Panasonic

Panasonic raised its operating profit forecast for the fiscal year to ¥590 billion, slightly above the Bloomberg consensus estimate. In Tokyo the stock then rose to the upper daily limit at ¥4,284 and trading was suspended; it closed up 19.5%. Analysts view the group’s involvement in AI-related products such as multilayer substrates and supercapacitors positively both in the short and long term. » More on de.investing.com

Panasonic will build a local supply chain for energy storage systems in the US to support preparation for mass production of battery cells at its Kansas plant, CEO Yuki Kusumi said. Production in Kansas is expected to supply battery cells for data centers in the fiscal year ending March 2029; the plant currently makes batteries for Tesla. Panasonic does not plan to produce lithium‑iron‑phosphate (LFP) batteries because the company is focused on decentralized systems for peak‑load control of individual servers. Despite political tensions, there are no problems procuring materials from China, Kusumi said. » More on de.investing.com

Panasonic reported EPS of 20.19 JPY for the fourth quarter of 2026, missing the analyst estimate of 47.78 JPY by 57.74%. Revenue fell 5% to 8,048.7 billion JPY, and adjusted operating profit and net income declined. The stock fell 3.8% in premarket trading. The company recorded growth in the Connect and Electric Works segments and is strategically focusing on AI infrastructure and energy storage systems despite pressures from deconsolidation of the automotive business and US tariffs. » More on de.investing.com

Panasonic introduced the Lumix L10, a compact, photography-focused camera using the same 20.4MP back-illuminated CMOS sensor as the GH7 paired with a fixed 24–75mm Leica lens (f/1.7–f/2.8). The L10 weighs 508 g, offers 779-point phase hybrid AF with AI subject recognition, up to 30fps electronic shooting and an articulated 1.84M-dot screen plus a 2.36M-dot OLED viewfinder. It can record 4K up to 120fps but has limited continuous recording due to its smaller body and heat dissipation; macrolens AF reaches 3 cm. The camera is available for preorder at $1,499.99 in black or silver, with a limited titanium gold 25th-anniversary edition at $1,599.99. » More on theverge.com

Panasonic Energy will expand production of backup batteries (BBUs) for data centers and convert some EV cell plants to BBU cells. Manufacturing capacity in Japan is planned to triple by fiscal 2029 versus 2026, and revenue from data center products is expected to reach ¥800 billion (about €4.4 billion) in FY2029, four times the 2025 level. Panasonic reports roughly 80% pre-sales of the planned capacity and an estimated 80% market share in distributed BBU solutions; it is also working on super caps as an alternative to lithium‑ion batteries. » More on golem.de