Mitsubishi CorporationNarrow moat

8058 — overall economic moat

Investment snapshot
Narrow moat→ Holding steadyConfidenceMediumValuationExpensive
Strongest advantageStakes in scarce resource assets — BMA, Escondida, Quellaveco, 14.9 Mtpa of LNG — and the balance sheet to buy more
Greatest threatA coal engine that stopped, and guidance that relies on ¥280bn of planned asset sales
Key metricAdjusted net income (¥703.7bn; about ¥820bn implied for the year to March 2027)
Verdict: The largest Japanese trading house has a narrow moat built on scale and on owning pieces of resource assets few others can reach, run through a process that prunes its 244 companies against return targets. The mix is changing under it: BMA coal went from ¥190 billion to ¥8 billion in two years, and copper and a newly bought American gas business now carry the growth. Return on equity fell to 8.5%, the shares were re-rated to 24 times earnings at March, and the ¥1.1 trillion guidance includes planned asset sales, so the price assumes a recovery the company still has to deliver.
📈 8058 valuation, revenue & earnings — P/E, P/S, revenue, EPS →

Mitsubishi Corporation is the largest of Japan's general trading houses by market value, at ¥17.62 trillion1. It makes money in three ways: from stakes in natural resources — coal, copper, LNG and gas — that it mostly does not operate; from operating businesses in food, retail, autos, power and real estate; and from buying and selling businesses, which it calls capital recycling.

Net profit by segment, year to March 2026 (¥ bn)Mineral Resources — 26%Energy & Power — 26%Smart-Life Creation — 11%Urban Dev. & Infra. — 11%Food Industry — 10%Mobility — 7%Materials and other — 9%Energy & Power combines two segments; Mitsubishi results; total ¥800.5bn
Mining and energy earn half; no other segment reaches a ninth.

The year to March 2026 showed all three. Revenue was ¥18,916.0 billion and net income ¥800.5 billion, down 15.8%2. Its share of the profit of equity-method affiliates was ¥467.9 billion3, about 58% of net income4. Capital recycling and one-time items contributed ¥96.8 billion, down from ¥268.8 billion the year before, and adjusted net income, excluding them, rose from ¥681.9 billion to ¥703.7 billion5.

The segments tell the story of a changing company. Mineral Resources earned ¥204.5 billion, down from ¥295.5 billion two years earlier, because BMA, the steelmaking coal business it owns half of, fell from ¥190.2 billion to ¥8.3 billion while copper more than doubled67. Environmental Energy and Power together earned ¥204.3 billion8. The consumer and industrial segments earned the rest9.

The company is using its capital aggressively. It bought back 318,397,611 shares for about ¥1 trillion, 7.9% of the total, and cancelled them in April 202610. It agreed to buy Aethon's American shale gas assets for $5.2 billion of equity and $2.33 billion of assumed debt11. And it guides net income of ¥1.1 trillion for the year to March 2027, up 37.4%12.

Berkshire Hathaway owns 10.8%, its largest Japanese holding13.

The company's history shows how much the balance between those three has shifted. It established MDP to develop Australian coal in November 196814, took half of BMA in 200115, made Lawson a subsidiary in 201716 and bought Eneco with Chubu Electric in March 202017. It lost ¥149.4 billion in the year to March 2016 on resource impairments18, and it has been profitable in every year since. Revenue doubled in the year to March 2019 only because an accounting standard, IFRS 15, required trading to be recorded at gross value19; it is the least useful number in the accounts.

The cash position is strong. Underlying operating cash flow was ¥1,048.1 billion in the year to March 2026 and free cash flow ¥1,041.4 billion20. Dividends received from equity-method affiliates were ¥370.9 billion21, which is how much of the associates' profit actually reaches Mitsubishi in cash.

The moat is narrow: scale and access to scarce resource assets, and a portfolio process that prunes what does not earn. Return on equity was 8.5%22, against a target of 12% or more23. The number that would falsify the thesis is adjusted net income for the current year. Guidance implies about ¥820 billion excluding planned asset sales24; falling short would say the company's growth depends on what it sells rather than what it runs.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Revenue, and where it comes from
¥18,916.0bn; net income ¥800.5bn

Revenue says little: 58% of net income came from equity-method affiliates, and mining and energy earned half the segment profit. Watch adjusted net income (¥703.7 billion).

