Intimate Merger Q3 FY2026 Earnings Analysis

Intimate Merger, Inc. (Securities Code: 7072) , a provider of data platform services, delivered robust results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending September 2026, marking the second consecutive year of record-high cumulative Q3 revenue and operating profit.

This report provides a detailed breakdown of the company's earnings, based on their official financial disclosure materials. We will examine performance highlights, the qualitative shift in the revenue structure, trends in segment-specific KPIs, and the mid-to-long-term growth strategy centered on "AI-Ready Data."

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1. Executive Summary and Corporate Performance Highlights

For the cumulative third quarter, the company reported revenue of 2,715 million JPY (+7.7% YoY) , operating profit of 257 million JPY (+42.1% YoY) , ordinary profit of 261 million JPY (+44.2% YoY) , and net profit attributable to owners of the parent of 177 million JPY (+47.0% YoY).

The significant growth in profit margins, alongside top-line revenue expansion, is driven by a "shift toward high-margin solutions" and "selective project acquisition focused on profitability." This has dramatically increased marginal profit-based earnings power, effectively absorbing increases in fixed costs such as server expenses and promotional spending.

Decoding the Evolution of the Revenue Structure via the P/L

The P/L summary in the slide above clearly demonstrates that the company has successfully pivoted from mere top-line growth to a "profit-oriented business structure transformation."

• Improvement in Gross Profit Margin : Gross profit reached 790 million JPY (+18.2% YoY) , with the gross profit margin rising by 2.6 percentage points to 29.1% , up from 26.5% in the same period last year.
• Rise in Operating Profit Margin : While controlling the increase in SG&A expenses (532 million JPY, +9.3% YoY), the operating profit margin rose by 2.3 percentage points from 7.2% to 9.5%.
• Leap in Net Profit : The growth rates of profit at each stage significantly outpaced the revenue growth rate (+7.7%), indicating that the transition to a high-profitability business model is bearing fruit.

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2. Trends by Solution and KPI Analysis

The company's business is categorized into three solution areas: "Data Management & Analytics," "Performance DMP," and "Marketing Support." This quarter, growth in stock-type solutions, a key focus area, drove overall corporate performance.

① Performance DMP (Growth Engine Recording High Expansion)

• Revenue : 412 million JPY (+34.0% YoY)
• Profit : 163 million JPY (+86.5% YoY)
• Average Unit Price : 70,000 JPY (+44.6% YoY) , reaching a record high.
• Trends : New customer acquisition progressed due to new products utilizing "Browsi" and improvements in delivery methods. Overcoming concerns regarding price erosion and successfully increasing unit prices led to a significant improvement in profit margins.

② Data Management & Analytics (Foundation Area with Stable Growth)

• Revenue : 139 million JPY (+12.1% YoY)
• Profit : 137 million JPY (+12.8% YoY)
• Number of Accounts : 235 (+8.8% YoY)
• Trends : Demand for the post-cookie solution "IM-UID" and media data integration remains strong, with all KPIs trending steadily.

③ Marketing Support (Transition Period for Business Model Reform)

• Revenue : 355 million JPY (-10.4% YoY)
• Profit : 62 million JPY (-13.5% YoY)
• Trends : While revenue and profit declined due to the intentional migration of accounts from the traditional labor-intensive (full-managed) model to an autonomous (self-service) model that requires fewer internal resources, the structural reform is proceeding as planned.

The Significance of Marginal Profit Trends by Solution

The marginal profit trend in the slide above visualizes how the company's core earning power has been strengthened. Marginal profit for the third quarter reached 362 million JPY (+29.0% YoY) , a record high on a quarterly basis.

Notably, the marginal profit of Performance DMP surged to 163 million JPY (nearly doubling YoY) , indicating an increase in the "gross profit remaining" after deducting variable costs such as media procurement expenses. This is the result of a sales policy that prioritizes not just the volume of projects, but their quality (unit price and profitability). Furthermore, regarding the number of accounts, the total count turned to an upward trend, increasing by 2.1% QoQ to 6,580 , marking a significant turning point now that the pruning of low-profit projects has largely concluded.

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3. Structural Reform and Business Alliances in Marketing Support

One of the most significant strategic shifts the company is pursuing is the move away from a labor-intensive model in the marketing support area.

Shift from Full-Managed to Self-Service

The graph report in the slide above illustrates the dramatic change in the "composition of marketing support revenue by sales format."

