DISCO

ディスコ / 株式会社ディスコ

A Japanese supplier of precision-processing equipment and consumable tools used to cut, grind, and polish semiconductor wafers for advanced packaging and AI hardware.

TSE: 6146 (Prime Market)
Other: DSCSY (U.S. OTC ADR)
Profile as of September 12, 2026
#14 in the AsiaAI Tech Index
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DISCO has a defensible niche and strong exposure to AI-driven semiconductor investment through its wafer thinning and dicing equipment. However, it remains dependent on volatile customer capital expenditure, a concentrated Asian customer base, and Japanese manufacturing sites.

Key figures

Revenue FY2025: 436.889 billion yen
Revenue growth FY2025: 11.1%
Operating margin FY2025: 42.3%
Net income FY2025: 135.521 billion yen
R&D spend FY2025: 34.156 billion yen (7.8% of revenue)
Capital expenditure FY2025: 32.708 billion yen
Market capitalization Sep 11, 2026: Approximately 5.59 trillion yen (US$37.26 billion) Estimate
TSMC share of sales FY2025: 11.0%
Shipment value FY2025: 442.824 billion yen
Cumulative laser-saw shipments Feb 2026: Over 4,000 units

Overview

DISCO is a Japanese supplier of semiconductor precision-processing equipment, consumable tools, application engineering, and maintenance. Its core operations focus on cutting, grinding, thinning, polishing, and laser processing of semiconductor wafers, packages, and other electronic components.

The company supplies wafer and package processing equipment used after front-end wafer fabrication and during advanced packaging. Its named product categories include dicing saws, laser saws, grinders, polishers, surface planers, dicing blades, grinding wheels, dry-polishing wheels, and abrasive products. Its equipment is used to thin wafers, separate dies, process difficult materials, and prepare semiconductor packages for assembly.

DISCO sells directly to semiconductor manufacturers and electronic-component manufacturers. It strategically produces major components in house, reducing dependence on external suppliers for some critical parts and ensuring high-quality manufacturing standards.

The AI angle

For AI hardware, DISCO's direct relevance is in the physical processing of advanced logic and high-bandwidth memory. Generative-AI data-center investment supports demand for advanced logic and HBM, and DISCO states that its high-value precision-processing equipment for high-performance semiconductors remained strong in FY2025.

AI demand reaches revenue through increased capital expenditure by foundries, memory makers, IDMs, and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers. Advanced logic and HBM require wafer thinning, die singulation, polishing, and low-damage processing. Higher customer utilization also raises demand for DISCO’s consumable tools.

DISCO does not report an AI-only revenue figure, so the share of revenue directly attributable to AI is not disclosed. However, it matters most in the equipment and materials layer because it provides the cutting, thinning, grinding, polishing, consumables, and process engineering needed to turn processed wafers into usable semiconductor dies and packages. Without these precision steps, advanced AI chips cannot be successfully packaged and deployed.

Technology and moat

DISCO’s position rests on the combination of equipment, proprietary consumable tools, application engineering, after-sales service, and accumulated process data. Its process engineers use test-cut work to select machine and consumable combinations and determine operating parameters such as tool rotation speed and feed rate. This approach creates process-specific know-how that is embedded in customer qualification and production settings.

The company states that replicating its application capability would require more than 60 years of test-cut activity, accumulated verification data, process know-how, engineers who can interpret and apply that knowledge, and in-house production of major components. This is a higher barrier than copying a single dicing saw or grinder design.

DISCO’s technical domain is strongest in the back-end and packaging-related processing steps. Its exposure to silicon carbide also differentiates it from suppliers focused only on silicon, using its KABRA process to form an internal separation layer in a SiC ingot.

Five-pillar assessment

Scale and market position: A leading supplier of semiconductor precision-processing equipment, generating 436.889 billion yen in FY2025 revenue with a global installed base.
Technology and R&D: Deep proprietary process knowledge, integrated equipment and consumable solutions, and specialized capabilities in advanced logic, HBM, and silicon carbide processing.
Supply-chain centrality: Directly supplies major semiconductor manufacturers, including TSMC, while relying on undisclosed suppliers for raw materials and components.
Financial momentum: Strong financial performance with 11.1% revenue growth and 42.3% operating margins in FY2025, driven by AI and high-performance semiconductor demand.
Governance and quality: Independent public company with a majority-independent board, transparent reporting, and institutional ownership, though exposed to geographic concentration risks.

Supply chain and relationships

DISCO depends on precision mechanical components, electronic components, industrial diamond and abrasive materials, lasers, control systems, software, and specialized manufacturing capacity. Supplier names are not disclosed, but the company strategically produces major components in house to reduce external dependence.

On the customer side, it sells directly to semiconductor manufacturers and electronic-component manufacturers. TSMC is specifically disclosed as a customer representing 11.0% of DISCO’s FY2025 consolidated sales. Other major customer names are not disclosed, as no other customer meets the 10% disclosure threshold. If DISCO stopped shipping, wafer thinning, singulation, grinding, and precision finishing would be disrupted for customers already qualified on its equipment and consumables. Competing suppliers could absorb some demand, but customer qualification, process tuning, consumable matching, and service capacity would slow replacement.