Source: Mitsubishi Corporation results, year to March 2026 ↗
Moat scorecardHow ratings work →
Switching costs5/10
Network effects3/10
Pricing power3/10
Hard to replicate7/10
Disruption resistance6/10
Overall durability6/10

Replication scores highest: a new entrant could not assemble half of BMA, stakes in Escondida and Quellaveco and a 14.9-million-tonne LNG portfolio, because such assets rarely trade. Switching costs are moderate, in long-term LNG contracts and cross-shareholdings with customers. Pricing power is weak: coal, copper, LNG and most consumer goods are priced by markets. Disruption resistance is middling because the model is financial and cyclical rather than technological. Durability sits in the narrow band: the company has been profitable in every year but one since 2015, but returns have fallen for three years.

Dig deeper
DIG DEEPER 01
The Revenue Lines
Mitsubishi's profit comes first from energy and mining and then from consumer businesses, and this year the company forecasts energy at twice mining.
DIG DEEPER 02
The Moat
Mitsubishi's moat is the scale to own pieces of the world's best resource assets and the discipline to sell what does not earn, and its return on…
DIG DEEPER 03
Competitors
Mitsubishi is the largest trading house by market value but no longer by profit, and its closest rivals are also its partners in the same projects.
DIG DEEPER 04
Major Clients
Mitsubishi has no concentrated customer and ¥1.4 trillion of shares in its customers, suppliers and affiliates.
✦ Future bets — beyond today's moat
✦ FUTURE BET 01
The Future Bets
Mitsubishi's guidance assumes 37% profit growth, a quarter of it from planned asset sales, and the market has marked the shares down since.
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Twenty Times Earnings for a Trading House
Mitsubishi is priced at about twenty times earnings, a multiple that assumes this year's ¥1.1 trillion guidance is delivered.
⚠ THREAT 02
¥5.7 Trillion of Floating-Rate Debt
Mitsubishi borrows ¥5.7 trillion almost entirely at floating rates just as Japanese interest rates are rising.
◆ What the market may be missing
◆ THE VARIANT VIEW
What the Market Isn't Pricing In
Berkshire's biggest Japanese position is priced by a market that doubts Mitsubishi's guidance, though even without planned asset sales it implies 17%…
◆ THE VARIANT VIEW
Inside the Latest Quarter (April-June 2026)
Mitsubishi's first quarter rose 47% on higher prices and several one-off gains, and mining alone earned almost half its annual forecast.
References
  1. ReportedMitsubishi Corporation is the largest of Japan's general trading houses by market value, at ¥17.62 trillion.
    Mitsubishi Corporation (TYO: 8058) market data - share price, market capitalisation 17.62T yen, trailing revenue, net income and EPS, P/E, forward P/E, dividend and yield, September 2026. — September 2026 · publ. 24 September 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedRevenue was ¥18,916.0 billion and net income ¥800.5 billion, down 15.8%.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the consolidated statements of income, financial position and cash flows, the eight-segment note, dividends and the forecast for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIts share of the profit of equity-method affiliates was ¥467.9 billion, about 58% of net income.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the consolidated statements of income, financial position and cash flows, the eight-segment note, dividends and the forecast for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  4. Moat Explorer calcIts share of the profit of equity-method affiliates was ¥467.9 billion, about 58% of net income.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Mitsubishi Corporation's reported figures. Equity-method profit over net profit: 467.9 / 800.5 = 58.5%. Mineral Resources plus Environmental Energy over segment total: (204.5 + 160.9) / 752.1 = 48.6%. Energy & Power (Environmental Energy plus Power Solution): 238.8 + 97.9 = 336.7 (year to March 2024), 198.6 - 15.6 = 183.0 (2025), 160.9 + 43.4 = 204.3 (2026). Other and adjustments: 51.2 - 9.2 = 42.0 (2025), 51.8 - 3.5 = 48.3 (2026). Trailing twelve months to June 2026: net profit 800.5 + 298.5 - 203.1 = 895.9; revenue 19,878.3; EPS 210.92 + 81.53 - 51.59 = 240.86. Progress against guidance: 298.5 / 1,100.0 = 27.1%. Share price change since March: 4,811 / 5,317 - 1 = -9.5%. Berkshire's market value over cost: 9,207 / 4,248 = 2.17 