ENVALITH
株式会社学研ホールディングス logo

GAKKEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

9470・Prime Market・Information & Communication

Official website
株式会社学研ホールディングス logo
GAKKEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.9470

Business

Gakken Holdings is a holding company founded in 1947 that oversees a group comprising 82 consolidated subsidiaries. The business is organized into three segments: Education Field, Medical & Welfare Field, and Others. In the Education Field, the company operates tutoring schools and classrooms for students ranging from young children to working adults, publishing content, and educational materials and supplies for kindergartens and schools. In the Medical & Welfare Field, the company operates service-provided senior housing, dementia group homes, and childcare support facilities nationwide. Viewing the structural societal shift toward a declining birthrate and aging population as a business opportunity, the company pursues growth through the twin pillars of education and elderly care. Listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Business Model

In the Education Field, the company combines continuous fee-based revenue from monthly tuition and course fees (Classroom & Tutoring School Business) with sales of books and digital content (publishing/e-learning). In the Medical & Welfare Field, primary revenue sources are long-term care insurance and self-paid occupancy fees, with the company pursuing scale expansion through new facility openings and maintaining high occupancy rates. Both fields have implemented price revisions to improve profitability, and for the fiscal year ended September 2025, the operating margin was 4.1% and ROE was 7.0%.

Company Strengths

The company has built nearly equal twin pillars with Education Field sales of ¥95,390 million and Medical & Welfare Field sales of ¥95,088 million. In a structure where the Medical & Welfare Field, driven by robust aging-related demand, complements the Education Field, which faces declining birthrate risk, group sales for FY2025 (ending September 2025) reached ¥199,119 million, achieving five consecutive years of sales growth.

In FY2025 (ending September 2025), the company newly opened 16 senior housing facilities and took over operation of 2 existing ones, while newly opening 2 dementia group homes and taking over operation of 10 existing ones. Both senior housing and dementia group homes maintained high occupancy rates, with Senior Housing Business sales reaching ¥46,587 million, up 9.6% year on year.

The Publishing & Content Services Business posted operating profit of ¥2,850 million (up 31.5% year on year), boasting the highest profit margin within the Education Field. Price revisions of existing study reference books, additional printings of hit practical books, and expansion of digital content such as the online English conversation service "Kimini" and e-learning for nurses have contributed to improved profitability.

ENVALITH's Perspective

In the first half of FY2026 (ending March 2026), net sales, operating income, and ordinary income all increased year on year, maintaining a trend of increased revenue and profit. On the other hand, net income attributable to owners of parent for the first half was ¥2,086 million, down 14.0% year on year. This was mainly due to the reversal of the ¥480 million gain on step acquisition recorded in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year, as well as the recognition of a ¥247 million valuation loss on investment securities. On an ordinary income basis, the increase was 5.7%, and the fact that the underlying earnings improvement continued can be viewed favorably.

Interest-bearing debt at the end of the first half of FY2026 (ending March 2026) stood at ¥44,063 million, up ¥7,410 million from the end of the previous fiscal year, and the D/E ratio deteriorated from 0.71x to 0.83x. Short-term borrowings increased by a net ¥8,600 million, and free cash flow turned negative, falling from ¥4,095 million in the same period of the previous year to negative ¥3,626 million. This was mainly due to the expansion of investment activities, including ¥2,353 million in acquisitions of investment securities, and continued monitoring of the trend in interest-bearing debt is warranted from the perspective of financial soundness.

The full-year earnings forecast remains unchanged, with net sales of ¥205,000 million, operating income of ¥8,500 million, and net income of ¥4,000 million. The progress rate of operating income for the first half was 55.0%, which is generally on track, but in the Senior Housing Business, operating income declined 17.8% year on year as the company was unable to fully absorb cost increases from rising outsourcing expenses, utility costs, and personnel expenses. Whether the effects of the price revision implemented in March 2026 will make a full contribution in the second half is key to achieving the full-year targets, and external factors such as energy price trends will also affect earnings.

Growth Strategy

Aiming for ROE of 8% through expansion into strategic growth areas—Global, Recurrent, and Medical—and improved capital efficiency

DTP Education Solutions JSC was made a consolidated subsidiary, expanding Global Business revenue by 119.3% year on year to ¥2,912 million. However, an operating loss of ¥148 million was recorded due to increased amortization expenses, making profitability a key challenge going forward.

The Dementia Group Home Business achieved revenue of ¥22,009 million (up 10.4% year on year) and operating profit of ¥866 million (up 25.9% year on year), driven by an increase in the number of facilities, maintenance of high occupancy rates, and the consolidation of Paramedical Co., Ltd. The Senior Housing Business began phased price revisions from March 2026, with profit improvement expected in the second half.

The effect of the tuition fee revision implemented in April 2025 has continued, with classroom membership numbers on a recovery trend. In the tutoring school business, the company is promoting the expansion of contracted work from local governments in the school education support business and the consolidation of unprofitable locations. Operating profit for the Classroom & Tutoring School Business increased 9.3% year on year to ¥1,569 million.

The Publishing & Content Services Business saw increased revenue driven by growth in the number of users of the online English conversation service "Kimini" and an expansion in the number of contracted hospitals for e-learning services for nurses. On the other hand, investment in the AI business has pressured operating profit for the Publishing & Content Services Business (down 11.9% year on year), making the transition to an investment recovery phase a key challenge.

Last updated: July 17, 2026