8058 · Mitsubishi Corp.

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? ¥4.58T
  Net debt
  Cash ¥1.84T + ST investments ¥85.9B − debt ¥6.51T
  What this means

  Netting ¥1.93T of cash and short-term investments against ¥6.51T of debt leaves ¥4.58T 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 5%
  Thin through the cycle
  9-yr median margin, range 2%–7%; latest ¥1.14T = operating cash ¥1.49T − maintenance capex ¥352.9B
  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 6% of revenue this year, a 5% median across 9 years.

• Are earnings backed by cash? 1.86×
  Cash-backed
  Cash from ops ¥1.49T ÷ net income ¥800.5B
  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? 126%
  Returned more than it generated
  Dividends + buybacks ¥1.43T ÷ Owner Earnings ¥1.14T
  What this means

  The company returned more than it generated: against ¥1.14T of Owner Earnings, ¥1.43T (126%) went back to shareholders, ¥406.0B dividends, ¥1.02T buybacks — the excess came from the balance sheet or borrowing, not the year's operations. Sustained, that pattern draws down cash or adds debt; the net-debt line above shows where it stands.

• 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 10 of 10
  What this means

  Never lost money over the record, the earnings stability Graham insisted on.

• 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 +15%/yr
  What this means

  Owner earnings grew about 15% a year over the record.

• Worst year 2017 · −1.5% op. margin
  What this means

  Operations went underwater in 2017, understand why before trusting the good years.

• Dividend record rising
  What this means

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