GMO Financial Holdings,Inc. Q1 FY2026 earnings call

• Overall Performance

  • GMO Financial Holdings achieved record-high quarterly results in Q1 FY2026, with total operating revenue of 16.23 billion yen and operating profit of 6.46 billion yen, both new quarterly records.
  • The overall operating margin improved 7.3 percentage points YoY to 39.8%, driven by high-margin CFD growth.

• Securities & FX Business Updates

  • OTC FX maintained a domestic trading volume share of over 20% (21.7% this quarter) and active user (QAU) share above 15%, with customer margin deposits up 6.6% YoY.
  • CFD trading volume rose 95.3% YoY to 54 trillion yen, with revenue up 257.1% YoY; growth was driven by high volatility and increased trading in commodity CFDs. Added platinum spot CFD trading in April 2026, following a multi-year expansion of CFD product offerings to over 150 tickers.
  • Equity trading volume grew 77.9% YoY, outpacing the overall market growth of 63.2%, with slight share improvement, validating the customer growth impact of fee abolition implemented in September 2025.
  • Outstanding claims related to Thai securities decreased by 0.7 billion yen quarter-over-quarter to 7.2 billion yen; 0.63 billion yen in provisions has already been recorded.

• Crypto Asset Business Updates

  • Implemented a cost-minimized operating framework amid a low market environment, keeping total operating costs at 0.71 billion yen and maintaining stable profitability. Staking revenue recovered after a weak prior quarter on the resolution of one-off factors.
  • Total accounts grew to 799,000, up 69,000 YoY; customer assets under custody declined 12% YoY due to falling crypto asset prices.
  • Continued product optimization, adding new tickers aligned with market demand, including SUI, WILD, and gold/silver/platinum linked ZPG coins in 2026.
  • Management expects the upcoming revision of Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (reclassifying crypto assets as financial products, expected to take effect in FY2027) will boost long-term market growth, and GMO Coin is already registered as a financial instruments business with relevant compliance systems in place.

• New Business & Cross-Service Initiatives

  • Renamed the acquired insurance entity GMO Small Amount Short-Term Insurance and started new product development, targeting medium-long term growth.
  • Expanded the cross-service common ID "1 Account" to 7 linked services after launch at the end of 2025, delivering convenience to users and cross-promotion for business lines; plans to add external services in the future.

• Shareholder Return

  • Introduced a 10% DOE lower bound target this fiscal year, in addition to the existing 65% payout ratio policy. Upgraded the full-year dividend forecast following strong Q1 results.

1. Securities & FX Business: Operating revenue grew 38.7% YoY, operating profit grew 96.8% YoY, with an operating margin of 44.8%. It contributes 87.8% of total operating revenue, up 8.6 percentage points YoY. Within the segment: CFD revenue reached 6.4 billion yen, 3.5x YoY growth driven by high-margin commodity CFDs (gold, silver, crude oil); OTC FX revenue declined YoY compared to a very strong prior year period but is recovering from low profitability in H2 2025; equity revenue declined after fee abolition but trading volume grew faster than the overall market. 2. Crypto Asset Business: Operating revenue declined 41.5% YoY, operating profit declined 58.8% YoY, with an operating margin of 36.1% maintained. Operating revenue was 1.18 billion yen and operating profit was 0.42 billion yen. 3. Other Business: Completed the acquisition of LASHIC Small Amount Short-Term Insurance on March 27, 2026, marking full entry into the small amount short-term insurance business.

• The Q1 total selling, general and administrative expense was 8.55 billion yen, above the prior forecast of ~8.1 billion yen (excluding bad debt provision) due to one-off factors, including temporary funding cost increases and performance-based bonus provisions. The Q2 SG&A forecast is maintained at ~8.1 billion yen, excluding one-off Q1 costs.
  • Management plans to reach a resolution on the Thai securities outstanding claims within the current fiscal year.
  • The full-year annual dividend forecast was upward revised from 42.08 yen to 54.76 yen, with each quarterly dividend increased by 3.17 yen to 13.69 yen per quarter, representing a full-year 12.68 yen increase in total dividends.

• The crypto asset business faces continued pressure from weak market conditions that limit near-term revenue and transaction growth, and will incur additional compliance costs to adapt to upcoming regulatory changes.
  • The maximum potential unmitigated loss from outstanding Thai securities claims is 6.58 billion yen, representing the scenario where no recovery is achieved from existing collateral; management assesses the probability of this full loss scenario as low.
  • Near-term profitability for the newly entered small amount short-term insurance business is expected to be limited, with upfront investment costs required for business expansion.

No question-and-answer section is included in the provided earning call transcript.