8002 · Marubeni

Will it survive?

• Can it pay its interest? —
  Not the right lens here
  What this means

  This business earns through equity-method affiliates, so interest coverage on its operating line isn't meaningful. Read its solvency on net debt against equity instead.

• How heavy is the debt, net of cash? ¥1.86T
  Net debt
  Cash ¥551.1B − debt ¥2.41T
  What this means

  Netting ¥551.1B of cash and short-term investments against ¥2.41T of debt leaves ¥1.86T owed. Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.

• How long is cash tied up? —
  Not enough data
  What this means

  The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.

Is it a good business?

• Return on invested capital —
  Operating income not meaningful here
  Industry peers: median 16%
  What this means

  This business earns mostly through equity-method affiliates, so its operating line understates its earning power and a ROIC built on it would mislead. Read it on return on equity and the record instead.

• Owner-earnings margin 4%
  Thin through the cycle
  9-yr median margin, range 2%–5%; latest ¥381.9B = operating cash ¥535.4B − maintenance capex ¥153.5B
  Industry peers: median 2%
  What this means

  What an owner could take out without starving the business: operating cash less the maintenance capital it must spend to hold its position — Buffett's owner earnings. That's 5% of revenue this year, a 4% median across 9 years.

• Are earnings backed by cash? 0.98×
  Mostly cash-backed
  Cash from ops ¥535.4B ÷ net income ¥543.9B
  What this means

  How much of reported profit showed up as operating cash. Above 1× is reassuring; well below suggests earnings lean on accruals. One year is noisy, growth and working-capital swings distort it, and this is operating cash, not free cash. Watch the multi-year trend.

How is the cash used?

• Where do the earnings go? 62%
  Returns about half
  Dividends + buybacks ¥235.3B ÷ Owner Earnings ¥381.9B
  What this means

  Of ¥381.9B Owner Earnings, ¥235.3B (62%) went back to shareholders, ¥165.3B dividends, ¥70.0B buybacks. Returning most of it is the mark of a mature business with little left to reinvest at a high return; reinvesting most could mean a long runway, or empire-building. The split doesn't say which; the return earned on it (see ROIC) does.

• Investing or harvesting? —
  Not enough data
  What this means

  The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.

Durability & moat, 2017–2026

Whether the record’s returns held, and what the capital reinvested earned.

• Profitable years 9 of 10
  What this means

  Lost money in 1 year(s), look at what happened there before trusting the average.

• Return on capital ≥ 15% 0 of 10 yrs
  What this means

  A moat shows up as a high return on invested capital that holds year after year, not one good vintage.

• Operating margin −1% → −1% (3-yr avg ends)
  What this means

  Through the cycle the operating margin held roughly steady — about −1% early, −1% lately, median −1%.

• Reinvestment, incremental ROIC −1%
  What this means

  Reinvested capital came back at a negative incremental return over this window — the invested base grew while operating profit did not. The filings show where it went.

• Owner earnings growth +11%/yr
  What this means

  Owner earnings grew about 11% a year over the record.

• Worst year 2025 · −1.0% op. margin
  What this means

  Operations went underwater in 2025, understand why before trusting the good years.

• Share count −0.5%/yr
  What this means

  The share count is shrinking, buybacks are quietly growing your slice of the business.

• Dividend record rising
  What this means

  Paid and raised the dividend across the record, the continuity Graham prized.