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TDK Investor Day 2025: Medium-term Plan Update
(Conducted on November 28, 2025) Q & A: Progress of Medium-term Plan

Q1. You mentioned that rechargeable batteries are seeing an expansion in wearable and data center applications. What kinds of business opportunities are emerging? Looking ahead to 2030, what do you expect in terms of CAGR and operating profit margin?
A1. In terms of small capacity batteries, we want to focus on wearable devices such as smart glasses. We are also seeing stronger demands for high-performance and safety, as well as abnormally shaped battery cells in this category, and we believe there are opportunities to leverage batteries that utilize TDK's metal-cased products. In addition to that, products such as silicon-anode batteries have been evolving year after year. We expect the growth rate of medium capacity batteries to be in the 20-30% range per year. Our medium-term focus is high output-type cells. These have two uses, one of which is power tools. Thanks to brisk orders in the current fiscal year, we have continued at full production, and from the next fiscal year and beyond, we will increase the product lineup, leading to further business expansion. Another use is in UPS and BBU systems for data centers. We have already begun shipping batteries with improved output and reliability for UPS this year, and we plan to begin full-scale deployment in BBUs starting next fiscal year. Our products represent breakthroughs that boast industry-leading output. We have now achieved quite high profitability, and we hope to maintain this as much as possible as we expand.
Q2. Regarding the businesses that are in turnaround, how do you expect to improve profitability? In addition, you shifted thin-film devices from a "businesses to be intensively monitored" to a "profit base". Was this the result of any specific initiatives?
A2. The business units in turnaround include aluminum electrolytic capacitors, HDD heads and MEMS microphones. Demand for aluminum electrolytic capacitors rapidly increased beyond our expectations. Since we have managed to cover high value-added products, we intend to increase production in part due to the run-on effects of that. Similarly with HDD heads, the customer base has expanded, and in the medium term we have started to see HAMR. As a result, we shifted the business unit from "implementation discussion" to "in turnaround." For MEMS microphones, we have achieved volume production of high-performance microphones, and shifted it to "in turnaround" as a result.
For thin-film devices, TDK's thin-film technologies are an adaptation of our HDD head manufacturing technologies, which represents a strength for TDK. These technologies have been repurposed for use in ultra-compact, ultra-low-profile inductors. Due to advancements in wearable devices, there is a strong need for ultra-compact, ultra-low-profile inductors, and demand is growing. The development of new products was the biggest factor.
Q3. What is your perspective on passive components in the next Medium-term Plan? What kinds of improvements can be expected in terms of contributions from AI data center-related product ranges being focused on, and the results of efforts to enhance existing products such as MLCCs? Also, what changes can we expect from your partnership with Nippon Chemical Industrial?
A3. The AI data center-related business represents a major opportunity. With aluminum electrolytic capacitors, we are focusing our efforts on meeting demand in the power supply area. We have also seen an increase in demand for MLCCs used in high-voltage power lines for data sensors, and we are prepared to increase production. We will focus on rolling out products with high reliability and high withstand voltage, an area where TDK excels. Aside from that, there are inductor-related products. In particular, there is demand for high-current type products used for power supply lines connected with AI data center CPUs and GPUs, and over the next 2 to 3 years, they are expected to be used as new components within next-generation architectures. Inductors are a particular area where we want to expand our lineup of new products in the lead-up to our next Medium-term Plan. As we also see steady growth in demand from the automotive sector, we are committed to making progress in this area. The purpose of our partnership with Nippon Chemical Industrial is to shorten lead times from development to production as much as possible, in order to enhance our competitiveness with MLCCs.
Q4. It is assumed that future products will span multiple business segments and incorporate software. What are your thoughts on your future organizational structure considering this?
A4. We are in the process of examining how to create new value, including in terms of our organizational structure. As we have mentioned, over the nine decades we have been in business, our core technologies have been materials technologies and the process technologies to effectively use them. In this Medium-term Plan, we have set out how we will transform from that foundation, and we have added software as the third pillar of those efforts. With SensEI and the acquisition of SoftEye, we have now started to launch a new solution business that cuts laterally across applications. We recognize that instead of just vertically integrated business operations, we need to consider an organizational structure that is horizontally integrated to some extent.