⚠ ¥5.7 Trillion of Floating-Rate DebtModerate threat

Mitsubishi Corporation (8058) — threat to the moat

Mitsubishi borrows ¥5.7 trillion almost entirely at floating rates just as Japanese interest rates are rising.

Mitsubishi's gross interest-bearing liabilities, excluding leases, were ¥5,746.9 billion at March 20261, up from ¥4,617.0 billion a year earlier2. The company states that almost all of these liabilities bear floating interest rates, creating a risk of higher interest expenses as rates rise3.

Debt (¥ bn, March)4,617.0Gross debt 20255,746.9Gross debt 20263,047.2Net debt 20253,888.2Net debt 2026Excluding leases; Mitsubishi Corporation results and presentation
More than a trillion yen of new gross debt in one year.

Rates are rising. Berkshire's chief executive, visiting Tokyo in September 2026, said Japan's 10-year yield was just above 3% and not a challenge for the trading houses4. For Mitsubishi the arithmetic is simple: each percentage point on ¥5.7 trillion is about ¥57 billion a year before tax.

Net interest-bearing debt rose by ¥841.0 billion to ¥3,888.2 billion in the year to March 20265, as the buyback and investments outran cash flow. The Aethon acquisition adds more6. The company's cap is a net D/E of about 0.6 times7; it was 0.388.

The company's own cap on leverage is a net D/E of about 0.6 times9. At 0.38 it has room, but the room is measured in debt whose cost is rising.

The measure is net interest expense. A rise that absorbs a meaningful share of profit growth would say the floating-rate structure is costing more than it saves.

The number that tests this threat
Reported
Gross interest-bearing liabilities, excluding leases
¥5,746.9bn, almost all floating

Each point of higher rates costs about ¥57 billion a year before tax.

Source: Mitsubishi Corporation results, year to March 2026 ↗
References
  1. ReportedMitsubishi's gross interest-bearing liabilities, excluding leases, were ¥5,746.9 billion at March 2026, up from ¥4,617.0 billion a year earlier.
    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 ↗
  2. ReportedMitsubishi's gross interest-bearing liabilities, excluding leases, were ¥5,746.9 billion at March 2026, up from ¥4,617.0 billion a year earlier.
    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 ↗
  3. ReportedThe company states that almost all of these liabilities bear floating interest rates, creating a risk of higher interest expenses as rates rise.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, Consolidated Financial Results for the year ended March 31, 2026 (IFRS) - the risk disclosures: commodity and currency sensitivities, floating-rate debt, marketable securities and the Middle East. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedBerkshire's chief executive, visiting Tokyo in September 2026, said Japan's 10-year yield was just above 3% and not a challenge for the trading houses.
    CNBC, 2 September 2026 - Greg Abel in Tokyo on holding the trading houses for many decades and on Japanese bond yields. — September 2026 · publ. 2 September 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedNet interest-bearing debt rose by ¥841.0 billion to ¥3,888.2 billion in the year to March 2026, as the buyback and investments outran cash flow.
    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 ↗
  6. ReportedThe Aethon acquisition adds more.
    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 ↗
  7. ReportedThe company's cap is a net D/E of about 0.6 times; it was 0.38.
    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 ↗
  8. ReportedThe company's cap is a net D/E of about 0.6 times; it was 0.38.
    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 ↗
  9. ReportedThe company's own cap on leverage is a net D/E of about 0.6 times.
    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 ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026