OpenWork Inc.

Business Details

The company operates three services: "OpenWork" (an employee word-of-mouth and job-change information site), "OpenWork Recruiting" (recruitment support for companies), and "Alternative Data Service" (provision of word-of-mouth data to institutional investors, etc.). As of the end of March 2026, it held approximately 82,000 listed companies and approximately 21.2 million employee word-of-mouth data entries, with approximately 7.96 million registered users, and derives its business value from resolving information asymmetry in the employment market. In Q1 of FY2026 (ending December 2026), the company continued its high growth with operating revenue of ¥1,376 million (up 31.5% year on year) and operating profit of ¥504 million (up 55.4% year on year).

Recent Overview

Q1 operating revenue up 31.5% and operating profit up 55.4%, exceeding plan with high growth; transition to consolidated accounting from Q2 following the acquisition of BNG Partners

In Q1 (January-March) of FY2026 (ending December 2026), OpenWork Recruiting led overall performance with a 43.5% year-on-year increase to ¥995 million, resulting in operating revenue of ¥1,376 million and operating profit of ¥504 million. The operating margin improved significantly to 36.7% from 31.0% in the same period of the prior year. As a subsequent event, on April 1, 2026, the company acquired all shares of BNG Partners Inc., which handles high-tier recruitment placement for startups and ventures, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. The company plans to transition to consolidated accounting from Q2 onward. The full-year consolidated earnings forecast is operating revenue of ¥6,200 million and operating profit of ¥1,450 million. The company has also decided to pay its first-ever dividend (¥9.00 per share annually).

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Continued growth in the cumulative number of registered web resumes at OpenWork Recruiting (approximately 1.75 million) and expansion in the number of hires driven by increased recruitment activity and job postings among existing clients
• Acquisition of a talent pool of approximately 50,000 people and expansion into the startup and CxO recruitment placement domain through the full acquisition of BNG Partners as a subsidiary
• Stable trends in referrals to partner companies and membership fee revenue at OpenWork
• Expansion of data sales to institutional investors through the Alternative Data Service (FIS and DAP)
• Structural acceleration of labor market fluidity (the limits of lifetime employment and changing career attitudes), leading to medium- to long-term expansion of the job-change market
• Synergies in the user and client base: mutual referrals resulting from the overlap between OpenWork's high-tier user segment and BNG's talent pool

Risks

• Risk of dependence on a specific service due to revenue concentration in OpenWork Recruiting (72.3% of Q1 operating revenue)
• Uncertainty regarding goodwill and acquisition cost related to the BNG Partners integration (acquisition cost and amounts of assets and liabilities assumed remain undetermined at this time), and risks associated with post-consolidation performance integration
• Risk that increased personnel expenses and advertising investment aimed at expanding brand awareness and recruitment capabilities could pressure profit margins
• Risk of temporary slowdown in labor market fluidity, such as a decrease in the number of job changers (97% year on year in the October-December 2025 quarter)
• Risk of reduced hiring appetite due to economic downturn or deteriorating corporate performance amid uncertainty over Middle East tensions and US trade policy
• Risk of leakage or unauthorized use of users' personal information and employee word-of-mouth data
• Risk of decreased organic search traffic due to changes in search engine algorithms and other factors