times; dividend on cost 273 / 4,248 = 6.4%. Mitsubishi Development profit: 190.2, 132.9, 8.3. Copper profit growth: 149.9 / 63.8 = 2.35 times. Segment profit over segment assets, year to March 2026: Mineral Resources 204.5 / 5,995.2 = 3.4%; Energy & Power 204.3 / 6,079.0 = 3.4%; Smart-Life Creation 91.0 / 2,745.5 = 3.3%; Food Industry 83.3 / 2,334.1 = 3.6%; Urban Development & Infrastructure 85.1 / 2,173.8 = 3.9%; Mobility 57.6 / 1,942.7 = 3.0%; Materials Solution 26.3 / 1,971.4 = 1.3%. Adjusted net income growth implied by guidance: (1,100.0 - 280.0) / 703.7 = 1.17. Split-adjusted dividend growth: 125 / 44 = 2.8 times. Buyback share of shares: 318.4 / 4,028.9 = 7.9%. Data-centre capacity growth: 168 / 29 = 5.8 times. Average buyback price: about ¥1,000,000 million / 318.4 million shares = about ¥3,141. Lawson return on carrying value: 28.8 / 502.6 = 5.7%. Copper profit excluding the Anglo American Sur reversal: 149.9 - 53.2 = 96.7. Interest cost of one percentage point on ¥5,746.9 billion: about ¥57 billion. Eneco goodwill cover: 167.0 / 31.0 = 5.4 years of profit. Aethon expected return: ¥50-60 billion on about ¥800 billion = 6-8%. Oil assumption effect: (78 - 70) x ¥2.4 billion = about ¥19 billion. Market value over adjusted net income: 17,620 / 703.7 = 25 times. Dividends paid: 408,458 / 289,692 = 1.41 (up 41%) while net income 800.5 / 964.0 = 0.83 (down 17%). MDP return on plant: 8.3 / 1,160.6 = 0.7%. — FY to March 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Mitsubishi Corporation's results, presentations and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  5. ReportedCapital recycling and one-time items contributed ¥96.8 billion, down from ¥268.8 billion the year before, and adjusted net income, excluding them, rose from ¥681.9 billion to ¥703.7 billion.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - capital recycling and one-time items and adjusted consolidated net income. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedMineral Resources earned ¥204.5 billion, down from ¥295.5 billion two years earlier, because BMA, the steelmaking coal business it owns half of, fell from ¥190.2 billion to ¥8.3 billion while copper more than doubled.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the notes on significant investments: MDP and BMA, Lawson, Eneco, LNG Canada, Anglo American Sur and Quellaveco, with book values and ownership. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedMineral Resources earned ¥204.5 billion, down from ¥295.5 billion two years earlier, because BMA, the steelmaking coal business it owns half of, fell from ¥190.2 billion to ¥8.3 billion while copper more than doubled.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - the LNG, copper and steelmaking coal portfolios with stakes, capacities and production volumes, data centre capacity, the Thai and Indonesian automotive businesses, and Cermaq's salmon volumes. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  8. Moat Explorer calcEnvironmental Energy and Power together earned ¥204.3 billion.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Mitsubishi Corporation's reported figures. Equity-method profit over net profit: 467.9 / 800.5 = 58.5%. Mineral Resources plus Environmental Energy over segment total: (204.5 + 160.9) / 752.1 = 48.6%. Energy & Power (Environmental Energy plus Power Solution): 238.8 + 97.9 = 336.7 (year to March 2024), 198.6 - 15.6 = 183.0 (2025), 160.9 + 43.4 = 204.3 (2026). Other and adjustments: 51.2 - 9.2 = 42.0 (2025), 51.8 - 3.5 = 48.3 (2026). Trailing twelve months to June 2026: net profit 800.5 + 298.5 - 203.1 = 895.9; revenue 19,878.3; EPS 210.92 + 81.53 - 51.59 = 240.86. Progress against guidance: 298.5 / 1,100.0 = 27.1%. Share price change since March: 4,811 / 5,317 - 1 = -9.5%. Berkshire's market value over cost: 9,207 / 4,248 = 2.17 times; dividend on cost 273 / 4,248 = 6.4%. Mitsubishi Development profit: 190.2, 132.9, 8.3. Copper profit growth: 149.9 / 63.8 = 2.35 times. Segment profit over segment assets, year to March 2026: Mineral Resources 204.5 / 5,995.2 = 3.4%; Energy & Power 204.3 / 6,079.0 = 3.4%; Smart-Life Creation 91.0 / 2,745.5 = 3.3%; Food Industry 83.3 / 2,334.1 = 3.6%; Urban Development & Infrastructure 85.1 / 2,173.8 = 3.9%; Mobility 57.6 / 1,942.7 = 3.0%; Materials Solution 26.3 / 1,971.4 = 1.3%. Adjusted net income growth implied by guidance: (1,100.0 - 280.0) / 703.7 = 1.17. Split-adjusted dividend growth: 125 / 44 = 2.8 times. Buyback share of shares: 