Gurunavi,Inc. Q3 FY2026 earnings call

• Core Business Growth Milestones

  • Stock-type paid member store count crossed 34,000 units at the end of Q3, shifting to a clear increasing trend after hitting a bottom in June 2025, ending the long-standing structure where ARPU growth offset store count declines. The stock-type business has transitioned from an ARPU-led recovery phase to a stable, sustainable re-growth phase accompanied by customer base expansion.
  • ARPU continued to rise even amid rising utility and raw material costs that increased restaurants' cost sensitivity, as restaurants recognized the value of Gurunavi's services.
  • Net-enabled reservation stores increased from approximately 35,000 units at the end of December 2024 to 36,000 units at the end of December 2025, steadily expanding seat inventory required to drive user adoption of online reservation services.
  • Total headcount (excluding external seconded employees) increased by 51 people year-over-year, with hiring progressing as planned to support growth of the restaurant support business.

• Rakuten Gurunabi Enhancement

  • In Q3 (which includes the year-end party season), average group size for reservations from Rakuten ID-linked members increased to 5.1 people, compared to flat 3.2 people for non-members, widening the gap to 1.5x. The point reward structure based on group size effectively captured banquet demand, and Gurunavi values the customer acquisition value of Rakuten ID-linked members at 1.5x that of non-members. There are currently 10.9 million Rakuten ID-linked members, and the company will activate the "Organizer Rank Program" (which offers higher point reward rates for more frequent and larger-group use) to drive more active usage.
  • Strengthened inside sales and operational improvement have driven the clear net growth trend in online reservation-enabled stores. Granular customer support (including faster page publishing and system onboarding support for new member stores) is starting to deliver results, and the company will continue to expand seat inventory to generate synergies with the Organizer Rank Program.

• Marketing Agent (Operations Outsourcing Products)

  • The number of stores using Google Business Profile operation support (a core service offering) is growing steadily, and the average usage price is 1.3x higher than before the July 2024 product renewal. Operations outsourcing agent services address common restaurant pain points (lack of knowledge of effective tool use and limited time for management) and have grown steadily, emerging as a key driver of stock-type revenue growth.

• Gurunavi FineOrder Mobile Order Service

  • Contracted client companies reached 147, mostly large chain groups. 87% of contracted stores have completed system onboarding and are fully operational, so new clients can quickly start using the service and realizing benefits. Gurunavi is currently running a joint demonstration experiment with Chimney Co., Ltd. as part of Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries food education promotion initiative, testing personalized recommended menu suggestions based on order content to improve nutritional balance for consumers, aiming to achieve both improved consumer health and higher restaurant average check.

• Generative AI and New Product Development

  • The company is running the Gurunavi Next Project to leverage generative AI to drive company-wide technical innovation, with a vision of realizing next-generation food experiences and dramatic operational efficiency. The project aims to deliver more convenient dining experiences to consumers and accelerate store digital transformation to improve restaurant profitability and working conditions, while also integrating AI into internal operations to free employees from routine work and focus on creative activities.
  • UMAME!, the first consumer-facing AI agent-equipped app concept is "from search to matching", aiming for a "No Search" world that eliminates manual search effort and uses AI to deeply understand user preferences to recommend optimal restaurants. After one year of beta testing, a major update was launched in January of this year: the covered restaurant base expanded from 420,000 to 590,000 stores with a regular maintenance process to keep data accurate and fresh; AI agent functionality was enhanced with a new AI suggestion system that parses user mood and purpose to deepen understanding of user needs when inputs are short; and an Android version was released to expand user reach. An English version is scheduled for release in March as the first step in full inbound support. Future plans include deepening personalization through analysis of app usage history and posted images to capture unstated preferences, and active external collaboration with other AI agents via Agent to Agent integration to maximize food experience value.

• Food Culture Promotion Initiatives

  • The company hosted the RED U-35 2025 chef competition, with an award ceremony held at Osaka-Kansai Expo in October 2025 to support young rising chefs. It also selected "rice gourmet" as the 2025 Dish of the Year, reflecting rising public interest in rice amid price volatility and supply shortages, to preserve and promote Japanese food culture.
  • The company's long-term strategy focuses on creating a positive cycle of expanding support coverage (adding new services like those above) and leveraging enhanced support capabilities to grow the member store network, collect more valuable information asset, and improve product development capabilities to drive long-term corporate value growth.

