Canon shares fall on report that company plans to cut earnings guidance

• Shares of Canon fell 2.5% on Wednesday after revelations that the company is expected to downgrade its earnings guidance for 2019, according to a new report by Nikkei.
• Nikkei reported that Canon's operating profit is likely to fall short of the current forecast by about $447 million as consumers opt for smartphone cameras over digital cameras.

Canon, the Japanese firm well known for its cameras and printers, is ramping up efforts in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment space.

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Shares of Canon fell 2.5% on Wednesday on a Nikkei report that said the company is expected to downgrade its earnings guidance for 2019.

Nikkei reported that Canon's operating profit is likely to fall short of the current forecast by about $447 million as consumers opt for smartphone cameras over digital cameras.

The report found that Canon's operating profit is anticipated to fall 20% to slightly above $2.4 billion, compared with the projected $2.9 billion. The Japanese company's sales for 2019 are also not expected to reach the standing projection of $34.8 billion.

Canon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

Canon's digital camera sales are shrinking in China in particular, Nikkei said, adding that a slowdown in chipmaking equipment orders is also expected to hurt earnings as demand for smartphone semiconductors declines.

The Japanese company will announce its first-quarter results on April 24.