Toyota Shares Hit Record High After Earnings Upgrade

Toyota Motor shares hit a record high on Wednesday after its earnings upgrade the prior day, with rivals Honda and Nissan also posting gains on expectations that their solid hybrid lineups may benefit from cooling interest in electric vehicles, according to Daniel Leussink's report for Reuters.

Toyota's shares were up 4% on Wednesday afternoon after jumping as much as 7.3% to a record high in the morning session, outperforming a 0.2% advance in the broad Topix index. I Photo: TOYOTA Facebook

Toyota's strong financial performance in the third quarter was helped by robust demand for gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, the world's top-selling automaker said on Tuesday.

Its shares were up 4% on Wednesday afternoon after jumping as much as 7.3% to a record high in the morning session, outperforming a 0.2% advance in the broad Topix index.

Nissan Motor's shares rose 2.9% in afternoon trade after gaining as much as 4.3% earlier. Honda Motor's shares advanced 1.3% after rising as much as 2.6% earlier.

"We think the market is now rethinking the potential of hybrid products, which are a strength of Toyota," analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note released after Toyota raised its operating profit guidance by nearly 9% for the 12 months ending March 31.

The company's progress on raising prices that helped boost its earnings per vehicle was likely the biggest driver for the higher operating profit forecast, the analysts added. Toyota's shares have risen 80% since the start of 2023, compared to a 69% rise in Honda's shares and Nissan's 47% gain over the same period.

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