-end component, and an even higher ¥490 per share forecast for 2026. Management projects continued growth in 2026, guiding for net sales of ¥345.0 billion and a further 9.2% rise in net income, signaling confidence in the company’s earnings trajectory and reinforcing its shareholder-return focus despite accounting standard changes and portfolio adjustments in its consolidated scope.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:6856) stock is a Buy with a Yen20599.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Horiba stock, see the JP:6856 Stock Forecast page.

HORIBA Reports Strong Financial Growth and Strategic Adjustments

HORIBA, Ltd. reported a 6.7% increase in net sales to 230,245 million yen for the nine months ending September 30, 2025, with a notable 21% rise in net income attributable to shareholders. The company also announced a forecasted increase in dividends per share for the year, reflecting its strong financial performance and commitment to shareholder returns. The inclusion and exclusion of EtaMax Co., Ltd. in the scope of consolidation indicates strategic adjustments in its operations.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:6856) stock is a Buy with a Yen14687.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Horiba stock, see the JP:6856 Stock Forecast page.