244 Companies, Each With a Return TargetNarrow moat

Mitsubishi Corporation (8058) — moat facet

Mitsubishi reviews every one of its 244 operating companies against a return target and has replaced 73 so far.

Mitsubishi's management system sets three-year profit and ROIC targets for all 244 of its operating companies1. The first round, Enhance 1.0, covered 160 companies classified as low-growth or underperforming; of those, the company held 87 and replaced 732. The second round, Enhance 2.0, covers all of them3.

Enhance 1.0: low-growth and underperforming companies160Reviewed87Held73ReplacedMitsubishi Corporation results presentation, May 2025
Almost half of the underperformers reviewed were replaced.

The results are visible in the numbers the company attributes to the programme: Enhance and Reshape initiatives are expected to add about ¥300 billion of profit against the year to March 2025's adjusted base, with a further ¥100 billion or more from new Create initiatives4.

For a trading house this is the moat that matters most: not any single asset, but a process that decides which assets to keep. A company with 244 operating businesses and no system for pruning them would accumulate losers.

The approach was built into the previous plan and extended in the current one, whose outlook for the year to March 2028 is net income of ¥1.2 trillion or more and ROE of 12% or more5.

The measure is the number of companies replaced. A falling number over time would say the portfolio has been cleaned; a rising number would say it is getting worse.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

The programme has moved from underperformers to all companies.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Operating companies with three-year ROIC targets
all 244 (Enhance 2.0)

The pruning system; the earlier round replaced 73 of 160 underperformers.

Source: Mitsubishi Corporation results presentation, May 2025 ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Targets Are Set by Management
Investors see the programme's design, not its individual scores.
References
  1. ReportedMitsubishi's management system sets three-year profit and ROIC targets for all 244 of its operating companies.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2024 results presentation - the review of Midterm Corporate Strategy 2024, the Enhance programmes covering all 244 operating companies, capital recycling, and the credit ratings. — FY to March 2025 · publ. 2 May 2025 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe first round, Enhance 1.0, covered 160 companies classified as low-growth or underperforming; of those, the company held 87 and replaced 73.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2024 results presentation - the review of Midterm Corporate Strategy 2024, the Enhance programmes covering all 244 operating companies, capital recycling, and the credit ratings. — FY to March 2025 · publ. 2 May 2025 · source ↗
  3. ReportedThe second round, Enhance 2.0, covers all of them.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2024 results presentation - the review of Midterm Corporate Strategy 2024, the Enhance programmes covering all 244 operating companies, capital recycling, and the credit ratings. — FY to March 2025 · publ. 2 May 2025 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe results are visible in the numbers the company attributes to the programme: Enhance and Reshape initiatives are expected to add about ¥300 billion of profit against the year to March 2025's adjusted base, with a further ¥100 billion or more from new Create initiatives.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - Corporate Strategy 2027 targets, the three-year cash flow plan, divestitures, shareholder returns and leverage policy. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedThe approach was built into the previous plan and extended in the current one, whose outlook for the year to March 2028 is net income of ¥1.2 trillion or more and ROE of 12% or more.
    Mitsubishi Corporation, FY2025 results and FY2026 forecast presentation (1 May 2026) - Corporate Strategy 2027 targets, the three-year cash flow plan, divestitures, shareholder returns and leverage policy. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026