• FY2022 : The "Full-Managed" model, which includes operational tasks, accounted for 68%, reflecting a labor-intensive structure dependent on personnel costs and manual effort.
• FY2026 Q3 : The proportion of the "Self-Service" model , which provides only proprietary data and delivery environments, has reversed to 70%.

Importance of this change : In the advertising operations market, the development of AI platform functions and the trend toward in-house operations are accelerating. By shifting to a "Self-Service" model that can scale without relying on headcount increases, the company is establishing a high-margin revenue structure independent of personnel size.

Promotion of New Business Alliances

While advancing self-service, the company is enhancing service value through strong alliances:

1. Collaboration with Silver Egg Technology : Joint development of a "new recommendation solution" combining 1st Party Data (on-site data) and 3rd Party Data (browsing history on other sites). This enables high-precision recommendations even for first-time visitors or users without accumulated data, supporting CVR improvements for e-commerce sites.
2. Collaboration with Browsi : Utilizing over 132 billion monthly ad delivery logs, the company is deploying solutions that enable market analysis and potential customer outreach based on the ad exposure status of competitors.

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4. Mid-to-Long-Term Growth Story: "AI-Ready Data" and X-Tech Expansion

The company is mapping out a mid-to-long-term growth strategy that goes beyond mere ad-tech data provision, taking into account changes in the market environment.

The Advent of Generative AI and Re-evaluation of Data Value

The spread of generative AI has significantly lowered the technical hurdles for data analysis and utilization. Consequently, the source of corporate competitiveness is shifting from "analysis methods" to "what data one possesses (quality and quantity of data)." The company has positioned its vast audience data as "AI-Ready Data" —data that can be directly fed into and learned by AI models—and is setting a policy to provide this to diverse industries.

Expansion of Post-Cookie Technology "IM-UID"

Amidst tightening third-party cookie regulations, the "IM-UID" identifier technology provided by the company is gaining traction as data infrastructure in the ad-tech space. Revenue from data usage fees using IM-UID grew by 21.1% YoY , maintaining a steady growth trend and serving as a solid revenue foundation.

Expansion into X-Tech Areas

The company is expanding its data provision infrastructure, cultivated in the ad-tech field, into various other areas (X-Tech):

• Sales : Automation of lead scoring through analysis of customer data and sales meeting history.
• HR : Data provision for recruitment support systems and matching optimization.
• Retail, Finance, Healthcare, and Government : Business development utilizing purchasing data, credit/behavioral data, and location information.

By introducing performance-based or usage-based service models, the company is lowering the barrier to entry for X-Tech, showing steady initial traction.

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5. Full-Year Earnings Forecast and Progress Evaluation

Progress against the full-year consolidated earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending September 2026 is as follows:

• Revenue : 2,715 million JPY / Full-year forecast 3,704 million JPY ( 73.3% progress )
• Operating Profit : 257 million JPY / Full-year forecast 284 million JPY ( 90.3% progress )
• Ordinary Profit : 261 million JPY / Full-year forecast 283 million JPY ( 92.0% progress )
• Net Profit : 177 million JPY / Full-year forecast 185 million JPY ( 95.9% progress )

Evaluation of Progress and Q4 Outlook

While revenue is progressing according to the internal plan (73.3%), profit items are showing extremely high progress, exceeding 90%–95%. However, the company has maintained its full-year earnings forecast, as it has "factored in growth investments planned for the fourth quarter (such as the development of high-unit-price delivery packages and the strengthening of data infrastructure)."

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6. Comprehensive Analysis and Conclusion

What emerges from Intimate Merger's Q3 FY2026 earnings is a "qualitative improvement in the revenue structure" and the "establishment of a clear position as a data provider in the AI era."

1. Qualitative Transformation of Performance : By shifting focus to solutions with higher marginal and gross profit margins (Performance DMP and self-service models) rather than just chasing scale, the company has built a high-profitability structure.
2. Recovery of KPIs : Both the QoQ increase in account numbers and the rise in unit prices have been confirmed, showing the results of the sales structure review.
3. Mid-to-Long-Term Growth Foundation : In addition to the penetration of the post-cookie "IM-UID," the provision of "AI-Ready Data" riding the expansion of the generative AI market, and diversification into X-Tech areas, the company is expected to realize the scale merits of a data infrastructure firm that transcends the boundaries of an ad-tech company.

Moving forward, the execution of strategic investments in Q4, the accumulation of specific projects in the X-Tech area, and the penetration rate of the self-service model will be key observation points for the company's sustainable growth.