ORGANIZATION
Sharp Corporation
Japanese electronics maker that traces its origins to a metalworking shop Tokuji Hayakawa opened in Honjo, Tokyo, on 15 September 1912. Its name comes from the Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil, a mechanical pencil Hayakawa devised in 1915; after the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed its factories, the business restarted in Osaka. It went on to build a line of display and portable products: an all-transistor calculator in 1964, the EL-805 LCD calculator in 1973, an electronic organiser in 1987, the Zaurus personal information device in 1993, and the J-SH04 camera phone, sold by J-PHONE, in 2000. On 12 August 2016 it issued about ¥388.8 billion in new shares to Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry and three other companies, coming under its control. Net sales for the year ended March 2026 were ¥1,892.8 billion, and bottom-line profit ¥47.4 billion.
Organization
- Founded
- 1912
- Status
- Active
- Active
- 1912–
- Appearances
- 01
- Name
- ENSharp CorporationJAシャープ
Sharp Corporation traces its origins to a metalworking shop that Tokuji Hayakawa opened in Honjo, Tokyo (now Shin-ohashi, Koto-ku), on 15 September 1912. According to the company's chronology, that year Hayakawa invented the Tokubijo, a belt buckle that could be adjusted without holes, and took out a utility model patent; a large order for the buckle led him to set up on his own. In 1915 he invented a mechanical pencil and began exporting it to the US and Europe.
The company's name comes from that pencil. According to Sharp's product history, an improved version with very fine lead was named the Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil and came to be called simply a sharp pencil, and the company's name derives from it. After the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 destroyed all its factories, Hayakawa moved to Osaka, set up Hayakawa Metal Works there in 1924, and in 1925 succeeded in assembling the first Japan-made crystal radio set. The company took the name Sharp Corporation in 1970.
Display and portable products
Line up the Sharp products closest to this site's subject and the pattern runs from calculators to liquid crystal displays and portable information devices. Every "world's first" and "industry first" below is Sharp's own description.
| Year | Product | What Sharp says |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | CS-10A "Compet" calculator | The world's first all-transistor diode electronic desktop calculator, priced at ¥535,000, about the same as a 1,300 cc car at the time |
| 1969 | QT-8D "Micro Compet" calculator | Used MOS LSIs, supplied by North American Rockwell of the US |
| 1973 | EL-805 LCD calculator | The world's first pocket COS calculator with an LCD; Sharp's electronic calculators were recognised as an IEEE Milestone in 2005 |
| 1982 | X1 "PC television" | Combined a TV and a personal computer as one system and could overlay the images of both |
| 1987 | PA-7000 electronic system organiser | Kanji display, calendar, memo, phone book, schedule and calculator, expandable with IC cards |
| 1988 | 14-inch colour TFT LCD | Developed (chronology) |
| 1993 | Zaurus PI-3000 | A portable information tool packing business functions into one unit; later models added fax, PC communications and internet access |
| 2000 | J-SH04 camera phone | With a 110,000-pixel CMOS image sensor and integrated lens, launched by J-PHONE as the industry's first camera-equipped mobile phone that could send its photos by email |
| 2001 | AQUOS LCD TV | Launched on 1 January |
Investment in LCDs continued. According to the chronology, the Kameyama Plant began operating in 2004 and LCD panel production started at Sakai in 2009; in 2012 Sharp began mass-producing LCD panels using IGZO oxide semiconductors. In optical discs, Sharp appears in this site's Blu-ray Disc entry as one of the companies that jointly announced its basic specifications.
Coming under Hon Hai
According to Sharp's disclosure of 30 March 2016, it had recorded a cumulative net loss of ¥108.3 billion through the third quarter of the year ending March 2016, and its equity ratio had fallen from 12.3% at the previous year-end to 8.6%. Sharp had announced a strategic partnership with Taiwan's Hon Hai group, a large electronics manufacturing services company, in 2012; in 2016 it accepted Hon Hai's investment.
- 25 February 2016: The board resolves on a third-party share allotment to Hon Hai Precision Industry and others.
- 30 March 2016: Following a new proposal from the allottees, the terms are revised to about ¥388.8 billion in total (about ¥288.8 billion in common shares and about ¥100 billion in Class C shares), with 3,281,950,697 common shares issued at ¥88 each. The disclosure notes that the parent company and largest shareholder will change as a result.
- 11 August 2016: The review by China's Ministry of Commerce anti-monopoly bureau is completed, satisfying all conditions for payment.
- 12 August 2016: New shares are issued to Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxconn (Far East), Foxconn Technology and SIO International Holdings. President Kozo Takahashi retires from the board the same day.
According to the chronology, in 2016 Sharp's shares were reassigned to the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the head office moved from Abeno-ku, Osaka City, to Sakai City, and J.W. Tai, an executive vice president of Hon Hai, became president. Sharp returned to the First Section in 2017, and in 2018 it acquired Toshiba Client Solutions, the PC company behind the dynabook brand, from Toshiba.
