COVER revised upward its earnings forecasts for the cumulative second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027 (April–September), leaving its net sales forecast unchanged while substantially raising its operating profit forecast. The licensing and tie-up business exceeded plan, driven by the strong performance of hololive Dreams.
COVER revised its earnings forecasts for the cumulative second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027, leaving its previous net sales forecast of ¥22.27 billion unchanged while raising its operating profit forecast from ¥1.93 billion to ¥3.5 billion. The ordinary profit forecast was raised from ¥1.93 billion to ¥3.4 billion, and the net income forecast from ¥1.35 billion to ¥2.3 billion.
The revision was driven by the strong performance of the smartphone game “hololive Dreams,” which also led the licensing and tie-up business to outperform its plan. The company also pointed to strong initial momentum and the number of advance registrations as of the first quarter, confirming spillover effects on IP licensing revenue.
While strong performance in the gaming business is said to be improving the profitability of the overall IP portfolio, the interim-period announcement indicated that it would be necessary to monitor future developments to determine whether the results of the initiative to “create new fan touchpoints” would continue. The full-year forecasts were left unchanged, as it was considered difficult at this point to make a reasonable estimate of sustainability in the second half.
The results point to a structure in which the success of hololive Dreams supports growth in licensing revenue, while attention remains focused on the growth of the overall IP portfolio through new fan touchpoints. The focus at the next earnings announcement will be how these initiatives translate into tangible results.