Total consolidated revenue for the 9M cumulative period was 9.979 billion yen. Breakdown by segment: 1. Stock-type service: Grew 8.3% year-over-year, maintaining steady expansion, and is now the company's core revenue driver. 2. Spot-type service: Revenue declined year-over-year, due to an intentional focus on stock-type order acquisition in the first half of the fiscal year. The year-over-year decline narrowed from -14.5% in the first half cumulative to -11.7% in the 9M cumulative, an improvement of 2.8 percentage points after flexible spot order initiatives were implemented in the second half. 3. Promotion service: Revenue was flat year-over-year, and is on track to meet full-year plan targets. 4. Related businesses: Revenue grew, driven by increased sales at kitchen equipment retailer Tenpos Gurunavi. Cumulative operating profit for the 9M period was 0.25 billion yen, and net profit was 0.262 billion yen (including a 30 million yen gain on sale of investment securities recorded in Q1).

• The company maintained its full-year operating profit plan of 0.3 billion yen, and cumulative operating profit through Q3 reached 83% of the full-year target, which management notes is on track to achieve full-year profit growth as planned.
  • Management will continue to evaluate strategic headcount increases as needed, while paying close attention to return on investment.
  • ARPU may see temporary downward pressure in the near term as the company prioritizes expanding paid member store count with lower average contract prices for new stores, but management targets a medium-to-long term rebound in ARPU through ongoing cross-selling initiatives.

• No specific material operational risks or failures were discussed in the available transcript content.

• Q: ARPU has been growing steadily. Is this driven by improved restaurant promotional appetite and financial conditions, and how sustainable is this growth going forward?

A: ARPU growth is partially driven by rising promotional appetite as restaurants recover sales and financial strength. Even amid heightened cost sensitivity from rising utility and raw material prices, ARPU continues to grow because our accompanying support model lets us analyze each restaurant's specific needs and propose optimal product combinations via cross-selling, and this value proposition has been well received by member stores. Going forward, as we prioritize expanding the number of paid member stores, ARPU may see temporary downward pressure from new lower-contracted-price stores, but we will continue cross-selling to drive medium-to-long term ARPU growth.

• Q: UMAME! has received a major update and will continue to add features including multi-language support. What are your plans to drive user awareness, and what is your plan for ad spend timing and budget?

A: UMAME! offers an entirely new restaurant discovery model, so we expect users accustomed to traditional keyword search to need time to adapt, and we do not expect rapid mass adoption immediately. We see a clear consumer trend toward personalized matching driven by AI, so we will position Rakuten Gurunavi and UMAME! as complementary, integrated services to gradually increase user exposure to the AI experience. Specifically, Rakuten Gurunavi will be used for pre-planned reservations, while UMAME! will serve users looking for immediate seating or browsing for future trips, to align with different user use cases. As users use UMAME! more, the AI learns their preferences to create a personalized concierge experience that helps users find ideal restaurants. We will strategically create new user experience opportunities to maximize synergies between the two services.

• Q: What teams drove the increase in stock-type paid member store count, and are specific formats or regions seeing particularly strong results?

A: We have a split sales structure: inside sales generates leads and secures appointments, field sales handles negotiations and closes contracts, and customer support supports post-contract store page setup and reservation operations. Our recent hiring focused on inside sales and field sales, which increased sales outreach volume and directly contributed to store count growth. We also strengthened customer support, which lets field sales focus on closing business and helps member stores use our services more effectively, keeping churn low. Marketing Agent services are also increasingly becoming a hook for new membership, which helps position Gurunavi as an operational partner rather than just a promotional media, and this shifting perception is another key driver of store count growth.

• Q: Kakaku.com recently announced aggressive promotional investment for its Tabelog service in regional cities starting Q1 2026. How do you view changes in the competitive landscape versus players like Tabelog and Hot Pepper Gourmet?

A: We have always competed with Tabelog and Hot Pepper Gourmet. Our core competitive advantage is our broad service lineup that addresses multiple restaurant needs beyond media promotion, including operational outsourcing like Marketing Agent, and we provide end-to-end accompanying support to help restaurants use our tools effectively rather than just selling products. We have spent years building recognition as a partner for restaurant management, and we will continue to refine our unique value proposition to differentiate from competitors and grow our business.