Canon promotes the fair and prompt disclosure of information and actively works to return profits to shareholders.
As of December 31, 2006, Canon Inc. was listed on the Tokyo, New York, Frankfurt, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo exchanges, had approximately 1,333 million outstanding shares and approximately 120,000 shareholders.
To disclose information on its management strategy, business strategy and performance to shareholders, investors and securities analysts in an accurate, fair and timely manner, Canon Inc. holds regular IR events and posts the latest information and various types of disclosure materials, including sound and video information, on its website.
As part of its efforts to ensure the fair and prompt disclosure of information, Canon also established its own Disclosure Guidelines concerning the standards, procedures and methods to be used for disclosing information. In April 2005, Canon formed a Disclosure Committee to ensure strict compliance with the disclosure rules laid down by stock exchanges, creating a framework for the comprehensive and accurate disclosure of all necessary information.
Through these efforts, Canon endeavors to gain the trust of capital markets and thus ensure appropriate assessment of the company’s corporate value and proper stock price formation. We have also created systems to feed back the opinions and requests received from shareholders and investors to the relevant internal divisions as occasion demands. In 2000, we began publishing a monthly IR report, which is distributed to Canon Inc. executives and the presidents of principal Group companies, to help improve the management of the Company and its businesses.
Related site: Canon Inc. Investor Relations
Main IR Activities
Canon Inc. has put in place various measures to encourage broader participation in the Company by individual investors. Among recent activities, on May 6, 2004, the share trading unit for Canon Inc. stock was lowered from 1,000 to 100 shares, and on July 1, 2006, the Company conducted a 3-for-2 stock split of its common shares. The objective of these measures was to reduce the unit investment amount, making it easier for individuals and others to invest in the company’s shares.
At the same time, Canon created a special portal for individual investors on its IR website and started holding briefings for individual investors on the company’s activities. In 2006, briefings were held in Tokyo and Osaka, with some 400 individual investors attending each session.
October 2006 briefing for individual investors in Osaka
The percentage of Canon Inc. shares owned by non-Japanese investors is high, at 46.9% as of December 31, 2006.
Canon Inc. therefore makes strenuous efforts to maintain close communication with non-Japanese institutional investors. In addition to holding conference calls to explain financial results and traveling abroad to discuss management policy with institutional investors outside Japan, Canon has also created IR bases in Europe and the United States.
Furthermore, the company maintains an English-language IR website with effectively the same content as that published on its Japanese-language website, thereby ensuring that investors inside and outside Japan have access to the same information.
English-language IR site
