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AI screening example · run on October 13, 2026

Optical communication stocks,
across all of Japan.

We looked for companies already selling the optical communication products that AI data centers are buying in growing volumes. Katana kept 164 companies whose annual reports use optical communication terms, and AI read each one and supported 26.

Background

Optical components are sold out until 2029.

On October 9, 2026, Lumentum CEO Michael Hurlston told Bloomberg Television in Tokyo that the U.S. optical component maker is sold out until early 2029, and cannot meet about 70% of demand for some products through next year. Supply is not keeping up with AI data centers. In Japan, Fujikura decided in March 2026 to raise its optical fiber and cable capacity to up to three times current levels.

The next step drawing attention is co-packaged optics, known in Japan as photonics-electronics convergence. Inside data center equipment, many signals still travel as electricity, and electrical links use more power the longer they run. Placing the parts that convert between electricity and light right next to the chip shortens the electrical path and cuts power use. In August 2026, Nvidia said its Spectrum-6 co-packaged optics switches were in production and shipping. NTT plans to commercialize a switch built on its PEC-2 optical engines in fiscal 2026.

So which Japanese companies sell optical communication products today, and how far have the companies championing co-packaged optics come? We searched annual reports with Katana.

01 / Input

The companies we wanted to find.

“We want companies that already sell products, components or materials used for optical communication, such as optical fiber and cables, optical connectors, optical transceivers and modules, optical devices, lasers and photodetectors for communication, silicon photonics and co-packaged optics. We want to narrow it to companies that have already started shipping or mass-producing them, not just researching them.”

Entered in Japanese; English translation.

We used a word condition to keep companies whose annual reports use optical communication terms, turned this profile into two questions entered in English, and had the AI read each report, question by question.

02 / Conditions

The conditions we applied across Japan.

A

Quantitative

Katana computes its metrics for every company.

  1. Annual report mentions any of eleven optical communication terms (optical fiber, optical transceiver, photonics-electronics convergence, optical communication, optical components, optical devices, optical modules, optical connectors, silicon photonics, optical wiring, optical waveguides)
B

Qualitative

AI reads each annual report and judges support and counterevidence.

  1. Does the company sell products, components, or materials used for optical communication (e.g., optical fiber and cables, optical connectors, optical transceivers or modules, optical devices, lasers or photodetectors for communication, silicon photonics or co-packaged optics)?
  2. Has it already started commercial shipments or mass production of these, rather than only research or development?

The questions were entered in English and judged in order.

~3,800listed companies
164match the numbers
26AI judged as supported
Katana

read the filings and supported 26.

03 / Results

26 supported. We dropped 3, added 3 that needed review, and checked all 26 against the source.

Of 164 companies, 26 were supported, 60 need review and 78 had counterevidence. Below are the 26, ordered by fiber, components, materials, and parts and equipment.

  • Fujikura5803 · Nonferrous Metals

    Decided in March 2026 to invest up to ¥300 billion in Japan and the U.S. to triple its optical fiber cable capacity.Filing ↗An optical fiber and cable maker whose telecommunication business is 55% of external sales. It sells ultra-high-count fiber cables and multi-fiber connectors to data centers.

  • Sumitomo Electric Industries5802 · Nonferrous Metals

    Its information and communications business grew sales 46.3% to ¥326.6 billion on data center demand for optical wiring products, optical cables and optical devices.Filing ↗Judged as needing review. Its report says its information and communications sales rose 46.3% to ¥326.6 billion on data center optical wiring and devices.

  • Furukawa Electric5801 · Nonferrous Metals

    Expanded sales of rollable ribbon cables, MT ferrules and DFB laser diode chips on data center demand.Filing ↗Makes everything from fiber cables to connector parts and laser chips, and is developing small connectors for co-packaged optics.

  • SWCC5805 · Nonferrous Metals

    Developed thin, high-density cabling products for the fast-growing data center market.Filing ↗An electric wire maker that also makes optical cable, though its report covers optical communication mainly under R&D.

