Can the HOME'S-related business continue to grow revenue, driven by its KPIs?

For the nine months ended June 2026, the HOME'S-related business posted revenue of ¥20,041 million, up 4.5% year on year, and segment profit of ¥3,626 million, up 5.8%. It is the core business, accounting for most of consolidated revenue of ¥21,983 million. Its growth rate and profit margin are therefore the most important factors in assessing LIFULL's earnings power after the overseas business was classified as discontinued operations.

To assess the quality of revenue growth, customer numbers and average customer spend need to be tracked separately. Nine-month customer numbers were 34,089, up 2.9% year on year, while ARPA was ¥65,325, up 1.5%, meaning that both volume and pricing were positive. The company says customer numbers reached a record high and revenue grew for the 11th consecutive quarter. The key question is therefore whether the customer base is continuing to expand, rather than the increase being driven merely by advertising investment or a temporary increase in listings.

At the next results announcement, it will be necessary to examine how user-side indicators, such as traffic, inquiries, property listings and referrals with a high likelihood of closing, translated into 34,089 customers and ARPA of ¥65,325. The current materials do not provide breakdowns in monetary or volume terms for these KPIs as specific as those for customer numbers and ARPA. It is therefore still difficult to determine whether the increase in customer numbers reflects the acquisition of higher-value customers or a quantitative expansion of lower-value customers.

On the earnings side, improvements in operating efficiency through AI and generative AI, website enhancements, a stronger sales structure, and optimization of advertising and sales expenses have contributed. The next focus is how much revenue from the HOME'S-related business has accumulated against the full-year plan, whether the segment profit margin will improve further from approximately 18.1% for the nine months, and whether customer numbers, ARPA and inquiries will remain above the prior-year level after the peak season.