Link-U Group Inc.
4446・Prime Market・Information & Communication
Business
Link-U Group, Inc. was established in 2013 and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market as an internet services company. Leveraging its strength in a data distribution platform built around proprietary high-performance original servers, the company undertakes the development and operation of manga apps for major publishers, including Shogakukan's "Manga One," Shueisha's "Zebrack," Square Enix's "Manga UP!," and Hakusensha's "Manga Park." In March 2024, the company transitioned to a holding company structure and changed its trade name. It made Viewn Co., Ltd. and Romanz Co., Ltd. consolidated subsidiaries, expanding its business domain into content production, distribution, and global expansion. Revenue for FY2025 (ended July 2025) was ¥4,835 million.
Business Model
Recurring Services, which account for approximately 89% of revenue, constitute a stock-type business composed of revenue-share contracts with publishers and other content holders, along with fixed monthly (subscription) revenue. Initial Development & Maintenance Development Services (approximately 11% of revenue) function as an entry point for acquiring recurring projects, generating high switching costs by providing servers, applications, and operations on a one-stop basis. Low-cost operation using proprietary in-house designed original servers is a source of competitive advantage.
Company Strengths
The company adopts original servers designed in-house for specific use cases rather than using cloud servers. It eliminates single points of failure through a redundant configuration with triple server redundancy and dual network redundancy, and achieves automatic failover with a multi-master database system. It combines high-speed delivery via a dedicated line to Otemachi with low-cost operation, contributing to reduced server costs for customers.
The company has a long track record of business with Shogakukan's "Manga One" (released in 2014), Square Enix's "Manga UP!" (2017), Hakusensha's "Manga Park" (2017), and Shueisha's "Zebrack" (2019). Recurring Services revenue for FY2025 (ending July 2025) expanded steadily to ¥4,310 million (up 128.9% year on year).
Through the consolidation of Viewn Corporation (shares acquired in June 2023; made a consolidated subsidiary in May 2024) and Romanz Inc. (made a sub-subsidiary in March 2024), the company has internalized content distribution and production functions. In FY2025 (ending July 2025), dependence on revenue from specific customers declined—whereas in the previous fiscal year Shogakukan (13.6%) and Shueisha (12.0%) each exceeded 10% of sales, no single customer exceeded 10% in the current period—indicating progress in revenue diversification.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
Revenue expanded roughly threefold over four years, from ¥1,635 million in FY2021 to ¥4,835 million in FY2025, but for the cumulative nine months of FY2026 (ending July 2026), revenue turned to a decline, coming in at ¥3,548 million (down 3.6% year on year). The main cause was the continued contraction of transactions with a key client in the Marketing Services business. Operating profit also declined, to ¥241 million (down 13.4% year on year). On the other hand, the Manga Service business and production business have set record-high revenue for two consecutive quarters, and growth in the core business continues. As an external factor, intensifying competition and a downward trend in the domestic manga service market are headwinds, but the mid- to long-term growth trend of the e-book market remains intact. The full-year earnings forecast has been left unchanged, with revenue of ¥4,900 million to ¥5,100 million and operating profit of ¥320 million to ¥400 million.
Growth Strategy
Overseas revenue as the next growth axis, driven by three pillars: global expansion, IP strengthening, and AI-driven production
Formed a business alliance with Crunchyroll, LLC, the world's largest anime brand, and launched the manga service "Crunchyroll Manga" for North America. Leveraging the distribution infrastructure and publisher relationships cultivated domestically, this is positioned as the starting point of overseas expansion aimed at building a global circulation model for IP content.
Promoting a transition to an AI-driven development structure by transforming the role of engineers toward "precise instruction and management of AI." The production business has continued to secure large-scale development projects capturing customer DX demand, and results are beginning to emerge, including two consecutive quarters of record-high revenue.
Expanding efforts to supply both in-house and external IP content to overseas platforms, with the aim of making future growth in overseas markets a core pillar of revenue. The foundation for IP-related businesses is being strengthened, including the new consolidation of Link-U Products Co., Ltd. as a subsidiary.
For the Marketing Services business, which continues to face weak performance due to reduced transactions with key clients, restructuring of the business model is under consideration in light of the group's overall growth strategy. Recovery in this business's earnings is a critical variable for achieving the full-year earnings forecast.
Last updated: July 17, 2026