The back-and-forth negotiations on US tariffs have left many brands unable to confirm whether or not the new import taxes will impact pricing, but in an earnings call with investors, Canon Inc. has confirmed that the ongoing trade will impact prices in the country. However, Canon says that it is still evaluating the details, including the amount and timing, of such an increase.
In a question-and-answer session stemming from Canon Inc.’s first quarter financial results for 2025, the company addressed several questions specifically related to the tariff situation. In the responses, Canon confirmed a price increase. “We have notified major dealers that we will raise prices and are in the process of estimating the timing and amount of the increase,” the report reads. “Since tariffs are borne against the cost of goods, the higher the cost ratio is, the higher the price rate increases. We will conduct a detailed analysis, including the cost of each product and where it is produced, and will determine the rate of price increase for each product.”
Canon has not yet detailed how much prices will increase, which products will be affected, or when the changes will take effect. However, Canon indicated that the effect of the tariffs is largely from the current 10 percent rate on items shipped from Japan and other nations, and not the 145 percent tariff rate on goods shipped from China. “Since most of the products we produce in China is for the Chinese market and the amount exported from China to the United States is very small, we expect virtually no impact,” the report reads, referring to the 145 percent tariff on goods from China.
In the quarterly report to investors, Canon Inc. also shared updated financial projections that assumed a 10 percent tariff rate would continue through the end of the year. In this projection, the company estimated an increase in net sales by 3.1 percent, with an increase in profit by 1.3 percent. Those numbers are lower than the 7.1 percent increase in sales the company reported for the first quarter of 2025, which Canon says comes from record-high sales for the first three months of the year.
Canon’s business is largely divided across cameras, printing, and medical devices. Imaging makes up around 25 percent of the sales in the US, Canon noted, while medical makes up around 10 percent and printing around 60 percent.
While Canon Inc. is headquartered in Japan, the company does own a production site in the US in Virginia. Canon Virginia is a 2 million square foot manufacturing facility that makes copiers, printers, and ink cartridges. Canon noted that it was assessing the outcome of the tariff negotiations. “No decision has been made at this point regarding the restructuring of the supply chain due to the impact of tariffs. We are considering how to utilize our production sites, including Canon Virginia in the United States.”
The report estimates an increase in costs of around 56 billion yen (about $391 million / £292 million) as a result of the tariffs, but the company estimates a price increase will only make up for about 42.8 billion yen ($299 million / £223 million). The company noted that it cannot increase prices immediately because of some customer contracts and transactions that have already been agreed upon.
In the report, Canon noted that the impact of tariffs on the company’s financials “will mainly occur from the latter half of the year.”
Outside of the US, the company indicated that backordered products that can’t ship to the US could be shipped to other regions. Canon’s fiscal projections also assume that the effect of the tariffs will be localized to the US.
Canon noted that it will update its projections accordingly as the tariff situation evolves. For example, the originally announced 24 percent tariff on goods imported from Japan to the US has been lowered to 10 percent during a 90-day pause for negotiations. The Trump administration is also investigating the impact of a potential tariff on semiconductors, which would affect cameras as well as other electronics.
Outside of the updates related to tariffs, Canon reported a bit of good news with a 20.8 percent net increase in sales in the company’s imaging division. The company said that the increase was due in part to the sales numbers for network cameras, the success of the Canon EOS R5 Mark II, and increased demand for entry-level cameras, “especially among young people.”
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