The ¥300 Billion Buyback and the Insurers Who SoldNarrow moat

ITOCHU (8001) — moat facet

ITOCHU bought back ¥150 billion of its shares at a 10% discount from insurers who wanted to sell anyway.

In August 2026 ITOCHU announced a buyback of up to ¥300.0 billion, half by tender offer and half in the market1. The tender price was ¥1,813, a 10% discount to the ¥2,014.0 closing price on 31 July2. The tender was filled by four Japanese non-life insurers unwinding their cross-shareholdings3: 83,403,785 shares were tendered and 82,735,750 bought4, about ¥150.0 billion5.

Share buybacks (¥ bn, years to March)602023100202415020251702026300+2027 planITOCHU results presentation and results, May 2026
Five years of rising buybacks.

The transaction solved two problems at once: the insurers wanted to sell their ITOCHU shares, and ITOCHU wanted to buy back its shares at a discount. The shares closed at ¥2,220.5 in September6, so the tender price looks cheap in hindsight.

Buybacks have run for eleven consecutive years7, totalling ¥170.0 billion in the latest year8.

The buyback history shows the trend: ¥16.2 billion, ¥27.9 billion and ¥68.0 billion in the earliest years of the series, ¥60.0 billion, ¥100.0 billion and ¥150.0 billion more recently, and ¥170.0 billion in the latest year9. In the latest year ITOCHU bought 101,362,300 shares, post-split10. Treasury stock on the balance sheet rose from ¥559,540 million to ¥728,074 million11.

The measure is the average price of the market half of the buyback. The tender was bought at a discount; the market purchases will be at whatever the market charges.

Moat trajectory: Widening

The ¥300 billion buyback is the largest in the eleven-year run.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Self-tender purchase
82,735,750 shares at ¥1,813, about ¥150.0bn

Bought at a 10% discount; the market half's average price will be higher.

