Canon says camera prices may rise in 2027 if memory costs stay high. Nikon has trimmed its imaging outlook even as group profit forecasts rise.
After a period of lag, while camera makers worked through memory already secured, the memory squeeze that has already pushed up the price of cards and SSDs is showing up in earnings. The latest figures from Canon and Nikon shows it from two different angles: costs and sales.
On paper, all looked good for Canon in Q3. Net sales were up 4.9% to ¥1.16 trillion (about $7.3 billion), a record for the quarter. Operating profit was up 10.3% to ¥97.1 billion; net income was up 18.2% to ¥75.2 billion.
Canon said rising memory costs reduced Q3 operating profit by ¥19.8 billion, though structural reforms and a weaker yen offset them. And while the Imaging division's operating profit was up 22.7% to ¥46.8 billion, most of its sales growth came from network cameras. Interchangeable-lens camera unit sales were down 16% in Q3, and the full-year projection has been trimmed from 2.80 million to 2.75 million units, down 5% year on year.
It's not going to get any easier either, judging by the warning in the investor Q&A after the results dropped. Earlier this year Canon expected memory prices to begin easing in the second half of 2027. It no longer does. It says it has secured the memory it needs for 2026, but expects to pay more mext year, and told investors: "If these higher costs persist next year, we will absorb them through price increases."
On October 30, Nikon raised its full-year operating profit forecast by 50% to ¥16.5 billion and its net profit forecast by 60% to ¥16 billion. The increase comes from semiconductor equipment service revenue, US tariff refunds, and lower selling and administrative costs, including the deferral of some spending.
However, Nikon cut its full-year revenue forecast to ¥722 billion from ¥732 billion, "mainly due to" a revised second-half sales plan for Imaging Products, the division that covers cameras, lenses, and the RED and ZR cinema line. Run the numbers and the implied second-half operating profit falls to ¥7.5 billion from ¥16.5 billion. Those are our sums rather than Nikon's, and the deferred spending rather muddies the comparison. But the numbers only point one way, and it's the wrong one.
This follows an August cut to Nikon's camera target (now 850,000 units) and its Imaging revenue and profit forecasts, with weaker demand in China and memory costs cited.
Nikon has not published first-half imaging figures yet, and does not split out its cinema business, so how RED and the ZR are doing remains unclear. But the overall mood is gloomy.
Add recent price rises from Fujifilm and Blackmagic into the mix, plus the memory warnings Sony and Nikon have already issued, and 2027 is looking like a very good year to have bought a new camera in 2026.
Canon sells more interchangeable-lens cameras than anyone else, so its full-year results, due early next year, should show how much of the 2027 memory bill it plans to pass on, and how far the rest of the industry follows.