Nulab Inc.

Business Details

Nulab, Inc. operates under the policy of "providing tools that promote team collaboration and make work enjoyable," offering the project management tool "Backlog," the online diagramming tool "Cacoo," and the security/governance tool "Nulab Pass" on a SaaS basis. Its main customers are domestic companies, and it generates recurring revenue through a subscription billing model. In December 2025, the company terminated the Typetalk service to concentrate management resources on its three core services. It has decided to liquidate its overseas subsidiaries (US and Netherlands) and is proceeding with a focus on domestic operations.

Recent Overview

Revenue grew, but heavy investment and overseas subsidiary liquidation costs caused a sharp profit decline; the next fiscal year is expected to set a new record profit

In FY2026 (ending March 2026), net sales reached ¥4,393 million (up 6.8% year-on-year), securing revenue growth, but selling, general and administrative expenses ballooned to ¥2,888 million (up 24.3% year-on-year) due to strengthened development and investment for mid- to long-term growth, causing operating profit to decline sharply to ¥354 million (down 44.6% year-on-year). In addition, following the decision to liquidate Nulab USA, Inc. and Nulab Netherlands B.V., the company recorded a provision for business structure improvement of ¥102 million and an impairment loss of ¥12 million as extraordinary losses, resulting in net profit of ¥178 million (down 67.7% year-on-year). Typetalk service was terminated on December 1, 2025. In March 2026, the company officially released "Backlog AI Assistant" and is promoting sales expansion of the paid option. For FY2027 (ending March 2027), the company expects operating profit of ¥650 million (up 83.3% year-on-year), marking a new record high.

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Increase in the number of paid Backlog contracts and continued expansion of deferred revenue (deferred revenue of ¥1,874 million at the end of FY2026 (ending March 2026), up 8.1% year-on-year)
• Increase in average revenue per customer through expanded sales of the "Backlog AI Assistant" paid option
• Continued high growth of Nulab Pass driving cross-sell effects with Backlog
• Expansion of the project management tool market driven by demand for corporate DX promotion and enhanced information security (SaaS-type project management tool market estimated to grow at an average annual rate of 17.5%, Fuji Chimera Research Institute, 2025 edition)
• Strengthened product competitiveness by combining accumulated knowledge data leveraging the unlimited-user license model with AI
• Pursuit of non-linear growth through the new business creation program "Nu Source" and new product development and M&A
• Concentration of management resources on core domestic business and improvement of financial soundness through liquidation of overseas subsidiaries

Risks

• Risk of short-term fluctuations in profit levels due to expanded upfront investment (development costs, sales and marketing expenses, AI development costs) (selling, general and administrative expenses up 24.3% year-on-year in FY2026 (ending March 2026))
• Risk that actual costs incurred from liquidating overseas subsidiaries (Nulab USA, Inc. and Nulab Netherlands B.V.) exceed estimated amounts (a provision for business structure improvement of ¥102 million has already been recorded)
• Impact on existing customers and revenue decline resulting from termination of the Typetalk service
• Intensifying competition with competitors (domestic and overseas project management/collaboration SaaS providers)
• Information security risk inherent to a service that handles customers' confidential information
• Heavy reliance of net sales on the domestic market, making the business susceptible to domestic economic downturns and slowing personal consumption
• Risk that new businesses (such as Nu Source) fail to contribute to revenue as expected
• Significant decline in operating cash flow (¥282 million in FY2026 (ending March 2026), versus ¥749 million in the prior year), reducing investment capacity