318.4 / 4,028.9 = 7.9%. Data-centre capacity growth: 168 / 29 = 5.8 times. Average buyback price: about ¥1,000,000 million / 318.4 million shares = about ¥3,141. Lawson return on carrying value: 28.8 / 502.6 = 5.7%. Copper profit excluding the Anglo American Sur reversal: 149.9 - 53.2 = 96.7. Interest cost of one percentage point on ¥5,746.9 billion: about ¥57 billion. Eneco goodwill cover: 167.0 / 31.0 = 5.4 years of profit. Aethon expected return: ¥50-60 billion on about ¥800 billion = 6-8%. Oil assumption effect: (78 - 70) x ¥2.4 billion = about ¥19 billion. Market value over adjusted net income: 17,620 / 703.7 = 25 times. Dividends paid: 408,458 / 289,692 = 1.41 (up 41%) while net income 800.5 / 964.0 = 0.83 (down 17%). MDP return on plant: 8.3 / 1,160.6 = 0.7%. — FY to March 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Mitsubishi Corporation's results, presentations and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  9. ReportedThe consumer and industrial segments earned the rest.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the consolidated statements of income, financial position and cash flows, the eight-segment note, dividends and the forecast for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedIt bought back 318,397,611 shares for about ¥1 trillion, 7.9% of the total, and cancelled them in April 2026.
    Globe and Mail (TipRanks), completion of Mitsubishi Corporation's ¥1 trillion share buyback - 318,397,611 shares, 7.9% of shares outstanding, cancelled on 30 April 2026. — March-April 2026 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedIt agreed to buy Aethon's American shale gas assets for $5.2 billion of equity and $2.33 billion of assumed debt.
    CNBC, 16 January 2026 - Mitsubishi's agreement to buy Aethon's Haynesville shale gas assets for $5.2 billion in equity and $2.33 billion of assumed debt. — January 2026 · publ. 16 January 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedAnd it guides net income of ¥1.1 trillion for the year to March 2027, up 37.4%.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the consolidated statements of income, financial position and cash flows, the eight-segment note, dividends and the forecast for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  13. ReportedBerkshire Hathaway owns 10.8%, its largest Japanese holding.
    Berkshire Hathaway 2025 shareholder letter - Mitsubishi at 10.8%, cost $4,248 million, market value $9,207 million, and yen borrowing at an average cost of 1.2%. — 2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  14. ReportedIt established MDP to develop Australian coal in November 1968, took half of BMA in 2001, made Lawson a subsidiary in 2017 and bought Eneco with Chubu Electric in March 2020.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the notes on significant investments: MDP and BMA, Lawson, Eneco, LNG Canada, Anglo American Sur and Quellaveco, with book values and ownership. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  15. ReportedIt established MDP to develop Australian coal in November 1968, took half of BMA in 2001, made Lawson a subsidiary in 2017 and bought Eneco with Chubu Electric in March 2020.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the notes on significant investments: MDP and BMA, Lawson, Eneco, LNG Canada, Anglo American Sur and Quellaveco, with book values and ownership. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  16. ReportedIt established MDP to develop Australian coal in November 1968, took half of BMA in 2001, made Lawson a subsidiary in 2017 and bought Eneco with Chubu Electric in March 2020.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the notes on significant investments: MDP and BMA, Lawson, Eneco, LNG Canada, Anglo American Sur and Quellaveco, with book values and ownership. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  17. ReportedIt established MDP to develop Australian coal in November 1968, took half of BMA in 2001, made Lawson a subsidiary in 2017 and bought Eneco with Chubu Electric in March 2020.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the notes on significant investments: MDP and BMA, Lawson, Eneco, LNG Canada, Anglo American Sur and Quellaveco, with book values and ownership. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  18. ReportedIt lost ¥149.4 billion in the year to March 2016 on resource impairments, and it has been profitable in every year since.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2016 - the net loss and the impairment losses on resource-related assets in the Metals group. — FY to March 2016 · publ. May 2016 · source ↗
