MARUY vs MITSY: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Last updated October 2026

Short answer

MITSY is the larger of the two ($86.40B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (16.09x forward earnings, beta 0.45). MARUY is the smaller challenger ($48.30B), cheaper on forward earnings (1.53x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.

MARUY vs MITSY: the tie-breaker metrics

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Metric	MARUY	MITSY	What it tells you
Market cap	$48.30B	$86.40B	Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove.
Forward P/E	1.53	16.09	Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up.
Trailing P/E	13.12	14.32	Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price.
Beta	0.70	0.45	Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through.
Price / book	1.71	1.52	How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price.

Reading it: MARUY is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

Before you buy: how MARUY and MITSY affect your concentration

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. MARUY and MITSY share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined MARUY and MITSY exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

What does Marubeni Corporation (MARUY) do?

Marubeni Corporation is a Tokyo-based sogo shosha, a trading and investment conglomerate that buys, sells, finances and owns businesses across most of the physical economy. It reports ten operating segments: Lifestyle, Food & Agri Business, Metals & Mineral Resources, Energy & Chemicals, Power & Infrastructure Services, Finance, Leasing & Real Estate Business, Aerospace & Mobility, IT Solutions, and two Next Generation units. Much of its profit comes from stakes in operating companies rather than trading margins: US farm inputs through Helena Agri-Enterprises, US beef through Creekstone Farms, Chilean copper mines, Australian steelmaking coal, aircraft leasing through Aircastle, the aircraft parts distributor DASI, power plants and retail power trading through SmartestEnergy, and US used-car lending through Nowlake. Reported revenue for the year ended March 31, 2026 (fiscal 2025) was ¥8,265.8 billion, but for a trading house net profit is the better gauge of scale, because revenue includes large volumes of low-margin trading.

Full MARUY guide

What does Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (MITSY) do?

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui Bussan) is a Tokyo-based general trading company that invests in and operates businesses across resources, energy, infrastructure, chemicals, food and healthcare. Trading is still part of the model, but most of the profit now comes from equity stakes: iron ore and coal mines in Australia, copper in Chile through Anglo American Sur, LNG and gas projects from Australia to Mozambique and Russia's Sakhalin II, power plants, auto dealerships and hospitals. In the fiscal year to March 2026 Mitsui reported revenue of ¥14.0 trillion and profit attributable to owners of ¥834.0 billion. The biggest contributors were Mineral & Metal Resources (¥253.6 billion), Machinery & Infrastructure (¥225.9 billion) and Energy (¥164.2 billion). From April 2026 the segments were reorganized: power generation moved into a renamed Mobility, Digital & Infrastructure segment and Lifestyle became Wellness Ecosystem.

Full MITSY guide

MARUY vs MITSY: how do they differ?

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

MARUY drivers: Record profits and the fiscal 2026 forecast; Copper, coal and other commodities.
MITSY drivers: Iron ore and copper; LNG, US gas and the energy transition.

Which fits which kind of investor

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Commodity prices are the largest swing factor: copper, steelmaking coal and aluminum lifted first-quarter fiscal 2026 resources profit by about ¥23 billion, and the same exposure works in reverse if prices fall or Chinese demand weakens. For MITSY, mitsui's profit depends heavily on commodity prices it cannot control: iron ore, metallurgical coal, copper, crude oil and LNG together drive the Mineral & Metal Resources and Energy segments, which earned about half of fiscal 2026 profit, and iron ore and coal price declines alone cut segment profit by ¥31.8 billion last year.

MARUY or MITSY: which should you pick?

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick MARUY if you believe its drivers more; MITSY if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the MARUY and MITSY guides.

MARUY vs MITSY: the full fundamentals

MARUY. At ¥4,702 a share in Tokyo, Marubeni trades at roughly 13 times its fiscal 2026 EPS forecast of ¥356.75 and about 1.7 times equity per share of ¥2,742.51 at June 30, 2026. Revenue of ¥8.27 trillion in fiscal 2025 overstates the business, because it includes large volumes of low-margin trading; profit and cash flow are the better measures. Core operating cash flow is planned at ¥660 billion for fiscal 2026, above the ¥580 billion net profit forecast, which is what funds buybacks and a dividend that has risen from ¥107.5 in fiscal 2025 to a planned ¥115. The yen is the swing factor in dollar terms: the MARUY quote of ~$29.78 equals the Tokyo price at about ¥158 per dollar, so a one-yen move shifts the ADR by roughly 0.6% before any change in the shares.

