ITmedia Inc. <2148> ranked fourth in "rising sell predictions" among retail investors as of 2 p.m. on the 8th, according to Minkabu's latest 48-hour data.

On the 1st, the company released its consolidated earnings guidance for the fiscal year ending March 2027, projecting sales of 9.2 billion yen (up 10.7% year-on-year). Operating profit is seen at 2 billion yen (up 13.3%), with net profit at 1.38 billion yen (up 15.8%), highlighting double-digit top- and bottom-line growth. However, the planned annual dividend was slashed by 50 yen to 50 yen. ITmedia expects continued growth in its "Hacchu Navi" IT vendor search and comparison service, alongside contributions from P.P. Communications and Majisemi, consolidated in the previous and current fiscal years, respectively. These factors are expected to drive a bottoming out in the B2B media business and continued growth in the B2C media business. Concurrently, the company will abandon its policy of maintaining a payout ratio above 100%, originally intended to improve capital efficiency. It will instead target a payout ratio of around 70% to tie shareholder returns to business growth, resulting in the steep dividend cut.

Triggered by the dividend cut guidance, ITmedia shares plunged on the 7th, the first post-holiday trading session, sinking as much as 215 yen, or 13.7%, to 1,350 yen at one point. The stock continued its slide today, likely fueling the surge in sell predictions. For the fiscal year ended March 2026, the company posted sales of 8.311 billion yen (up 2.6% year-on-year), an operating profit of 1.765 billion yen (down 13.0%), and a net profit of 1.191 billion yen (down 20.4%).

Source: MINKABU PRESS

*Translated by generative AI. Click here for the original article.