Gunosy (6047) FY2026/5 Full-Year Earnings Deep Dive Report: Transition to a Structural Reform Phase Driven by AI and slice

Gunosy Inc. (Securities Code: 6047) has announced its full-year financial results for the fiscal year ending May 2026. This period was characterized by fluctuations in the domestic media market, the growth of the digital financial service 'slice,' and a company-wide shift towards an AI-driven business structure. The company has positioned the fiscal year ending May 2027 as a 'structural reform phase,' prioritizing AI investments to establish a medium-to-long-term growth foundation.

FY2026/5 Full-Year Performance Highlights and Key Factors

For the fiscal year ending May 2026, Gunosy reported net sales of 6,441 million yen (105.6% year-on-year) , operating profit of 186 million yen (down 389 million yen year-on-year) , and EBITDA of 336 million yen (down 242 million yen year-on-year) . While net sales landed largely as per the revised plan, operating profit and EBITDA fell short.

This executive summary (page 4) concisely outlines the current fiscal year's performance, the medium-to-long-term business environment, and the management policy for FY27/5, making it crucial for understanding the overall picture of the financial results. Specifically, it indicates that while sales increased year-on-year, profits decreased, suggesting the underlying factors and future strategic directions.

The primary reasons for the decline in operating profit include the incorporation of a downturn in the domestic media market and the prolonged upfront investment phase of G Holdings (GH company). The market downturn in the core cash-generating media segment particularly impacted profits, leading to a larger decrease than initially anticipated. Additionally, the C/F accumulation type M&A segment experienced downward factors in its full-year performance.

Medium-Term Business Environment and Strategic Shift

The company identifies the growth potential of its digital financial service 'slice' as a 'positive factor' in the medium-to-long-term business environment. slice has established its position as a digital bank and achieved full-year profitability, indicating high potential for medium-to-long-term corporate value enhancement.

Conversely, 'challenges to address' include the impact of AI on business and the termination of the business alliance with KDDI . The rise of AI has expanded both risks and opportunities in media business operations. To address this, the company's policy is to enhance productivity and profit generation through AI. Furthermore, the business alliance with KDDI regarding the portal app 'au Service Today' is set to terminate at the end of March 2027. This poses a risk of losing revenue related to au Service Today from FY28/5 onwards, which the company recognizes as one of the most critical issues to address during FY27/5.

In response to these environmental changes, the company has outlined three directions: 'Unchanged growth with slice as the main pillar,' while promoting 'a business structure transformation with AI as the growth driver,' and aiming for 'an AI Native corporate operation.' This demonstrates a strong commitment to both enhancing the profitability of existing businesses and establishing new AI-driven growth areas.

Segmental Status and Growth Strategies

A. Growth of the slice Business

The digital financial service 'slice' saw its total assets grow approximately 1.6 times, from 73.5 billion yen at the end of March 2025 to 115.6 billion yen at the end of March 2026 . Deposits also significantly increased from 41.1 billion yen to 87.2 billion yen. Full-year FY26 net sales reached 23.8 billion yen (a 232% increase year-on-year), and the business achieved full-year profitability with a net profit of 820 million yen . This indicates the establishment of a competitive advantage as a digital bank and steady progress towards an IPO.

This slide (page 9) visually presents the balance sheet (BS) and profit and loss (PL) status of the slice business, clearly conveying its rapid growth and improved profitability. In particular, the remarkable increase in total assets and deposits, along with the achievement of net profit, are crucial data points that confirm slice's role as a key growth engine for the group. This growth is expected to drive medium-to-long-term corporate value enhancement.

Key performance indicators also show healthy progress, with Deposits at 87.3 billion yen and AUM (Assets Under Management) at 76.1 billion yen. The Loan-to-Deposit Ratio (LDR) is approximately 87%, Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) is 498%, and Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) is 19.1%, indicating continued growth while maintaining a sound financial balance.