Source: ITOCHU self-tender result ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Buybacks at a Record Valuation
ITOCHU's biggest buyback is happening at close to its highest valuation.
References
  1. ReportedIn August 2026 ITOCHU announced a buyback of up to ¥300.0 billion, half by tender offer and half in the market.
    ITOCHU Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the three months ended June 30, 2026 (IFRS) - revenues, trading income, equity earnings, net profit, segment results, the balance sheet and the ¥300 billion buyback. — April-June 2026 · publ. 6 August 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe tender price was ¥1,813, a 10% discount to the ¥2,014.0 closing price on 31 July.
    ITOCHU Corporation, announcement of a tender offer for its own shares, 3 August 2026 - the tender price of ¥1,813 and the shareholders expected to tender. — August 2026 · publ. 3 August 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedThe tender was filled by four Japanese non-life insurers unwinding their cross-shareholdings: 83,403,785 shares were tendered and 82,735,750 bought, about ¥150.0 billion.
    ITOCHU Corporation, announcement of a tender offer for its own shares, 3 August 2026 - the tender price of ¥1,813 and the shareholders expected to tender. — August 2026 · publ. 3 August 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe tender was filled by four Japanese non-life insurers unwinding their cross-shareholdings: 83,403,785 shares were tendered and 82,735,750 bought, about ¥150.0 billion.
    ITOCHU Corporation, result of the tender offer for its own shares, 2 September 2026 - 83,403,785 shares tendered and 82,735,750 purchased. — September 2026 · publ. 2 September 2026 · source ↗
  5. Moat Explorer calcThe tender was filled by four Japanese non-life insurers unwinding their cross-shareholdings: 83,403,785 shares were tendered and 82,735,750 bought, about ¥150.0 billion.
    Moat Explorer calculation from ITOCHU's reported figures. Trailing twelve months to June 2026: net profit 900.3 - 283.9 + 293.8 = 910.1; revenue 14,823.1 - 3,558.9 + 3,875.9 = 15,140.1; EPS 128.00 - 40.10 + 42.02 = 129.92. Market value at 24 September 2026: 6,993,053,267 shares x ¥2,220.5 = ¥15.53 trillion. P/E at March year-end: market value over net profit, e.g. 13,802 / 900.3 = 15.3 (2026), 6,090 / 820.3 = 7.4 (2022), 3,046 / 500.5 = 6.1 (2019). Non-resource share of profit: 774.7 / (774.7 + 133.3) = 85%. Segment net profit over segment assets, year to March 2026: Machinery 155.6 / 2,603.5 = 6.0%; Metals & Minerals 143.5 / 1,793.4 = 8.0%; ICT & Financial 93.0 / 1,577.2 = 5.9%; Food 92.1 / 2,403.4 = 3.8%; Energy & Chemicals 69.3 / 1,819.4 = 3.8%; General Products & Realty 60.8 / 1,628.7 = 3.7%; The 8th 45.0 / 2,197.3 = 2.0%; Textile 43.3 / 751.9 = 5.8%. Segment net margin on revenue: Food 92.1 / 5,134.2 = 1.8%; Energy & Chemicals 69.3 / 3,069.6 = 2.3%; Machinery 155.6 / 1,500.6 = 10.4%; Metals & Minerals 143.5 / 1,231.5 = 11.7%. Berkshire's market value over cost: 8,886 / 4,165 = 2.13 times; dividend on cost 181 / 4,165 = 4.3%. Self-tender: 82,735,750 x ¥1,813 = about ¥150.0 billion. Net profit growth since the year to March 2016: 900.3 / 240.4 = 3.7 times. Dividend growth: 42.0 / 10.0 = 4.2 times (split-adjusted). ROE spread over the company's cost of capital: 14.6 - 8 = 6.6 points. Equity growth: 6,590.0 / 5,755.1 = 1.15. Stake in DENTSU SOKEN at the tender price: ¥215.2 billion for 38%. ACG profit target over investment: ¥50 billion is the aerospace target, about ¥310 billion the ACG investment. Berkshire's stake at ¥2,220.5: 704,799,500 x 2,220.5 = about ¥1.565 trillion. ITOCHU over Marubeni net profit: 900.3 / 543.9 = 1.66. 8% hurdle on the CSN Mineração additional investment: 0.08 x 119.2 = 9.5. 8% hurdle on ¥215.2 billion: about ¥17.2 billion. — FY to March 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in ITOCHU's financial statements, results decks and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  6. Moat Explorer calcThe shares closed at ¥2,220.5 in September, so the tender price looks cheap in hindsight.
    Moat Explorer calculation from ITOCHU's reported figures. Trailing twelve months to June 2026: net profit 900.3 - 283.9 + 293.8 = 910.1; revenue 14,823.1 - 3,558.9 + 3,875.9 = 15,140.1; EPS 128.00 - 40.10 + 42.02 = 129.92. Market value at 24 September 2026: 6,993,053,267 shares x ¥2,220.5 = ¥15.53 trillion. P/E at March year-end: market value over net profit, e.g. 13,802 / 900.3 = 15.3 (2026), 6,090 / 820.3 = 7.4 (2022), 3,046 / 500.5 = 6.1 (2019). Non-resource share of profit: 774.7 / (774.7 + 133.3) = 85%. Segment net profit over segment assets, year to March 2026: Machinery 155.6 / 2,603.5 = 6.0%; Metals & Minerals 143.5 / 1,793.4 = 8.0%; ICT & Financial 93.0 / 1,577.2 = 5.9%; Food 92.1 / 2,403.4 = 3.8%; Energy & Chemicals 69.3 / 1,819.4 = 3.8%; General Products & Realty 60.8 / 1,628.7 = 3.7%; The 8th 45.0 / 2,197.3 = 2.0%; Textile 43.3 / 751.9 = 5.8%. Segment net margin on revenue: Food 92.1 / 5,134.2 = 1.8%; Energy & Chemicals 69.3 / 3,069.6 = 2.3%; Machinery 155.6 / 1,500.6 = 10.4%; Metals & Minerals 143.5 / 1,231.5 = 11.7%. Berkshire's market value over cost: 8,886 / 4,165 = 2.13 times; dividend on cost 181 / 4,165 = 4.3%. Self-tender: 82,735,750 x ¥1,813 = about ¥150.0 billion. Net profit growth since the year to March 2016: 900.3 / 240.4 = 3.7 times. Dividend growth: 42.0 / 10.0 = 4.2 times (split-adjusted). ROE spread over the company's cost of capital: 14.6 - 8 = 6.6 points. Equity growth: 6,590.0 / 5,755.1 = 1.15. Stake in DENTSU SOKEN at the tender price: ¥215.2 billion for 38%. ACG profit target over investment: ¥50 billion is the aerospace target, about ¥310 billion the ACG investment. Berkshire's stake at ¥2,220.5: 704,799,500 x 2,220.5 = about ¥1.565 trillion. ITOCHU over Marubeni net profit: 900.3 / 543.9 = 1.66. 8% hurdle on the CSN Mineração additional investment: 0.08 x 119.2 = 9.5. 8% hurdle on ¥215.2 billion: about ¥17.2 billion. — FY to March 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in ITOCHU's financial statements, results decks and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  7. ReportedBuybacks have run for eleven consecutive years, totalling ¥170.0 billion in the latest year.
    ITOCHU Corporation, FY2025 Business Results and FY2026 Management Plan - net profit, core profit and extraordinary items by segment, investment and exit, and the management plan for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 14 May 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedBuybacks have run for eleven consecutive years, totalling ¥170.0 billion in the latest year.
    ITOCHU Corporation, FY2025 Business Results and FY2026 Management Plan - net profit, core profit and extraordinary items by segment, investment and exit, and the management plan for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 14 May 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedThe buyback history shows the trend: ¥16.2 billion, ¥27.9 billion and ¥68.0 billion in the earliest years of the series, ¥60.0 billion, ¥100.0 billion and ¥150.0 billion more recently, and ¥170.0 billion in the latest year.
    ITOCHU Corporation, FY2025 Business Results and FY2026 Management Plan - shareholder returns (dividends, buybacks and payout), ROE, leverage and share-price performance against TOPIX. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 14 May 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedIn the latest year ITOCHU bought 101,362,300 shares, post-split.
    ITOCHU Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - statements of comprehensive income, financial position and cash flows, the segment information by eight division companies, the share split, dividends, the buyback plan and the forecast for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedTreasury stock on the balance sheet rose from ¥559,540 million to ¥728,074 million.
    ITOCHU Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - statements of comprehensive income, financial position and cash flows, the segment information by eight division companies, the share split, dividends, the buyback plan and the forecast for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026