  19. ReportedRevenue doubled in the year to March 2019 only because an accounting standard, IFRS 15, required trading to be recorded at gross value; it is the least useful number in the accounts.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2019 - the doubling of reported revenue on the application of IFRS 15. — FY to March 2019 · publ. May 2019 · source ↗
  20. ReportedUnderlying operating cash flow was ¥1,048.1 billion in the year to March 2026 and free cash flow ¥1,041.4 billion.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the consolidated statements of income, financial position and cash flows, the eight-segment note, dividends and the forecast for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  21. ReportedDividends received from equity-method affiliates were ¥370.9 billion, which is how much of the associates' profit actually reaches Mitsubishi in cash.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - net income by segment and of major subsidiaries and affiliates, with ownership, and the forecast by segment. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  22. ReportedReturn on equity was 8.5%, against a target of 12% or more.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the consolidated statements of income, financial position and cash flows, the eight-segment note, dividends and the forecast for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  23. ReportedReturn on equity was 8.5%, against a target of 12% or more.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - Corporate Strategy 2027 targets, the three-year cash flow plan, divestitures, shareholder returns and leverage policy. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  24. Moat Explorer calcGuidance implies about ¥820 billion excluding planned asset sales; falling short would say the company's growth depends on what it sells rather than what it runs.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Mitsubishi Corporation's reported figures. Equity-method profit over net profit: 467.9 / 800.5 = 58.5%. Mineral Resources plus Environmental Energy over segment total: (204.5 + 160.9) / 752.1 = 48.6%. Energy & Power (Environmental Energy plus Power Solution): 238.8 + 97.9 = 336.7 (year to March 2024), 198.6 - 15.6 = 183.0 (2025), 160.9 + 43.4 = 204.3 (2026). Other and adjustments: 51.2 - 9.2 = 42.0 (2025), 51.8 - 3.5 = 48.3 (2026). Trailing twelve months to June 2026: net profit 800.5 + 298.5 - 203.1 = 895.9; revenue 19,878.3; EPS 210.92 + 81.53 - 51.59 = 240.86. Progress against guidance: 298.5 / 1,100.0 = 27.1%. Share price change since March: 4,811 / 5,317 - 1 = -9.5%. Berkshire's market value over cost: 9,207 / 4,248 = 2.17 times; dividend on cost 273 / 4,248 = 6.4%. Mitsubishi Development profit: 190.2, 132.9, 8.3. Copper profit growth: 149.9 / 63.8 = 2.35 times. Segment profit over segment assets, year to March 2026: Mineral Resources 204.5 / 5,995.2 = 3.4%; Energy & Power 204.3 / 6,079.0 = 3.4%; Smart-Life Creation 91.0 / 2,745.5 = 3.3%; Food Industry 83.3 / 2,334.1 = 3.6%; Urban Development & Infrastructure 85.1 / 2,173.8 = 3.9%; Mobility 57.6 / 1,942.7 = 3.0%; Materials Solution 26.3 / 1,971.4 = 1.3%. Adjusted net income growth implied by guidance: (1,100.0 - 280.0) / 703.7 = 1.17. Split-adjusted dividend growth: 125 / 44 = 2.8 times. Buyback share of shares: 318.4 / 4,028.9 = 7.9%. Data-centre capacity growth: 168 / 29 = 5.8 times. Average buyback price: about ¥1,000,000 million / 318.4 million shares = about ¥3,141. Lawson return on carrying value: 28.8 / 502.6 = 5.7%. Copper profit excluding the Anglo American Sur reversal: 149.9 - 53.2 = 96.7. Interest cost of one percentage point on ¥5,746.9 billion: about ¥57 billion. Eneco goodwill cover: 167.0 / 31.0 = 5.4 years of profit. Aethon expected return: ¥50-60 billion on about ¥800 billion = 6-8%. Oil assumption effect: (78 - 70) x ¥2.4 billion = about ¥19 billion. Market value over adjusted net income: 17,620 / 703.7 = 25 times. Dividends paid: 408,458 / 289,692 = 1.41 (up 41%) while net income 800.5 / 964.0 = 0.83 (down 17%). MDP return on plant: 8.3 / 1,160.6 = 0.7%. — FY to March 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Mitsubishi Corporation's results, presentations and market data; operands shown in the source line.
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026