B. Transformation of the Core Cash Segment (Media Business)

Sales in the core cash segment amounted to 5,470 million yen, landing largely as planned against the revised second-half forecast. However, the downturn in the domestic media market has led to a slight decrease in sales for Gunosy and au Service Today. In response to this situation, the company recognizes that user information acquisition behavior is rapidly changing due to the evolution of AI. It aims to shift from a traditional 'reading'-centric news experience to an 'entertaining information acquisition experience.' Specifically, the strategy is to create deep engagement and new monetization opportunities by offering a 'prediction participation news experience' where users predict the future, discuss, and see results. The annual transaction volume in the prediction market is suggested to expand from approximately 20 billion dollars in 2025 to about 1 trillion dollars by 2030.

C. Growth Direction of Game8

In the Game8 business, the strategy is to respond to changes in the game media environment in the AI era and further expand business areas by redefining the user experience with AI . The aim is to achieve medium-to-long-term growth by personalizing the攻略 (strategy) experience with AI and diversifying traffic and monetization.

D. C/F Accumulation Type M&A Segment (G Holdings)

At G Holdings, several new titles are under development. In FY26/5, operating profit was in the red due to delays in the release schedule of anticipated titles and upfront advertising investments. Moving forward, development of each title will progress, with profit contribution expected mainly from FY27/5 onwards . The M&A policy has also been reviewed, with a focus on carefully selecting targets in AI-resilient or favorable domains, considering the rapid development of AI.

Company-wide Transformation and Productivity Improvement through AI

The company is not merely introducing AI partially but is advancing a transformation of its business flow and organizational structure based on AI , promoting company-wide productivity improvement and sophisticated decision-making. This aims to create a system where humans can focus on creating new businesses and handling exceptions that cannot be entrusted to AI, while AI functions as the core engine for business processing.

Through AI-driven productivity improvements, the company has already achieved cost efficiencies of approximately 40 million yen annually. Going forward, it aims for dramatic productivity improvements leading to structural profit creation through the full-scale introduction of AI agents. Furthermore, the company plans to expand into BtoB services by commercializing its internal experience in AI-driven productivity improvements, aiming to secure new revenue streams. In particular, 'IR Hub,' which supports the digitalization and efficiency of IR operations, has achieved PMF (Product Market Fit) and is transitioning to B2B service offerings.

FY2027/5 Financial Targets and Shareholder Return Policy

FY2027/5 is positioned as a 'structural reform phase,' with planned investments prioritizing the transformation into an AI-driven business structure for medium-term growth. Consequently, the conventional financial targets have been revised, with operating profit projected to be in the range of 50 million to 250 million yen .

This slide (page 18) illustrates the fundamental approach to the company's financial targets for FY27/5 and how they have changed from previous targets, making it extremely important for understanding future management strategy. Specifically, the explicit statement that the 'basic story for EBITDA achievement has changed' and that 'FY27/5 is positioned as a structural reform phase' indicates the company's strong intention to prioritize the establishment of a medium-to-long-term growth foundation over short-term profits. This provides a crucial perspective for investors evaluating the company's future prospects.

Regarding the shareholder return policy, the company prioritizes capital allocation for structural reforms driven by AI while maintaining a dividend payout based on a DOE (Dividend on Equity) of 3% . Additional returns will be considered as appropriate, taking into account improved performance, slice's status, and investment exits.

Conclusion

Gunosy's FY2026/5 financial results demonstrated strong growth in its digital financial service 'slice' and a firm commitment to a company-wide business structure transformation centered on AI, even while facing challenges in the domestic media market. FY2027/5 is positioned as a 'structural reform phase,' prioritizing strategic investments in AI, with an emphasis on establishing a medium-to-long-term growth foundation and enhancing corporate value rather than short-term profits. AI-driven productivity improvements and the expansion into B2B services hold the potential to achieve both new revenue streams and efficient corporate operations, making future progress noteworthy.