THECOO Inc.
4255・Growth Market・Information & Communication
Business
THECOO, Inc. operates two businesses: the Fan Business Platform Business (its core business), which operates "Fanicon," a fully membership-based, fully paid fan community platform connecting artists, influencers, talents, and other creators ("Icons") with their fans; and the Digital Marketing Business (its founding business), which provides marketing support utilizing influencers. The company released Fanicon in December 2017 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers market (now Growth) in December 2021. As a platform integrating multiple functions such as live streaming, group chat, e-commerce, and ticketing, it serves a wide range of Icons across genres, including domestic and international artists, athletes, and influencers. As of the end of FY2025 (ending December 2025), the company had approximately 3.8 thousand Icons and approximately 412 thousand paying users (fans).
Business Model
The Fan Business Platform Business has a composite revenue structure combining subscription-type monthly billing (stock revenue), in which all fans become paying members, with flow revenue (scratch lotteries, events, etc.) from the purchase and consumption of in-app points called "Fanipoints." EC (e-commerce) sales commissions and ticket management fees also exist as ancillary revenue. In the Digital Marketing Business, the main revenue source is fees for influencer initiative support paid by advertisers and advertising agencies. A notable feature is the financial structure characterized by a high ratio of advance payments received, resulting in cash-flow-forward financial characteristics.
Company Strengths
Fanicon is a fully paid, closed-type community designed to attract only highly engaged core fans. In FY2025 (ending December 2025), Fan Business Platform Business revenue reached ¥3,769 million (up 18.3% year-on-year), with segment profit surging to ¥295 million (up 413.4% year-on-year). Subscription revenue forms a stable base.
The number of Fanicon communities grew from approximately 3.3 thousand in Q1 to approximately 3.8 thousand in Q4 during FY2025 (ending December 2025), while the number of fans (paying subscribers) expanded from approximately 359 thousand to approximately 412 thousand over the same period. This growth has been supported by the Customer Success team maintaining a low churn rate and the acquisition of large-scale communities through partnerships with partner companies.
Following four consecutive fiscal years of operating losses since FY2021, the company recorded operating profit of ¥197 million and net income of ¥175 million in FY2025 (ending December 2025), turning profitable. Gross profit reached ¥2,229 million (up 21.7% year-on-year), and operating cash flow also improved significantly to ¥549 million (from ¥225 million previously), reflecting a substantial improvement in profitability and cash-generating capacity.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
Revenue bottomed out at ¥3,807 million in FY2023 (ending December 2023) and has since recovered, reaching ¥4,831 million in FY2025 (ending December 2025) (up 11.6% year on year), with Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026) revenue of ¥1,411 million (up 31.1% year on year), indicating accelerating growth. Operating profit turned positive at ¥197 million in FY2025 after four consecutive years of losses from FY2021 through FY2024, and Q1 FY2026 operating profit reached ¥150 million, a substantial improvement from ¥2 million in the same period a year earlier. Quarterly net profit also expanded sharply to ¥132 million (versus ¥4 million in the same period a year earlier). This was driven by segment profit in the Fan Business Platform Business of ¥144 million (up 250.1% year on year), while the Digital Marketing Business also turned profitable for the first time, boosting overall company earnings. External tailwinds include the growing global popularity of Japan-originated content and growth in the influencer marketing market. There is no change to the full-year earnings forecast (revenue of ¥5,480 million and operating profit of ¥300 million).
Growth Strategy
Driving Fanicon icon and fan count expansion together with ARPU improvement, while advancing monetization of the Digital Marketing Business and global expansion
In addition to ongoing new icon acquisition activities by the dedicated sales team, the company is accelerating the acquisition of major icons through partnerships with partner companies. It is capturing new demand accompanying the expansion of the virtual artist market, including VTubers and 2.5-dimensional IP, maintaining steady growth in the number of communities launched.
In addition to subscription revenue, point-based paid revenue has been growing, functioning as a stable and continuous revenue source. Through measures to promote point purchases utilizing seasonal events and icon-specific events, the company aims to improve consumption per fan (ARPU).
The company continues to implement customer success initiatives, including proposing measures tailored to seasonal and individual events for icons and improving fan experience value. Following the previous fiscal year, the churn rate has remained at a low level, supporting the stability of recurring revenue.
The company is pursuing unit price improvement through a review of projects with an emphasis on profitability, along with expansion of its domestic and international customer base through enhanced marketing and inside sales functions. In the first quarter of FY2026 (ending December 2026), it achieved its first-ever profitability (segment profit of ¥6 million), reflecting progress in revenue diversification.
The company is pursuing global expansion by expanding community launches for overseas icons, including those in Korea. Against the backdrop of the worldwide popularity of Japan-originated content, it aims to capture overseas fans and expand transactions with overseas clients. At present, this remains in an early stage.
Last updated: July 17, 2026