The inaugural Sohn Tokyo Investment Conference on Friday gathered managers pitching everything from industrial gear to cloud software, with proceeds supporting the Karen Leung Foundation. The mood reflected this year's momentum in Japan, where stocks notched records as rising prices strengthened corporate pricing power and policymakers prodded companies to improve shareholder payouts.
Silq Capital's CIO Hideki Kinuhata backed Makino Milling Machine Co., arguing the shares look inexpensive after the company fought off takeover bids. He called out aerospace as the main profit engine, with demand now spanning commercial aviation, space, satellites and defense. He sees earnings up 80 percent in the three years through March 2028. "Makino is no longer the sleepy traditional Japanese company that it was," he said. "It is razor-focused on profitability and growth."
Japan Catalyst's Riho Yokozawa spotlighted OBIC Business Consultants Co., saying the accounting software provider's growth is not fully priced in. She expects revenue to increase by about 80 percent within the coming several years, with pricing power being a key driver. OBIC raised prices even after industry concerns about AI's threat became widespread, she noted.
Ruane Cunniff's Marc Wallach pitched Money Forward Inc., the financial planning app maker. He characterized Japan's software landscape as especially lucrative and described Money Forward as "a resilient software franchise with a long growth runway ahead," with potential for a 30 percent operating margin and earnings growth of up to 25 percent annually.
On robotics, TriVista Capital's CIO Masaki Gotoh highlighted Harmonic Drive Systems Inc., which builds speed reducers for industrial robots. He said the firm's technology "basically drove the industrial robot revolution," and could power the next one focused on humanoids or physical AI.
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Blue Orca Capital's CIO Soren Aandahl pointed to three companies with "hidden" exposure to Toshiba: Rohm Co., Chubu Electric Power Co. and TRE Holdings Corp. Toshiba, taken private and delisted after an accounting scandal, could deliver material windfalls to these holders in an IPO, even after taxes, he said. He also called Toshiba a turnaround success with operations tied to AI, including energy and hard disk drives.
Away from Japan, Change Global Investment founder Thea Jamison argued PT Telkom Indonesia is both undervalued and investable. She spoke as Indonesian equities suffered their steepest drop in 28 years after MSCI warned the country's emerging market status could be at risk. Jamison said Telkom already meets MSCI criteria, has streamlined to unlock value, holds a dominant domestic share, and offers roughly 90 percent upside.
He said Ecopro looks expensive and faces falling profitability, heavy debt loads and excess capacity.
Polymer Capital Management's Daisuke Nakayama favored Orix Corp., saying it is "transforming from a company that simply holds assets into one that generates earnings through external capital and leverage," a shift he said could support a different growth path and a higher multiple.
Oasis Management founder Seth Fischer pressed on with his activist effort targeting Kusuri no Aoki Holdings Co., urging that members of the Aoki family be ousted from the drugstore operator's leadership. He added that he will continue to seek justification for the stock options granted to the Aoki brothers.
Forecasts were specific: Makino's earnings up 80 percent by March 2028, OBIC's revenue rising about 80 percent in a few years, Money Forward targeting a 30 percent operating margin and up to 25 percent annual earnings growth, Telkom's roughly 90 percent upside, and Hanwha's 100 percent upside case. In plain English: managers see pricing power, corporate restructuring, and defense and AI demand as levers for revaluation. If these themes hold, the payoff would come via margin expansion, faster earnings, or sum of the parts unlocking value.
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