MITSY. At ¥4,775 Mitsui trades at about 14.7 times its own fiscal 2027 profit forecast of ¥920 billion, or roughly 14.5 times trailing profit of about ¥937 billion. Shareholders' equity was ¥9.0 trillion at the end of June 2026, so the shares sit at around 1.5 times book value, with return on equity of 10.2% in fiscal 2026 against a 12% target for March 2029. The forecast has not been raised despite a first quarter that delivered about 32% of it, and management said it would revise at an appropriate time while watching the Middle East. The ¥140 dividend implies a yield near 2.9%, and the ¥200 billion buyback adds roughly 1.5% of market value in repurchases through January 2027.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): MARUY shows net profit (fy ended march 2026) ¥543.9B (record), fy2026 net profit forecast ¥580.0B (EPS ~¥356.75), q1 fy2026 net profit ¥186.4B (+20.7% YoY), market cap ~¥7.6T (~$48B) at ¥4,702 in Tokyo; MITSY shows revenue (ttm to june 2026) ~¥15.0T (~$95B), profit to owners (ttm to june 2026) ~¥937B, fy march 2027 profit forecast ¥920B (EPS ~¥325), market cap ~¥13.5T (~$86B; share ¥4,775, ADR ~$608).

The bottom line: MARUY vs MITSY

MARUY and MITSY are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined MARUY and MITSY exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.

Wondering how MARUY or MITSY fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.

Investing in Marubeni Corporation with AI

Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how MARUY fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.

Does MARUY fit me?

FAQ

What is the difference between MARUY and MITSY?

Marubeni Corporation is a Tokyo-based sogo shosha, a trading and investment conglomerate that buys, sells, finances and owns businesses across most of the physical economy. Mitsui & Co., Ltd. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.

Is MARUY or MITSY the better stock?

Neither is universally better. MITSY is the larger incumbent; MARUY is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.

Which is cheaper, MARUY or MITSY?

On forward P/E (as of October 2026), MARUY trades at 1.53x and MITSY at 16.09x, so MARUY is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.

Should you own both MARUY and MITSY?

Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.

What are the risks of MARUY vs MITSY?

MARUY: Commodity prices are the largest swing factor: copper, steelmaking coal and aluminum lifted first-quarter fiscal 2026 resources profit by about ¥23 billion, and the same exposure works in reverse if prices fall or Chinese demand weakens. Several US businesses are under pressure. Nowlake's losses on older subprime used-car loans have risen since the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Creekstone's beef margins have weakened, and management tied part of the credit stress to US tariffs. The Wholesale and Retail Power Trading Business had a weak fiscal 2025, showing how quickly trading profits can reverse. Marubeni's history includes large write-downs on overseas acquisitions such as Gavilon, and the higher GC2027 investment ceiling raises the stakes on new deals, which management says take about five years to reach its 10% ROIC target. Japanese trading houses also face governance and capital-efficiency pressure from investors, and returns increasingly depend on buybacks. ADR-specific risks matter too. MARUY is unsponsored and quoted on OTC Pink, so trading is thin, bid-ask spreads can be wide, and Marubeni has no reporting relationship with the SEC. Dividends arrive in dollars after currency conversion, Citi's depositary fees and Japanese withholding tax (15.315% by default, 10% for US residents if treaty relief is applied), and some US brokers charge extra for foreign OTC trades. Yen moves can offset gains in the Tokyo share price. The 1:1 ratio change in 2026 also means many price charts and screeners still show a misleading 52-week high near $426. MITSY: Mitsui's profit depends heavily on commodity prices it cannot control: iron ore, metallurgical coal, copper, crude oil and LNG together drive the Mineral & Metal Resources and Energy segments, which earned about half of fiscal 2026 profit, and iron ore and coal price declines alone cut segment profit by ¥31.8 billion last year. The yen matters too, since each one-yen move against the dollar shifts annual profit by about ¥4.6 billion; the June 2026 quarter got ¥17 billion of help from yen weakness that could reverse. Geopolitics is a direct exposure. The company is still exposed to Russia through Sakhalin II, whose valuation it marks on probability-weighted scenarios, and its plan assumed Middle East disruption, including transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, would normalize by the September 2026 quarter. China's slowdown weighs on iron ore demand. Reported profit leans on one-off gains from asset sales and IPO revaluations, which were a large part of the record first quarter and may not repeat, and Mitsui has not yet raised its ¥920 billion full-year forecast. Net interest-bearing debt rose to ¥4.4 trillion in June 2026 (net debt-to-equity of 0.49x), partly from Rhodes Ridge, and a Penske Automotive buyout would add more. Operating cash flow was only ¥42.3 billion in the quarter because working capital absorbed ¥271.5 billion. For US holders, MITSY trades over the counter, where liquidity is thinner than in Tokyo, its dollar price moves with the yen, and dividends arrive net of Japanese withholding and depositary fees.

Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell MARUY or MITSY; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.