Shares of Fast Retailing, the Japanese company that owns the Uniqlo clothing brand, took a steep dive in Tokyo markets Friday, even after the firm announced an upgraded profit forecast — with investors spooked by a warning over the struggling yen.
The stock dropped as much as 5.1% during early trading in Tokyo. The sell-off came after the company announced Thursday, following the close of markets, that it was raising its full-year operating profit guidance to a record 730 billion yen, which equals approximately $4.50 billion U.S. dollars.
Despite the downward move Friday, Fast Retailing’s shares have performed remarkably well this year, climbing more than 42% in 2026.
Jun Kitazawa, Deputy Manager of the Investment Information Section at Miki Securities, offered some context for the decline. “The share price has risen over roughly the past three months, so a sense of the good news being priced in seems to have emerged, but bargain-hunting buying may eventually come in,” he said.
The company reported solid results for the nine-month period ending in May. However, Fast Retailing Chief Financial Officer Takeshi Okazaki flagged concerns about the Japanese yen, which has been hovering near a 40-year low. He cautioned that the currency’s continued weakness is expected to put pressure on both sales and profits in Japan during the company’s fourth quarter.
Okazaki warned that the yen’s decline “could potentially have a significant impact on our performance.”
At the time of reporting, one U.S. dollar was equal to approximately 162.31 yen.
