Toyota Raises Its Profit Forecast and Shares Jump 16% — the Biggest Gain Since 1987

Toyota raised its full-year operating income forecast by 15 percent to 3.9 trillion yen ($24.7 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2027, the company said on November 5, and its shares jumped more than 16 percent in Tokyo — the biggest gain since 1987. In US trading the stock was up about 9 percent in premarket trading on Thursday.

The numbers behind the rally are strong. Operating income for the first half of the fiscal year reached 2.2 trillion yen, and profit for the three months ended September rose 34 percent to a higher-than-expected 1.1 trillion yen, the first gain in six quarters. First-half sales revenue rose 9.5 percent to just under 27 trillion yen. Quarterly net income fell nearly 19 percent year over year to 759.4 billion yen as the company grappled with rising supply costs and US tariffs, but Toyota still lifted its full-year net income guidance to 3.57 trillion yen, up from 3.25 trillion.

Hybrids are the engine of the result. Electrified vehicles were 55.6 percent of Toyota’s first-half volume, driven by strong hybrid demand in North America and Europe, and the company credited swift responses to tariffs, a weaker yen, cost reductions with suppliers, and price revisions. Toyota also expanded its buyback program to as much as 1.3 trillion yen and is allocating as much as 14 trillion yen for shareholder returns over the next five years.

There are two caveats in the same report. Toyota cut its annual group sales target to 10.99 million units, from 11.18 million, citing weaker demand in China and the situation in the Middle East, and it flagged about 1 trillion yen in rising material prices. The company also set up a dedicated robotics department, joining major rivals in building out the technology — a reminder that even the world’s largest carmaker now sees robots as part of the car business.