  • Shin-Etsu Chemical4063 · Chemicals

    Pursues R&D on optical fiber preforms to keep world-class quality.Filing ↗Makes optical fiber preforms, the glass rods fiber is drawn from, listed in its R&D section among synthetic quartz products.

  • Kohoku Kogyo6524 · Electric Appliances

    Its core product is optical isolators for submarine cables, built to work for 25 years at depths of up to 8,000 meters.Filing ↗Its mainstay is optical isolators for submarine cables. Optical component sales rose 15.0% to ¥8.7 billion, and orders rose 70.6%.

Show the other 20
  • Seikoh Giken6834 · Electric Appliances

    Sales of optical connectors for data centers, and of the polishers and inspection equipment used to make them, rose sharply.Filing ↗Makes optical connectors and the machines that polish them. Demand for its polishers surged, and it roughly tripled their capacity in a year.

  • santec Holdings6777 · Electric Appliances

    Strong North American sales of optical monitors for transceivers lifted optical component sales 41.2% and segment profit 76.4%.Filing ↗Makes optical components and test instruments. Optical monitors for transceivers sold well in North America, lifting component sales 41.2%.

  • Enplas6961 · Electric Appliances

    Started mass-producing next-generation optical devices for AI, but sales were weak as older products fell and new ones ramped up late.Filing ↗Makes lenses for optical transceivers. It began mass-producing next-generation parts for AI, but says sales were weak this year.

  • Dexerials4980 · Chemicals

    Shipped more optical semiconductors for data center transceivers and communication equipment while improving yields.Filing ↗An electronic materials maker whose optical semiconductor shipments for data center transceivers grew.

  • Mitsubishi Electric6503 · Electric Appliances

    Demand for optical communication devices stayed firm while power semiconductor demand stalled.Filing ↗Judged as needing review. Its chip business says demand for optical communication devices held up, and it developed packaging technology for co-packaged optics.

  • QD Laser6613 · Electric Appliances

    Its lasers emit at 1,300 nm and are used as light sources for data communication.Filing ↗A quantum dot laser maker selling light sources for data communication, and co-developing silicon photonics light sources with vendors worldwide.

  • Hirose Electric6806 · Electric Appliances

    Develops active optical-electrical connectors and expands its waterproof optical connectors for communication infrastructure.Filing ↗A connector maker that sells optical connectors within its coaxial connector category.

  • Yamaichi Electronics6941 · Electric Appliances

    Developed a linear variable filter module in its optical module and device line.Filing ↗A test socket maker with an optical module and device line. Its report goes as far as developing a new product.

  • Tamagawa Holdings6838 · Electric Appliances

    Its main products include optical transmission equipment along with RF components.Filing ↗An RF component maker whose main products include optical transmission equipment. It also runs a renewable energy business.

  • Hirakawa Hewtech5821 · Nonferrous Metals

    Makes electric wire, optical relay systems and other transmission and broadcast equipment.Filing ↗An electric wire maker that also makes optical relay systems and active optical cables.

  • Synclayer1724 · Construction

    A cable TV equipment maker that grew into an integrator of head-end equipment, optical transmission lines and terminals.Filing ↗A cable TV equipment maker handling optical lines and terminals and building FTTH networks, on the home broadband side rather than data centers.

  • JX Advanced Metals5016 · Nonferrous Metals

    Develops larger InP substrates for optical communication devices in AI data centers.Filing ↗A nonferrous metals company making InP substrates for optical devices and expanding capacity for data centers.

  • HOYA7741 · Precision Instruments

    Sales of near-infrared polarizing glass (CUPO) used in optical communication grew.Filing ↗Judged as needing review. It says sales of polarizing glass for optical communication grew, and it is developing polarizing glass for transceivers.

  • Okamoto Glass7746 · Precision Instruments

    Is expanding capacity for glass polarizers used in optical isolators, as data center demand surges.Filing ↗A specialty glass maker of polarizers for optical isolators. Orders dropped when a partner component ran short, then recovered from November 2025.

