Marubeni: The SiblingNarrow moat

ITOCHU (8001) — moat facet

Marubeni is ITOCHU's sibling, steel partner and smaller rival.

Marubeni and ITOCHU descend from the same founder. ITOCHU's history records that Chubei Itoh began linen trading in 18581; Marubeni's records the same founder and year2. In 1949 the wartime Daiken Co. was separated into C. Itoh & Co., Kureha Cotton Spinning, Marubeni Co. and Amagasaki Nail Works3.

Net profit, year to March 2026 (¥ bn)900.3ITOCHU543.9Marubeni20.2Their steel JV (ITOCHU share)ITOCHU FIR 2026; Marubeni Integrated Report 2026
Two companies from one founder, one two-thirds larger.

Since 2001 the two have owned Marubeni-Itochu Steel together4, which contributed ¥20.2 billion to ITOCHU in the latest year5. Marubeni earned net profit of ¥543.9 billion in the year to March 20266, against ITOCHU's ¥900.3 billion7.

The siblings compete in food, agriculture, power and consumer businesses, and cooperate in steel. ITOCHU has grown faster.

The joint steel venture's contribution of ¥20.2 billion8 is the one line in ITOCHU's accounts that depends on the two siblings agreeing.

The measure is the profit ratio between the two. ITOCHU earned about two-thirds more in the latest year9.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

The joint steel venture continues; ITOCHU's profit lead is large.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Net profit against Marubeni
¥900.3bn against ¥543.9bn

The sibling's scale; ITOCHU has outgrown it.

Source: ITOCHU Financial Information Report 2026 ↗
References
  1. ReportedITOCHU's history records that Chubei Itoh began linen trading in 1858; Marubeni's records the same founder and year.
    ITOCHU Corporation, company history - founding in 1858, the 1949 separation of Daiken, the 1998 FamilyMart investment, the 2001 Marubeni-Itochu Steel joint venture, the Brand-new Deal plans and the 2015 CITIC and CP alliance. — 1858-2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedITOCHU's history records that Chubei Itoh began linen trading in 1858; Marubeni's records the same founder and year.
    Marubeni Integrated Report 2026, At a Glance and history - founded in 1858 by Chubei Itoh, and net profit of ¥543.9 billion. — 2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIn 1949 the wartime Daiken Co. was separated into C. Itoh & Co., Kureha Cotton Spinning, Marubeni Co. and Amagasaki Nail Works.
    ITOCHU Corporation, company history - founding in 1858, the 1949 separation of Daiken, the 1998 FamilyMart investment, the 2001 Marubeni-Itochu Steel joint venture, the Brand-new Deal plans and the 2015 CITIC and CP alliance. — 1858-2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedSince 2001 the two have owned Marubeni-Itochu Steel together, which contributed ¥20.2 billion to ITOCHU in the latest year.
    ITOCHU Corporation, company history - founding in 1858, the 1949 separation of Daiken, the 1998 FamilyMart investment, the 2001 Marubeni-Itochu Steel joint venture, the Brand-new Deal plans and the 2015 CITIC and CP alliance. — 1858-2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedSince 2001 the two have owned Marubeni-Itochu Steel together, which contributed ¥20.2 billion to ITOCHU in the latest year.
    ITOCHU Corporation, FY2025 Business Results and FY2026 Management Plan - net profit, core profit and extraordinary items by segment, investment and exit, and the management plan for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 14 May 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedMarubeni earned net profit of ¥543.9 billion in the year to March 2026, against ITOCHU's ¥900.3 billion.
    Marubeni Integrated Report 2026, At a Glance and history - founded in 1858 by Chubei Itoh, and net profit of ¥543.9 billion. — 2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedMarubeni earned net profit of ¥543.9 billion in the year to March 2026, against ITOCHU's ¥900.3 billion.
    ITOCHU Corporation, Financial Information Report 2026 - the audited financial statements, segment information, the customer statement, goodwill including FamilyMart, CITIC and the risk factors. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 12 June 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedThe joint steel venture's contribution of ¥20.2 billion is the one line in ITOCHU's accounts that depends on the two siblings agreeing.
    ITOCHU Corporation, FY2025 Business Results and FY2026 Management Plan - net profit, core profit and extraordinary items by segment, investment and exit, and the management plan for the year to March 2027. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 14 May 2026 · source ↗
  9. Moat Explorer calcITOCHU earned about two-thirds more in the latest year.
    Moat Explorer calculation from ITOCHU's reported figures. Trailing twelve months to June 2026: net profit 900.3 - 283.9 + 293.8 = 910.1; revenue 14,823.1 - 3,558.9 + 3,875.9 = 15,140.1; EPS 128.00 - 40.10 + 42.02 = 129.92. Market value at 24 September 2026: 6,993,053,267 shares x ¥2,220.5 = ¥15.53 trillion. P/E at March year-end: market value over net profit, e.g. 13,802 / 900.3 = 15.3 (2026), 6,090 / 820.3 = 7.4 (2022), 3,046 / 500.5 = 6.1 (2019). Non-resource share of profit: 774.7 / (774.7 + 133.3) = 85%. Segment net profit over segment assets, year to March 2026: Machinery 155.6 / 2,603.5 = 6.0%; Metals & Minerals 143.5 / 1,793.4 = 8.0%; ICT & Financial 93.0 / 1,577.2 = 5.9%; Food 92.1 / 2,403.4 = 3.8%; Energy & Chemicals 69.3 / 1,819.4 = 3.8%; General Products & Realty 60.8 / 1,628.7 = 3.7%; The 8th 45.0 / 2,197.3 = 2.0%; Textile 43.3 / 751.9 = 5.8%. Segment net margin on revenue: Food 92.1 / 5,134.2 = 1.8%; Energy & Chemicals 69.3 / 3,069.6 = 2.3%; Machinery 155.6 / 1,500.6 = 10.4%; Metals & Minerals 143.5 / 1,231.5 = 11.7%. Berkshire's market value over cost: 8,886 / 4,165 = 2.13 times; dividend on cost 181 / 4,165 = 4.3%. Self-tender: 82,735,750 x ¥1,813 = about ¥150.0 billion. Net profit growth since the year to March 2016: 900.3 / 240.4 = 3.7 times. Dividend growth: 42.0 / 10.0 = 4.2 times (split-adjusted). ROE spread over the company's cost of capital: 14.6 - 8 = 6.6 points. Equity growth: 6,590.0 / 5,755.1 = 1.15. Stake in DENTSU SOKEN at the tender price: ¥215.2 billion for 38%. ACG profit target over investment: ¥50 billion is the aerospace target, about ¥310 billion the ACG investment. Berkshire's stake at ¥2,220.5: 704,799,500 x 2,220.5 = about ¥1.565 trillion. ITOCHU over Marubeni net profit: 900.3 / 543.9 = 1.66. 8% hurdle on the CSN Mineração additional investment: 0.08 x 119.2 = 9.5. 8% hurdle on ¥215.2 billion: about ¥17.2 billion. — FY to March 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in ITOCHU's financial statements, results decks and market data; operands shown in the source line.
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026