日本存储巨头，业绩暴雷

Core Viewpoint - The recent financial report from Japanese storage giant Kioxia has raised concerns in the industry, as it revealed a significant drop in profits and revenues, contrasting sharply with the overall positive sentiment driven by the AI boom in the storage sector [1][2][3]. Group 1: Kioxia's Financial Performance - Kioxia reported a more than 60% year-on-year decline in adjusted net profit for Q2 of fiscal year 2025, amounting to 40.7 billion yen, falling short of the market expectation of 47.4 billion yen [2]. - The company's revenue for the same quarter decreased by 7% to 448.3 billion yen, while operating profit dropped by 48% to 85.9 billion yen [3]. - Following the disappointing results, Kioxia's stock plummeted by 23% in early trading on the Japanese stock market [4]. Group 2: Market Reaction - Kioxia's poor performance triggered a sell-off in the U.S. storage sector, with Seagate's stock falling by 7.29%, Western Digital down by 5.39%, and Micron Technology decreasing by 3.25% [3]. - Despite the recent drop, Kioxia's stock has still seen a remarkable increase of 477% year-to-date, largely due to the AI-driven demand for storage solutions [5][6]. Group 3: Reasons for Kioxia's Underperformance - Analysts attribute Kioxia's disappointing results to a fixed-price agreement with Apple for NAND chip supplies, which prevented the company from benefiting from rising market prices [7]. - Additionally, a shift in product mix, with a significant increase in lower-margin smartphone storage chip sales, has negatively impacted profitability [7]. - The demand from cloud service providers for flash memory over SSDs has also contributed to reduced procurement of Kioxia's products, further affecting short-term profits [7]. Group 4: Industry Outlook - Kioxia has indicated that demand for its flash products remains strong and plans to adjust its product mix to improve profitability [9]. - The company anticipates record revenue and strong profit recovery in Q4 of fiscal year 2025, driven by rising average selling prices and robust NAND flash demand fueled by AI [9]. - Investors are advised to adopt a more cautious perspective on the overall storage industry, especially with Micron's upcoming financial report expected to provide further insights into market demand [10][11].