< The 2014 All-Japan Research Team

Hideyuki Maekawa

Credit Suisse

First-Place Appearances: 1 Total Appearances: 6 Analyst Debut: 2009

Headlining this roster for the first time is Credit Suisse analyst Hideyuki Maekawa, who advances from second place and is deemed "the best at explaining the big picture" by one advocate. The analyst also has "the most diverse contacts," according to another backer. "We believe that the Japanese markets for [information technology] services, social infrastructure and corporate spending started recovering last year and will support the growth of earnings of the industrial electronics companies," says Maekawa, 41. In addition, the increasing popularity of environment-friendly products, especially the shift to electric and hybrid vehicles, he notes, is a boon to the sector's companies, whose product lines include power-saving components and turnkey solutions. Over the 12 months through mid-March, the group soared 47.7 percent, eclipsing the broad market by 36 percentage points. And although Toshiba Corp.'s shares fell 7.8 percent during that period, to ¥438, Maekawa continues to single out this long-standing favorite as an outperformer. Indeed, he argues that the Tokyo-based electronics producer's stock is undervalued and sees earnings momentum this fiscal year, which ends next March. Stabilized margins in Toshiba's NAND flash memory storage business should also catalyze improved performance, he adds, along with benefits from the restructuring of its television and personal computer businesses as well as a favorable comparison with last year's losses in its overseas nuclear business. Before joining Credit Suisse in 2004, Maekawa worked in sales of semiconductor-related materials and equipment for Tokyo-based diversified trading company Sumitomo Corp. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Osaka University.