CINC Corp.
4378・Growth Market・Information & Communication
Business
CINC Inc. is a company that leverages Big Data and AI/machine learning technology to solve clients' marketing challenges in a data-driven manner, guided by its management philosophy of "Have Conviction, Get to the Core, Bring Innovation." The company consists of three segments: the Solutions Business, which provides the mainstay SaaS-based marketing tool "Keywordmap"; the Analytics Business, which provides DX Consulting; and the M&A Advisory Business, launched in November 2023. The company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers market (now the Growth Market) in October 2021. Its main customers are domestic companies engaged in digital marketing, spanning a wide range of industries regardless of BtoB or BtoC. Consolidated net sales for FY2025 (ending October 2025) were ¥1,825 million.
Business Model
The Solutions Business builds up stable recurring revenue through a monthly flat-rate subscription model for "Keywordmap." The Analytics Business provides DX Consulting (Marketing DX Consulting Service) combining an initial survey fee with a monthly flat-rate fee, delivering one-stop support through a three-role structure of consultants, analysts, and content directors. The M&A Advisory Business is expected to operate on a success-fee basis. The company also aims to raise the average contract value through upselling via optional plans and Professional Services (BPO Services).
Company Strengths
Since its founding, the company has focused on R&D in crawling, natural language processing, and database technology, accumulating big data of Japanese keywords on its own servers. Its ability to provide high-precision analytical data with low noise serves as a differentiating factor versus competitors, and the company continues to accumulate data that is difficult for competitors to handle.
In FY2025 (ending October 2025), the Solutions Business achieved net sales of ¥785 million, segment profit of ¥154 million, and a profit margin of 19.6%. The discontinuation of rarely used features and server cost reductions from improved database processing contributed to the improved profit margin, establishing a solid revenue base as a SaaS-type stock-type business.
The company implemented an "AI Overviews Appearance Report feature" and an "AI Rewrite feature" in Keywordmap, and newly established the AI Search Optimization (GEO/LLMO) Consulting service in June 2025. Viewing the transformation of search behavior driven by generative AI as a growth opportunity, the company is promoting its response to the AI Search Optimization (GEO/LLMO) domain in coordination with its existing services.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
Revenue over the past five fiscal years peaked at ¥1,805 million in FY2022 and has continued on a declining trend to ¥1,825 million in FY2025 (down 8.1% year on year), with cumulative revenue for the second quarter of FY2026 (ending October 2026) at ¥852 million (down 10.4% year on year), indicating the decline is continuing. On the profitability side, however, there has been a substantial improvement from an operating loss of ¥113 million in FY2025 to cumulative operating income of ¥55 million in the second quarter of FY2026 (ending October 2026). The main driver was a reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses (from ¥643 million in the same period of the previous year to ¥471 million). As an external factor, the spread of generative AI has weighed on revenue by reducing demand for conventional SEO, but demand for DX Consulting (Marketing DX Consulting Service) has continued amid accelerating digital shifts among companies. The full-year forecast remains unchanged at revenue of ¥1,681 million and operating income of ¥7 million.
Growth Strategy
Aiming for sustainable growth through Keywordmap enhancement, development of the new GEO/LLMO field, and profitability improvement in M&A Advisory
In addition to AI-based article creation/improvement support and keyword selection functions, the company implemented a feature for visualizing brand mentions and citation sources in generative AI search results. The service has received certain acclaim from new and existing customers, and proposal opportunities in the GEO/LLMO field are increasing, but this has not yet been sufficient to offset the decline in revenue caused by the decrease in customer numbers.
The company is expanding provision of "AI Search Optimization (GEO/LLMO) Consulting" and SNS Consulting to respond to changes in search behavior accompanying the spread of generative AI. Through functional improvements to internal AI search optimization support tools, the company aims to streamline and standardize analysis work and improve proposal quality. Although a recovery trend in sales was seen in the second quarter, this was not enough to offset the decline in the first quarter, and profitability is still in the process of improving.
The company revised its cost structure by temporarily suspending new hiring, scrutinizing advertising expenses, and optimizing staffing levels, shifting to an operational structure focused on profitability. It has improved deal closing probability by strengthening deal selection to enhance deal quality and by building collaborative arrangements with other advisory firms. In the cumulative second quarter of FY2026 (ending October 2026), the company recorded its first closed deal and revenue of ¥29 million, improving the segment loss by ¥98 million year on year.
Last updated: July 17, 2026