Customers

TSMC11.0% of FY2025 sales

Competitors

Tokyo SeimitsuInferredCompetes in semiconductor precision processing
ASMPTInferredCompetes in assembly and packaging equipment
Hanmi SemiconductorInferredCompetes in advanced packaging equipment

Geopolitics and risk

DISCO's core manufacturing is concentrated in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagano, exposing it to earthquakes, floods, disease outbreaks, utility interruption, and logistics disruption. Its China and Taiwan subsidiaries are material sales and service channels, while Taiwan is also home to TSMC, its only disclosed customer above 10% of sales.

Semiconductor equipment sales into China and cross-border transfer of advanced manufacturing technology can face evolving Japanese, U.S., and other export-control restrictions. Company-specific revenue exposed to restricted products is not disclosed. DISCO manufactures mainly in Japan and sells globally, exposing it to foreign-exchange volatility, with some customers requiring settlement in U.S. dollars and other foreign currencies.

Risk matrix
Risk	Severity	Why it matters
Semiconductor capital-spending cycle	High	Equipment revenue depends on customer fab investment and production levels.
China and Taiwan regional exposure	High	Material sales and service channels are in China and Taiwan.
Production-site concentration in Japan	High	Core manufacturing is concentrated in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagano.
AI and HBM concentration	Medium	Exposure to a cyclical and concentrated investment theme.
TSMC customer concentration	Medium	TSMC represents 11.0% of FY2025 sales.
Export controls	Medium	Sales into China can face evolving Japanese and U.S. restrictions.
Component and raw-material shortages	Medium	Supply constraints for raw materials and components pose a risk to production.
Technology substitution	Medium	New cutting or thinning technologies could displace parts of its installed base.

Governance and ownership

DISCO is an independent listed company with no disclosed parent company, controlling industrial shareholder, founding family control, chaebol affiliation, or keiretsu parent. It uses a company-with-three-committees governance structure under Japanese corporate law. As of the 2026 annual securities report filing, six of nine directors are outside directors.

Large registered institutional holders include Nomura Asset Management, Fidelity Management & Research, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management. The company links executive incentives to financial and environmental indicators, including Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reductions beginning in FY2025.

What to watch

Whether FY2026 quarterly shipments continue to exceed the level implied by the company’s 132.0 billion yen first-quarter shipment forecast.
Whether the new Gohara Plant construction remains on schedule and within the expected 14.0 billion yen outlay.
Whether Haneda R&D Center reconstruction proceeds without disrupting engineering throughput.
Whether TSMC remains above the 10% customer-disclosure threshold in FY2026.
Whether AI-related advanced-logic and HBM investment continues to offset weak power-semiconductor demand.
Whether Japanese, U.S., and Chinese export-control measures alter DISCO’s ability to sell or service customers in China.

Recent developments

July 23, 2026Published FY2026 first-quarter materials raising its R&D forecast to approximately 38.0 billion yen.
June 16, 2026Filed its FY2025 annual securities report, disclosing TSMC as an 11.0% customer.
April 22, 2026Reported FY2025 revenue of 436.889 billion yen and net income of 135.521 billion yen.
March 2, 2026Announced that cumulative laser-saw shipments exceeded 4,000 units as of February 2026.
January 9, 2026Named a Winner Company in Corporate Governance of the Year 2025 by the Japan Association of Corporate Directors.
October 29, 2025Reported FY2025 first-half results with higher sales and profit despite foreign-exchange effects.

Coverage on AsiaAI.FYI

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About this profile

Compiled with AI-assisted research from company filings, market data, and published reporting as of September 12, 2026, then reviewed by AsiaAI.FYI. Figures marked Estimate are not company-reported. Check primary filings before relying on any number.

Confidence: B. Financial statements, segment data, and operating risks are supported by audited filings, but market-share estimates, supplier names, and AI-specific revenue exposure lack comprehensive public disclosure.

Main sources: Audited Japanese annual securities report (FY2025); FY2025 consolidated financial-results release; FY2025 fourth-quarter investor presentation; Company corporate-outline and governance disclosures.

All 40 sources

Position in the AI stack

Supplies the precision wafer thinning, dicing, grinding, and polishing equipment required for advanced logic and high-bandwidth memory packaging.

Legal name: DISCO CORPORATION
Formerly: Dai-Ichi Seitosho, Kabushiki Kaisha Dai-Ichi Seitosho
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Founded: 1937
Leadership: Kazuma Sekiya / 関家一馬, Representative Executive Officer, President and Chief Executive Officer
Noboru Yoshinaga, Representative Executive Officer and Executive Vice President
Takao Tamura, Managing Executive Officer, CFO, and General Manager of the Corporate Support Division
Employees: 7,379 consolidated employees (2026-03-31)
Ownership: Publicly listed
Listings: TSE: 6146 (Prime Market)
Other: DSCSY (U.S. OTC ADR)
Business: Semiconductor precision-processing equipment and consumables
Sector: Equipment & Materials
Website: disco.co.jp