Kioxia Holdings split each share into 3 shares, accelerating the stock-split rush. The article examines how stock splits lower the price per share and reduce the barrier to investment, as well as the continuing decline in required investment amounts overall.
Arisawa Shoichi (有沢 正一), an analyst who has watched the market’s turbulent swings, examines recent stock-split trends and Kioxia’s 3-for-1 split, focusing on the background to stock splits and what they mean for investment opportunities. Stock splits are intended to encourage participation by individual investors by reducing share prices in a fair manner, and Kioxia split each share into 3 shares.
By the end of September this year, the number of listed companies that had carried out stock splits had reached 55. The purpose of the splits is said to be to lower the barrier represented by the investment unit. Before the split, Kioxia’s share price was approximately ¥53,340, and there were cases in which investing required a minimum of more than ¥5 million, but the split could lower the hurdle for purchases.
The stock exchange is asking companies whose minimum investment amount exceeds ¥500,000 to consider a stock split, following a similar request four years ago. As a result, as of the end of March this year, approximately 93% of listed companies could be invested in with ¥500,000 or less, expanding access to the market.
In the US market, investing in single shares is common, and even leading companies such as Google and Amazon can be purchased with an investment of around tens of thousands of yen. Japanese companies are also expected to continue promoting stock splits.