The shape of the business today
Sharp's results for the year ended March 2026 divide the company into a Brand Business, made up of Smart Life and Smart Workplace, plus Display Device and Others.
| Segment | Net sales, year ended March 2025 | Net sales, year ended March 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Life | ¥643.5 billion | ¥597.9 billion |
| Smart Workplace | ¥836.3 billion | ¥833.8 billion |
| Brand Business total | ¥1,479.9 billion | ¥1,431.8 billion |
| Display Device | ¥452.2 billion | ¥423.5 billion |
| Others (Sakai Display Products, camera modules, semiconductors) | ¥257.1 billion | ¥47.0 billion |
In operating profit, the Brand Business earned ¥86.0 billion while Display Device lost ¥18.2 billion, a smaller loss than the previous year's ¥26.9 billion.
Key events
- 15 September 1912: Tokuji Hayakawa starts a metalworking business in Tokyo.
- 1915: The mechanical pencil is invented.
- 1923: The Great Kanto Earthquake destroys the factories; the business moves to Osaka.
- 1964: The CS-10A calculator is launched.
- 1970: The company becomes Sharp Corporation.
- 1973: The EL-805 LCD calculator is launched.
- 1993: The Zaurus PI-3000 is launched.
- 2000: The J-SH04 camera phone is launched by J-PHONE.
- 12 August 2016: New shares are issued to Hon Hai Precision Industry and three other companies.
- 2018: Toshiba Client Solutions becomes a subsidiary.
Financial indicators
Year ended March 2026 (April 2025 to March 2026), from the results presentation of 12 May 2026.
- Net sales: ¥1,892.8 billion (prior year ¥2,160.1 billion, down 12.4%)
- Operating profit: ¥48.5 billion (prior year ¥27.3 billion)
- Ordinary profit: ¥57.9 billion
- Bottom-line profit: ¥47.4 billion (up 31.4%)
- Equity ratio: 10.5% to 19.6%
From the pencil that gave the company its name to calculators, LCDs and portable information devices, Sharp's product history has run along two lines: things held in the hand and things that display. A company that invested heavily in LCD plants at Kameyama and Sakai took a Taiwanese contract manufacturer as its parent in 2016. In the figures for the year ended March 2026, that display business loses money and the Brand Business's profit covers it.
Appearances
Questions this page answers
- Where does the name Sharp come from?
- It comes from a mechanical pencil founder Tokuji Hayakawa devised in 1915. According to Sharp's product history, an improved fine-lead version was named the Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil and came to be called simply a sharp pencil, and the company's name derives from it. The company became Sharp Corporation in 1970.
- Was Sharp's J-SH04 the first camera phone?
- Sharp's product history describes the J-SH04, sold by J-PHONE in 2000, as the industry's first camera-equipped mobile phone that could send the photos it took by email. It carried a 110,000-pixel CMOS image sensor with an integrated lens. That is Sharp's own description; this page does not compare it with other handsets.
- When did Sharp come under Hon Hai?
- On 12 August 2016. That day Sharp issued common shares and Class C shares to four allottees: Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxconn (Far East), Foxconn Technology and SIO International Holdings, for about ¥388.8 billion in total. The same year J.W. Tai, an executive vice president of Hon Hai, became president, and the head office moved from Osaka City to Sakai City.
- How large is Sharp's business today?
- For the year ended March 2026 (April 2025 to March 2026), net sales were ¥1,892.8 billion, down 12.4%, operating profit was ¥48.5 billion and bottom-line profit ¥47.4 billion. The equity ratio rose from 10.5% to 19.6%.
Sources
PrimaryChronology — Sharp
Founding on 15 September 1912, the 1915 mechanical pencil, the 1923 earthquake and move to Osaka, the 1964 CS-10A, the 1970 name change, the 1973 LCD calculator, the 2012 Hon Hai partnership and IGZO, the 2016 Hon Hai alliance, ¥388.8 billion share issue and head-office move, the 2017 return to the TSE First Section, and the 2018 acquisition of Toshiba Client Solutions
Primary商品ヒストリー — シャープ
The Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil and the origin of the name, the 1964 CS-10A (¥535,000), the 1973 EL-805, the 1982 X1, the 1987 PA-7000 electronic organiser, the 1993 Zaurus PI-3000, the 2000 J-SH04 (described by Sharp as the industry's first), and the 2001 AQUOS
The four allottees, the number of shares to be allotted (3,281,950,697 common shares and 11,363,636 Class C shares), and the change of parent company and largest shareholder
On 12 August 2016 Sharp issued new common and Class C shares to Hon Hai Precision Industry and three other allottees
PrimaryConsolidated Financial Results for Fiscal 2025 — Sharp, May 12, 2026
Net sales, operating profit, ordinary profit and bottom-line profit for the year ended March 2026; sales by segment; equity ratio from 10.5% to 19.6%
TertiarySharp Corporation — Wikipedia
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