A employee inspects a rest room unit at a Toto Ltd. plant in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, on Thursday, Could 28, 2026.
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At a time when investor consideration has been on the semiconductor trade, some hidden gems with companies fairly dissimilar to excessive tech have turned out to be market winners, using the AI increase.
Toto is greatest identified for high-end bathrooms, Nittobo makes textiles and glass fiber, and Ajinomoto makes MSG seasoning. Their shares have gained 78%, 63% and 61%, respectively, this 12 months, as they make use of their core applied sciences to profit from the AI provide chain.
Toto makes ceramic electrostatic chucks utilized in semiconductor manufacturing tools, whereas Nittobo provides superior glass fiber utilized in semiconductor bundle substrates.
Ajinomoto makes insulating materials, referred to as “build-up movie” or ABF, utilized in semiconductor packaging for high-performance computer systems and data-center servers.
All three firms reported sharp progress in companies tied to semiconductor demand for his or her full monetary years ended March 31, highlighting the impression of the AI increase.
Toto: plugging away
The corporate’s superior ceramics enterprise loved larger revenue margin than its housing tools section, because of demand from IoT, digital transformation, AI and knowledge facilities for superior semiconductor tools.
Toto, in its full 12 months outcomes, mentioned it noticed a lower in gross sales and income for its core 100-year-old housing tools unit, however this was made up by will increase in income and income in its superior ceramics enterprise.
The section noticed a 34% improve in annual income and 42% leap in working revenue, nearly single-handedly pulling the general firm into progress for the monetary 12 months.
The corporate’s experience in ceramics led it to fabricate digital chucks for semiconductor manufacturing tools in 1988.
These chucks maintain silicon wafers in place throughout the etching course of inside semiconductor manufacturing tools. Toto says that their ceramics considerably contribute to bettering the manufacturing yield of superior chips.
“Nonetheless, we don’t view one section as superior to the opposite. Our Superior Ceramics Enterprise is a high-growth space, however we endured lengthy durations of deficits over its 40-year historical past earlier than reaching this level,” the corporate mentioned to CNBC in an electronic mail.
It plans to develop each segments and “preserve a balanced ratio” for sustainable total progress, and “completely no plans” to pivot away from its core housing tools enterprise, because it offers a secure basis for the corporate’s stability sheet, whereas the chip sector stays risky.
Nittobo: seeking to trip the increase
Nittobo mentioned digital supplies had been already its mainstay, because it continues to develop markets for its conventional glass-fiber enterprise. Its T-glass product, launched in 1984, is utilized in printed circuit boards, and digital elements.
The corporate advised CNBC that its T-glass and different digital supplies are “the pillar” of its progress for the subsequent decade, and that AI semiconductor demand was altering the way it allocates capital expenditure, analysis and improvement, and human assets.
Nittobo’s outcomes inform the story: the corporate mentioned that sturdy demand associated to AI servers, in addition to elements similar to sturdy gross sales of “Particular Glass” pushed up gross sales and income for the electronics supplies enterprise section.
Internet gross sales within the digital supplies enterprise climbed 20.4% 12 months on 12 months and working revenue climbed 39.7% in comparison with the earlier monetary 12 months.
That section contributed about 91% to Nittobo’s internet gross sales improve within the final monetary 12 months, in keeping with CNBC’s calculations, with the section’s revenue rising by 5.5 billion yen (about $34 million), greater than the corporate’s working revenue improve of 4.4 billion yen.
The corporate mentioned glass fiber has been utilized in many functions over time, together with composite supplies for plastic reinforcement, however now, the corporate sees that there’s a “very sturdy risk digital supplies will stay its most essential enterprise effectively into the long run.”
In its outcomes launch, Nittobo mentioned it “expects to see sturdy demand for Particular Glass utilized in digital supplies, notably for servers at knowledge facilities, community tools, and semiconductor bundle substrates, and can proactively strengthen its efforts to broaden manufacturing capability to fulfill this demand.”
Whereas semiconductor section turns into more and more profitable for the corporate, additionally it is increasing functions for its conventional glass-fiber companies, together with composite and industrial supplies.
Ajinomoto: an ABF enhance
Ajinomoto has discovered functions for its merchandise, similar to producing the ABF insulation movie utilized in semiconductors, whilst meals stays its major focus.
In line with Ajinomoto’s web site, a byproduct from the MSG manufacturing course of helped the corporate develop applied sciences that ultimately led to the creation of ABF.
The product was put available on the market in 1999, and is at present used for high-performance semiconductors, together with CPUs.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) merchandise of the Ajinomoto meals firm are displayed at a grocery store in Tokyo on January 20, 2020.
Behrouz Mehri | Afp | Getty Photos
Ajinomoto says ABF’s function has change into extra essential as semiconductor packaging has grown extra complicated, and that AI, 5G and different superior applied sciences will proceed to drive semiconductor demand.
The corporate didn’t reply to CNBC’s request for remark.
Ajinomoto doesn’t get away ABF into its personal section, however mentioned in its full 12 months outcomes that its “Healthcare and Others” section — which embody ABF — noticed a rise in income of about 4% and enterprise revenue rising 45.1% 12 months on 12 months, partly on account of larger income for digital supplies.
That section, which makes up greater than a 3rd of the corporate’s revenue for this monetary 12 months, even surpassed Ajinomoto’s frozen meals section by way of income and revenue.
“We foresee continued progress centered on ABFTM merchandise in high-value-added and cutting-edge fields,” the corporate mentioned.
The corporate mentioned it goals for a “one-to-one stability” between its meals enterprise and its AminoScience enterprise, with ABF contributing to the latter.
