Is Rigaku profitable?

Yes. Rigaku reported profit of about 15.3 billion yen on 2023 revenue of roughly 80 billion yen, and FY2025 revenue reached 94.19 billion yen, up 3.91% year over year, as of July 3, 2026, per company filing based data.

Carlyle Group bought about 80% of Rigaku in January 2021. Rigaku Holdings IPO'd on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2024. In April 2026, Onto Innovation agreed to buy a 27% stake from Carlyle for about 710 million dollars, closing expected H2 2026.

Could AI replace Rigaku's business?

No. AI compresses analysis tasks like phase identification via Rigaku's own SmartLab Studio II plugins, but its core is physical X-ray hardware. As of April 2026, Onto Innovation's Ai Diffract software is being layered onto Rigaku's CD-SAXS hardware, not replacing it.

Is Bruker beating Rigaku?

No clear takeover. Bruker had FY2025 revenue of 3.44 billion dollars versus Rigaku's roughly 0.6 billion dollars, but the two have coexisted as peers for 75 years with no reported customer displacement of Rigaku by Bruker as of February 2026.

Will Onto Innovation take full control of Rigaku?

Not based on current terms. Announced April 20, 2026, Onto Innovation is buying only a 27% minority stake for about 710 million dollars, with the right to nominate one board director; the deal is expected to close in H2 2026 with no full buyout announced.

How did Rigaku's stock do after its Tokyo IPO?

Rigaku Holdings listed on the TSE Prime Market on October 25, 2024, at 1,260 yen per share, raising 112.3 billion yen, but shares fell about 10% on debut. It later ran a secondary offering in June 2026 priced at 2,738 yen per share.

Biotech tools companies · subsidiary of Rigaku Holdings Corporation (TSE: 268A, publicly listed Oct 2024) · Japan

Rigaku Corporation

rigaku.com ↗

Japanese maker of X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy instruments for labs and chip fabs.

Defensible for now

Assessed 24 July 2026 · Evidence as of 24 July 2026

Real protection, with named pressure against it.

On the recordSince 24 July 2026 · Checkable from H2 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Onto Innovation's 27% stake acquisition expected to close

The call

Rigaku's hardware sits inside chip fabs and labs where it is hard to swap out, but a chip capex slump and a pending Onto Innovation ownership stake are the near-term things to watch.

Rigaku designs and builds X-ray instruments used in laboratories and semiconductor factories to measure materials and check chip quality. The company is hard to copy because its machines need precise engineering, special manufacturing know-how, and regulatory approvals that take years to earn, and rival Bruker has coexisted peacefully for 75 years without stealing market share. AI tools can help scientists interpret X-ray data faster, but they cannot replace the actual machine that takes the measurement, so the core business stays protected. The wild card is that Onto Innovation, a much larger competitor, is buying 27% of Rigaku and will take control of that stake by mid-2026; if Onto pushes Rigaku toward semiconductor tools and chip companies cut spending, profits could drop fast.

Why

AI pressure: Onto Innovation's Ai Diffract software. AI speeds up pattern analysis on top of Rigaku's hardware, it does not replace the X-ray measurement itself. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Bruker Corporation. Bruker is 5.7x bigger and sells competing analytical instruments, but has coexisted with Rigaku for decades without taking its fab sockets. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. Instruments get built into chip fab process lines and lab workflows, so customers rarely rip out working hardware.

What would change this call

Onto Innovation's 27% stake deal closes as planned in H2 2026. Shows alliance proceeding without forcing full acquisition or roadmap change.
Rigaku's quarterly revenue stabilizes or keeps falling after Q1 FY2026's ~13% drop. Indicates whether the decline is a chip-capex cycle or a deeper demand problem.
Bruker or KLA announces a competing X-ray metrology platform for fab process control. Would show a peer directly targeting Rigaku's semiconductor sockets.

Key numbers

FY2025 revenue Â¥94.19 billion, up 3.91% YoY (2026-07-03)
Q1 FY2026 revenue Â¥17.93 billion, down ~13% (2026-07-03)
XTRAIA XD-3300 targets Â¥10 billion sales by FY2030 (2025-07-28)

Named risks

Semiconductor capex cyclicality drove ~13% sequential revenue decline in Q1 FY2026. Severity: high
Ownership transition risk as Onto Innovation's 27% stake deal closes H2 2026, pending regulatory approval. Severity: medium
Roughly one third of revenue concentrated in semiconductor/electronics end markets. Severity: medium
Stock fell about 10% on IPO debut in October 2024, signaling investor caution. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Bruker Corporation	contesting	Bruker FY2025 revenue $3.44B vs Rigaku ~$0.6B, 75 years coexistence with no share collapse (2026-02-12)
Malvern Panalytical (Spectris)	contesting	Cited by Reuters as direct peer in X-ray analytical instrumentation (2024-09-19)

Questions people ask

Is Rigaku profitable?: Yes. Rigaku reported profit of about 15.3 billion yen on 2023 revenue of roughly 80 billion yen, and FY2025 revenue reached 94.19 billion yen, up 3.91% year over year, as of July 3, 2026, per company filing based data.
Who owns Rigaku now?: Carlyle Group bought about 80% of Rigaku in January 2021. Rigaku Holdings IPO'd on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2024. In April 2026, Onto Innovation agreed to buy a 27% stake from Carlyle for about 710 million dollars, closing expected H2 2026.
Could AI replace Rigaku's business?: No. AI compresses analysis tasks like phase identification via Rigaku's own SmartLab Studio II plugins, but its core is physical X-ray hardware. As of April 2026, Onto Innovation's Ai Diffract software is being layered onto Rigaku's CD-SAXS hardware, not replacing it.
Is Bruker beating Rigaku?: No clear takeover. Bruker had FY2025 revenue of 3.44 billion dollars versus Rigaku's roughly 0.6 billion dollars, but the two have coexisted as peers for 75 years with no reported customer displacement of Rigaku by Bruker as of February 2026.
Will Onto Innovation take full control of Rigaku?: Not based on current terms. Announced April 20, 2026, Onto Innovation is buying only a 27% minority stake for about 710 million dollars, with the right to nominate one board director; the deal is expected to close in H2 2026 with no full buyout announced.
How did Rigaku's stock do after its Tokyo IPO?: Rigaku Holdings listed on the TSE Prime Market on October 25, 2024, at 1,260 yen per share, raising 112.3 billion yen, but shares fell about 10% on debut. It later ran a secondary offering in June 2026 priced at 2,738 yen per share.

Timeline

2026-06-01Secondary offering priced at 2,738 yen per share, raising about 93 billion yen combined
2026-04-20Onto Innovation agrees to buy 27% Rigaku stake from Carlyle for about 710 million dollars
2026-03Q1 FY2026 revenue falls to 17.93 billion yen, down about 13% sequentially/YoY
2025-12XTRAIA MF-3400 and ONYX 3200 semiconductor metrology tools launched
2025-07-28XTRAIA XD-3300 reaches full commercial production, targets 10 billion yen sales by FY2030
2024-10-25Rigaku Holdings shares fall about 10% on Tokyo Stock Exchange debut
2024-10-24Rigaku Holdings lists on TSE Prime Market (268A), raising 112.3 billion yen
2021-01-06Carlyle Group agrees to acquire about 80% of Rigaku Corporation valuing deal near 1 billion dollars

Revision history

24 July 2026

First assessed. Defensible for now. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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