Shimadzu Corporation · Fiscal year ended March 2026
From X-rays to molecules: 150 years of measuring at Shimadzu.
Shimadzu's product list spans analytical instruments, X-ray systems, turbomolecular pumps and aircraft equipment. But the current revenue mix has a clear center. FY2025 net sales were ¥560.7 billion, and Analytical & Measuring Instruments contributed ¥364.9 billion, about 65% of the total. The company began with educational physics and chemistry instruments in 1875, succeeded in X-ray imaging in 1896, developed Japan's first gas chromatograph in 1956, and later produced mass-spectrometry technology associated with the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Across 150 years, measuring what cannot be seen directly has remained close to the center of Shimadzu.
This is not investment advice or a stock recommendation. We reorder company-published primary-source facts to make the shape of the business easier to see.
Shimadzu’s products can look far apart.
Analytical instruments. X-ray systems. Vacuum equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing. Aircraft control equipment.
Yet today’s revenue mix has a clear center.
Net sales are ¥560.7bn
About two-thirds comes from Analytical & Measuring Instruments.
Analytical & Measuring Instruments is ¥364.9bn
The remaining roughly 35% contains three substantial branches.
Medical Systems is ¥73.8bn
Industrial Machinery is ¥71.5bn
Aircraft Equipment is ¥43.4bn
Analytical and measuring instruments dominate current revenue
FY2025 sales to outside customers. Excludes ¥7.1bn of Other sales.
Shimadzu is also no longer a Japan-only business.
Sales outside Japan are ¥318.1bn
The current numbers make analytical measurement the center.
Its roots go back to Kyoto 150 years ago.
It began with educational science instruments in 1875
That work soon extended into seeing inside the human body.
Radiography in 1896, medical X-ray equipment in 1909
Measurement then moved toward separating and identifying substances.
Japan’s first gas chromatograph in 1956
Eventually, measuring moved deeper into the molecular world.
Mass-spectrometry technology led to a Nobel Prize in 2002
Educational science instruments. X-rays. Gas chromatography. Mass spectrometry.
The product names changed, but the work of observing, separating and measuring things that are otherwise hard to see persisted.
Shimadzu also built substantial branches in aircraft and industrial equipment.
That means it is not only an analytical-instrument company.
Yet 150 years later, analytical and measuring instruments still account for roughly two-thirds of sales.
THE VIEW AFTER THE NUMBERS
What the numbers suggest
Shimadzu generated ¥560.7 billion of net sales and ¥73.7 billion of operating profit in FY2025.
Analytical & Measuring Instruments generated ¥364.9 billion, or about 65.1% of group sales by site calculation.
Medical Systems generated ¥73.8 billion, Industrial Machinery ¥71.5 billion and Aircraft Equipment ¥43.4 billion.
The company began with educational science instruments in 1875, succeeded in radiography in 1896, built Japan’s first medical X-ray system in 1909 and developed Japan’s first gas chromatograph in 1956. In 2002, mass-spectrometry technology developed by employee Koichi Tanaka was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Shimadzu has branched into several businesses, but measuring what cannot be seen directly has run through 150 years of its history.
And today, the business closest to that original axis still represents roughly two-thirds of revenue.
Primary sources used
Consolidated Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2026
Shimadzu Corporation · 2026-05-12
Pages used: p.24
Open source →History
Shimadzu Corporation
Open source →Koichi Tanaka Mass Spectrometry Research Laboratory
Shimadzu Corporation
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