QUICK CO.,LTD. Q2 FY2026 earnings call

• Overall Consolidated Performance

  • The first half achieved a record-high consolidated revenue of 17.972 billion yen, up 4.8% year-over-year. Gross profit was 12.463 billion yen (+5.2% YoY), selling general and administrative expenses were 8.599 billion yen (+6.6% YoY), operating profit was 3.863 billion yen (+2.1% YoY), ordinary profit was 3.901 billion yen (+2.2% YoY). Net profit attributable to parent company shareholders was 2.598 billion yen, down 16.6% YoY.
  • An expected gain on sale of investment securities of approximately 1.07 billion yen will be recorded during the 2026 March fiscal year.
  • Total group headcount increased by 145 to 1,945 employees.

• Strategic Growth Initiatives

  • Entered a capital and business alliance with LivCo, a firm that operates boarding Japanese language schools in Indonesia and trains foreign workers to work in Japan. A new sales structure for this partnership is currently being built within the recruiting division to expand foreign worker hiring support.
  • Established a new location in Düsseldorf, Germany, scheduled to begin operations in March 2026. This is the third European location following the 2023 Netherlands entry, chosen to serve the large concentration of Japanese-affiliated companies in Germany and expected future growth.
  • Management outlined three core long-term growth priorities: 1) Strengthen corporate and business-aligned branding to boost recognition; 2) Expand growth investment, prioritizing M&A and investments in early-stage companies to nurture new business lines; 3) Enhance shareholder returns via improved stock liquidity through stock split.
  • The company continues to pursue expansion of its "World's HR Department" vision.

• Market & Operational Focus

  • Growth has been driven by sustained strong demand for specialized talent, with the company expanding services to cover diverse hiring needs including full-time, part-time, temporary, and foreign worker hiring.
  • Continued growth investment includes expansion into high-salary, high-career talent placement, accounting-focused management talent placement, and ongoing upfront investment in the nursing professional segment centered on mass promotion. Aggregation job platforms like Indeed and Kyujin Box are prioritized focus products in the recruiting division.

1. Human Resources Services Segment: 13.006 billion yen in revenue, 3.43 billion yen in operating profit. Growth was driven by strong hiring demand in focus areas including construction, pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery, automotive, and IT, with talent placement revenue up 674 million yen year-over-year. Nursing care staffing performed well, while nursery teacher staffing saw a revenue decline due to local government retention policies reducing new candidate registrations; nursery operation was at full capacity and performed favorably year-over-year.
2. Recruiting Segment: 1.687 billion yen in revenue, 471 million yen in operating profit. Growth was driven by expanded transactions across industries amid sustained high job openings and inbound demand growth, with a surge in demand for Indeed and other aggregation job platforms following Recruit's discontinuation of its listing-fee recruitment media. Non-Recruit ad offerings and recruitment consulting also grew, with consulting revenue up 13 million yen year-over-year.
3. Regional Information Services Segment: 1.486 billion yen in revenue, 313 million yen in operating profit. Revenue grew across the segment, driven by recovering promotional demand for retail and F&B, expanded advertising (including recruitment and real estate) for local lifestyle magazines, strong growth in Indeed customer acquisition, and expanded revenue from transition of print clients to digital and new area expansion in career consulting. Posting services also performed steadily.
4. HR Platform Segment: 549 million yen in revenue, 230 million yen in operating profit. While ad sales on the "Nihon no Jinji-bu" platform declined due to low customer ad investment appetite, in-person HR events (including HR Conference, HR Roundtable, and newly launched Next Generation Leader Conference) saw extremely strong exhibitor demand and performed well.
5. Overseas Segment: 1.242 billion yen in revenue (3.3% decline year-over-year), 102 million yen in operating profit (50% decline year-over-year). Weakness was concentrated in the US and other Western markets including Mexico, where US tariff policy drove a visible slowdown in corporate hiring. Thailand in Asia performed well despite broader economic uncertainty.

• Full-year 2026 March fiscal year consolidated guidance (maintained from original plan):

  • Revenue: 33.97 billion yen, +4.5% YoY
  • Gross profit: 22.97 billion yen, +7.4% YoY
  • SG&A: 18.4 billion yen, +9.2% YoY
  • Operating profit: 4.57 billion yen, +0.8% YoY
  • Ordinary profit: 4.62 billion yen, +0.2% YoY
  • Net profit attributable to parent company shareholders: 3.7 billion yen, +3.3% YoY
  • Full-year dividend per share (pre-split conversion): 104 yen, an increase of 8 yen YoY, with a 52.6% payout ratio.

• Segment-specific full-year guidance:

  • Human Resources Services: 23.567 billion yen revenue, 3.864 billion yen operating profit; on track to meet original plans.
  • Recruiting: 3.96 billion yen revenue, 1.003 billion yen operating profit; first half revenue slightly missed plan but operating profit beat plan; management will strengthen sales of focus products to hit full-year revenue target, and expects operating profit to meet plan.
  • Regional Information Services: Original plan of 2.776 billion yen revenue, 412 million yen operating profit; management now expects full-year revenue and profit to exceed original plan following a stronger than expected first half.
  • HR Platform: 1.194 billion yen revenue, 472 million yen operating profit plan; first half missed plan due to weak ad sales, but management will invest in and expand high-demand HR events in the second half to hit full-year targets.
  • Overseas: First half results were in line with plan despite the US-led hiring slowdown; management expects full-year revenue and profit to meet original plan, pending broader political and economic conditions across markets.

• Shareholder return initiatives:

  • A 3-for-1 stock split will be effective December 1, 2025 (record date November 30, 2025) to lower the minimum purchase price, increase outstanding traded shares, and improve stock liquidity. Total authorized shares will increase from 40 million to 120 million.

• Mid-term target (announced May 2025): Aim for 42 billion yen revenue, 5.95 billion yen operating profit, 6 billion yen ordinary profit, and 3.965 billion yen net profit attributable to parent shareholders for the 2028 March fiscal year.

• Intensifying industry competition: The overall HR services market is seeing growing competition from new entrants and new service models amid population aging, putting pressure on market share and margins.
• Overseas business exposure: Overseas performance is contingent on country-specific political and economic conditions; US tariff policy has already driven a visible hiring slowdown and significant profit decline in the overseas segment in the first half.
• Weak advertising investment appetite: Low customer willingness to invest in digital ads negatively impacted HR Platform revenue in the first half, creating pressure to hit full-year targets.

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