Revenue is tracking close to the full-year plan, while the focus is on the 4Q profit outcome

Revenue for the 9 months ended June 2026 was ¥16,374 million, representing 81.9% progress against the full-year forecast of ¥20,000 million. On a simple calculation, booking ¥3,626 million in 4Q would be sufficient to reach the revenue target, meaning the target could be achieved even if 4Q revenue is below the ¥5,257 million recorded in 3Q. At the same time, quarterly revenue declined modestly from ¥5,560 million in 1Q and ¥5,556 million in 2Q to ¥5,257 million in 3Q, so it is necessary to check whether weakness is continuing in the platform business, which has been affected by AI, and in engineer matching.

The full-year gross profit forecast is ¥8,400 million, with progress at 80.7% through 3Q. Accordingly, the gross profit required in 4Q is approximately ¥1,621 million on a calculated basis. The key issue is not only revenue, but also whether the gross margin can be maintained at 40.9%. Attention is warranted if revenue reaches plan while profitability deteriorates because of an increase in low-margin projects or an unfavorable business mix. The project mix, pricing and gross margin required in 4Q to achieve the full-year gross profit forecast have not been disclosed at this point.

Operating profit for the 9 months was ¥264 million, against a full-year forecast range of ¥0–300 million. Reaching the upper end of ¥300 million requires 4Q operating profit of ¥36 million, while a 4Q operating loss of no more than ¥264 million would keep full-year operating profit at or above the lower end of ¥0 million. Since standalone 3Q operating profit was only ¥46 million, the practical issue is less whether profit must improve sharply in 4Q than whether the company can remain profitable while limiting additional investment. The full-year forecasts for ordinary profit and net profit have not been provided, leaving the outlook for results below operating profit unclear until the earnings announcement.

The full-year forecast was revised upward on 13 July, with the company citing the partial postponement of investment in consultant hiring and the decision not to make marketing and brand investments during the current fiscal year. This indicates an upward revision to profit, but also suggests that the investments may have been deferred to the following fiscal year or later rather than eliminated. At the FY2026 results, it will be important to confirm not only achievement of revenue of ¥20,000 million, gross profit of ¥8,400 million and operating profit of ¥0–300 million, but also the timing and amount of the deferred hiring and marketing investments and the 4Q operating profit bridge.