  • Oxide6521 · Other Products

    Makes single crystals used in optical isolators, which let light pass in one direction only.Filing ↗A single crystal maker whose products include crystals for optical isolators. Its main customers are measurement equipment makers.

  • Tsubaki Nakashima6464 · Machinery

    Its glass balls are used mainly as lenses in optical communication, endoscopes and cameras.Filing ↗A bearing ball maker whose glass balls, made with the same technology, serve as lenses in optical communication.

  • Ferrotec6890 · Electric Appliances

    Sales of thermoelectric modules to optical transceiver makers rose on AI server investment, contributing strongly to profit.Filing ↗A chip equipment parts maker whose thermoelectric modules for keeping optical transceivers at temperature are selling more and adding meaningfully to profit.

  • Tecnisco2962 · Metal Products

    Supplies major semiconductor laser makers in fields including optical communication.Filing ↗A precision machining company supplying parts to semiconductor laser makers, including for optical communication.

  • Optorun6235 · Machinery

    Sales rose 4.5% on strong demand for equipment used to make optical components, including for optical communication.Filing ↗A thin-film coating equipment maker whose tools for optical communication filters sold well. It targets 20% of sales from silicon photonics.

  • Innotech9880 · Electric Appliances

    Its subsidiary Phi Microtech designs and sells high-speed analog ICs, with strong technology in optical communication.Filing ↗A semiconductor design tool distributor whose new subsidiary, Phi Microtech, sells high-speed analog ICs for optical communication.

Note: we dropped three supported companies whose reports do not show them selling optical communication products: Avaldata (an image-capture board that supports a fiber-based standard), Sumitomo Chemical (InP epiwafers still in development) and Komatsu (thermoelectric modules for optical communication mentioned only under R&D). We added Sumitomo Electric, Mitsubishi Electric and HOYA, which needed review but whose reports describe growing sales of optical communication products.

View detailed results

These results are from October 13, 2026. Qualitative judgments use the filings available at that time, while quantitative screening uses the latest financial data.

04 / Takeaway

Co-packaged optics is not revenue yet. Fiber and components are.

First, the markets differ in size. Mordor Intelligence estimates the global co-packaged optics (CPO) market at about $165 million in 2026. GMI puts the global optical transceiver market, used in data centers and elsewhere, at about $15.4 billion in 2026. Different firms, but two orders of magnitude apart.

Annual reports say the same. Of the 23 companies that mention photonics-electronics convergence, Japan's term for co-packaged optics and related technology, none reports sales or shipments from it. What they describe is development, expectations and targets. Meanwhile, fiber and component sales are growing: Sumitomo Electric's information and communications business rose 46.3%, santec's optical components 41.2% and Kohoku Kogyo's optical components and devices 15.0%.

The main stage for co-packaged optics is still ahead. NTT, its leading champion in Japan, advances its convergence devices generation by generation under its IOWN roadmap. PEC-2, due for commercial launch in fiscal 2026, links server racks and boards inside servers with light. From there, PEC-3 and PEC-4 bring light step by step closer to the chips themselves, with PEC-4 targeted for 2032.

Here are the main companies on this list that champion co-packaged optics.

CompanyWhat sells todayCo-packaged optics stage
Sumitomo ElectricOptical wiring, cablesNew technology
FujikuraOptical fiber cableWill contribute
Seikoh GikenConnectors, polishersCPO development
Kohoku KogyoSubmarine cable partsDeveloping devices
Furukawa ElectricCables, connector partsDeveloping CPO connectors
Mitsubishi ElectricOptical devicesPackaging technology
OptorunCoating equipmentTargets 20% of sales from silicon photonics

NTT, Ajinomoto and Advantest also champion the technology but fell out in the judging. NTT writes about spreading convergence devices, Ajinomoto about package materials, and Advantest about developing test equipment, none as a seller of optical communication products.

Your stock-picking, handed straight to AI.

Complex theses, your own selection rules. Katana narrows companies with its own metrics, and AI reads annual reports to judge qualitative conditions. The selection you used to do one company at a time, AI now runs across the Japanese market.

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