---
endpoint: analytics
pattern: Technology
status: done
latency_ms: 139511
conversation_id: d6a362bb-e085-48f6-af65-f1e0de7e927e
citations: 3
created: 2026-05-31 18:17:10Z
---

# Who are the key customers and suppliers of Keyence?

## Keyence (6861 JP) — Key Customers and Suppliers

### Important Context on Keyence's Disclosure Model
Keyence does **not publish a named customer or supplier list**. The company runs a **direct sales model** (no distributors), serves an estimated **300,000+ end-customers globally**, and is **largely fabless** — it outsources manufacturing to a network of contract suppliers it does not disclose. As a result, the only way to characterise the customer base is by **end-market industry** and **geography**, and the supplier base is described as broad/replaceable rather than concentrated. According to CLSA, *"Keyence has a direct sales model where onsite face-to-face meetings are an integral part of product demonstrations."* [2][4]

---

### Customer Base — By End-Market Industry

The customer base is highly diversified across manufacturing verticals. Keyence's own disclosures break down sales mix as follows (5% increments, both domestic and overseas similar):

| End-Market | % of Sales |
|---|---|
| Automotive & Transportation | **25%** |
| Other (industrial/general manufacturing) | **30%** |
| Electronics & Precision | **15%** |
| Semiconductors & Liquid Crystals | **10%** |
| Metal & Machine Tools | **10%** |
| Food & Pharmaceuticals | **10%** |

Source: Keyence FY2025 1H/2H disclosures [5][1]

CLSA's analyst note on Keyence summarises the concentration risk more directly: *"electronics industries account for 30% of its sales, followed by automotive at 25%"* — i.e., aggregate electronics-related demand (electronics & precision + semis + LCD) is the largest cluster, with automotive close behind [2][4].

**Most recent quarterly trends (2HFY3/25, Japan domestic):** Semiconductors / flat-panel displays and machine tools +5% YoY; Electronics & precision −5% YoY; Food & medical +15% YoY; Autos +15% YoY [3].

#### Typical customer categories (inferred from end-market mix)
- **Automotive & Transportation**: Tier-1 component manufacturers and OEM assembly lines (sensors/vision systems on assembly lines, EV battery production).
- **Electronics & Semiconductors**: Wafer fab equipment users, PCB assembly lines, chip-packaging and inspection lines, display panel makers.
- **Food & Pharma**: Packaging-line operators for inspection, labelling, barcode/marker reading.
- **Metal & Machine Tools**: Quality-inspection of machined parts, profilometry for precision machining.
- **Other (30%)**: Logistics/warehouse automation, agriculture, printing, building products — long-tail industrial buyers.

### Customer Base — By Geography & Sales Channel

Keyence reaches customers directly through wholly-owned regional subsidiaries — there is **no third-party distributor layer**. The customer-facing structure as disclosed in Keyence's annual securities report:

| Region | Customer-facing subsidiaries (selected) |
|---|---|
| **North/South America** | KEYENCE CORPORATION OF AMERICA, KEYENCE CANADA INC., KEYENCE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., KEYENCE BRASIL [6] |
| **Europe** | KEYENCE DEUTSCHLAND GmbH, KEYENCE INTERNATIONAL (BELGIUM), KEYENCE (UK), KEYENCE FRANCE, KEYENCE ITALIA [6] |
| **Asia** | KEYENCE (CHINA), KEYENCE (HONG KONG), KEYENCE TAIWAN, KOREA KEYENCE, KEYENCE SINGAPORE, KEYENCE INDIA, PT. KEYENCE INDONESIA, KEYENCE VIETNAM, KEYENCE PHILIPPINES, KEYENCE (MALAYSIA), KEYENCE (THAILAND) [6] |

Geographically, FY2025 Q2 split was **Japan 35.6% / Overseas 64.4%**, with overseas broken down into Americas 36.8%, Asia 41.3%, Europe & Others 21.9% of overseas sales [1].

---

### Suppliers

Keyence is **fabless** — manufacturing is outsourced. Public filings do not disclose individual supplier names. Three things to note from the research:

1. **No customer or supplier concentration is disclosed in the annual securities report (有価証券報告書)** — there is no "Top 10 customer" or "principal supplier" schedule of the kind found in Japanese parts-makers' filings [6].
2. **CLSA explicitly flags the flexible/asset-light cost structure** as a key reason Keyence sustains ~50%+ operating margins and is *"less volatile than most other capital-goods companies"* — this is the financial signature of a multi-supplier, outsourced-manufacturing model [2][4].
3. Supplier inputs are generic industrial electronics (image sensors, CMOS / CCD chips, lasers, optics, MCUs, machined housings, PCB assemblies) — sourced from broad Japanese / Asian electronics-component supply chains rather than a single anchor partner.

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### Bottom Line

- **Customers**: ~300,000+ direct B2B customers reached through Keyence's own regional subsidiaries. **No single customer >10% of revenue is disclosed**. End-market mix is led by **Automotive & Transportation (~25%)** and aggregate **Electronics-related demand (~30%, including semis, displays, electronics & precision)**, with **Food & Pharma (~10%)**, **Metal & Machine Tools (~10%)**, and a diversified ~30% "Other" bucket completing the mix [5][2].
- **Suppliers**: Fabless model — outsourced manufacturing to undisclosed contract suppliers; supply chain is intentionally fragmented to preserve the high-margin asset-light structure [2].

---
**Sources**
[1] Keyence — Q2 FY2026 Slides (Sales by Geographical Area & Industry) — TFS
[2] Keyence - O-PF (Moving on up) — CLSA, 25 Apr 2025 — RMS
[3] Keyence - O-PF (Moving on up), Performance Table — CLSA, 25 Apr 2025 — RMS
[4] Japan Machinery (Fear of the Unknown) — CLSA, 2 Jun 2025 — RMS
[5] Keyence — FY2025 1H Slides, % of Sales by Domestic Industry — TFS
[6] Keyence — 有価証券報告書 第56期 (FY ending March 2025), Group Subsidiary / Customer Structure — TFS

## Citations

- [1] **Keyence Corporation, Q4 2026** · external
- [5] **Keyence - Q2 2026 - Slides.pdf** · external
- [6] **株式会社キーエンス - 有価証券報告書－第56期(2024/03/21－2025/03/20)** · external

