# CERES INC.: business model and financials

> Latest period: FY ending Dec 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP
> Unit: JPY millions
> Sources: 有価証券報告書－第21期(2025/01/01－2025/12/31) (S100XU6S)
> Page: https://vizora.meequs.com/en/company/ceres
> Retrieved: 2026-09-30T19:05:58.102Z

## Company

Ceres, founded in 2005, is a company in Internet Services & Apps listed on TSE Prime. It has 351 employees (consolidated).

| Field | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Legal name | CERES INC. |
| Ticker | 3696 |
| Stock price | View on Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.co.jp/quote/3696.T) |
| Listing | TSE Prime |
| Head office | 東京都渋谷区桜丘町1番1号 |
| Representative (per filing) | 代表取締役社長 都木 聡 |
| Founded | Jan 2005 |
| Share capital | ¥2.16B |
| Employees (consolidated) | 351 |
| Average salary (parent only) | ¥6M |
| Fiscal year end | December |
| Website | ceres-inc.jp (https://ceres-inc.jp/) |
| Corporate number | 1010401073460 |
| EDINET | E30919 |
| Industries (Vizora) | Internet Services & Apps, Crypto & Blockchain, Venture Capital, Advertising |

> Profile source: annual securities report (S100XU6S, filed 2026-03-27). As of filing

## Five-axis industry profile

Primary industry: Advertising (2025-12-31)

| Axis | Industry percentile | Peers |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue growth | 57 | 57 |
| Profitability | 66.9 | 86 |
| Cash conversion | 36.7 | 75 |
| Efficiency | 30.8 | 86 |

Each axis is shown independently. Missing values are labeled unavailable; no combined score is calculated. Industry rank is not an investment recommendation.

## Key points (generated from figures)

- About 94% of Ceres's sales come from Mobile Service Business, with Financial Service Business making up much of the rest.
- Out of every ¥100 of sales, about ¥8 is left as operating profit.
- Revenue changed +7.1% from the prior year, operating profit +4.8%.

## Company structure

- Segment revenue mix: Mobile Service Business 94.3%、Financial Service Business 5.7%
- Revenue → net income: ¥29660382000 → ¥2627229000
- Net income → operating cash flow: ¥2627229000 → ¥1670237000（difference ¥-956992000）
- Main uses of operating cash flow: CapEx ¥486756000 / dividends ¥690088000 / buybacks —
- Change in cash: ¥1593427000
Segment shares use total reported segment revenue, which may include inter-segment sales. The cash bridge is operating cash flow minus net income and combines non-cash items and working-capital effects.

## Key figures at a glance

| Metric | Value | Note |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | ¥29.7B |  |
| Operating income | ¥2.33B | Margin 7.9% |
| Net income | ¥2.5B | Margin 8.4% |
| Free cash flow | ¥1.18B |  |
| Largest business | Mobile Service Business | of segment revenue 94.3% |
| Employees (consolidated) | 351 |  |
| EPS | ¥318.54 |  |
| Book value per share | ¥967.17 |  |
| Equity ratio | 35.5% |  |
| Shares outstanding | 12,116,500 |  |
| Treasury shares | 577,500 |  |
| Shareholders | 11,023 |  |
| Average salary (parent only) | ¥6M | Filing company only |
| Cash ratio | 35.0% | Cash ÷ revenue 44.2% |
| Vs. industry median margin | +0.2 pp | Internet Services & Apps |
| ROE | 20.7% | Derived from disclosed figures |
| ROA | 7.1% | Derived from disclosed figures |

## Notable figures

- FY2025, one segment accounts for 100% of positive segment profit
- FY2025, employees -48% while operating income rose 5%
- FY2025, cash is 35% of total assets

## What changed in 5 years

| Metric | FY ending Dec 2020 | FY ending Dec 2025 | Change |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | ¥20213496000 | ¥29660382000 | +46.7% |
| Operating income | ¥1496809000 | ¥2334025000 | +55.9% |
| Operating margin | 7.4% | 7.9% | +0.5 pp |
| Employees | 383 people | 351 people | -8.4% |
| Cash and equivalents | ¥6097058000 | ¥13114220000 | +115.1% |

### Change in segment revenue mix

Span: FY ending Dec 2020 → FY ending Dec 2025. Stable segment keys are connected; unmatched shares are marked as new or reorganized. Shares use total segment revenue.

| Flow | Revenue share |
| --- | ---: |
| モバイルサービス事業 → モバイルサービス事業 | 94.3% |
| モバイルサービス事業 → 事業再編・廃止 | 3.2% |
| フィナンシャルサービス事業 → フィナンシャルサービス事業 | 2.5% |
| 新設・再編 → フィナンシャルサービス事業 | 3.2% |

Segment revenue source references: 4 (derived)

## Income statement（FY ending Dec 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP）

| Item | Amount (JPY mn) | % of revenue | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | 29,660 | 100.0% | S100XU6S |
| Cost of revenue | 16,643 | 56.1% | S100XU6S |
| Gross profit | 13,017 | 43.9% | S100XU6S |
| SG&A | 10,683 | 36.0% | S100XU6S |
| Operating income | 2,334 | 7.9% | S100XU6S |
| Ordinary income | 2,105 | 7.1% | S100XU6S |
| Pretax income | 4,621 | 15.6% | S100XU6S |
| Income tax | 1,994 | 6.7% | S100XU6S |
| Net income | 2,627 | 8.9% | S100XU6S |
| Net income attributable to owners | 2,497 | 8.4% | S100XU6S |

## Per ¥100 of revenue（FY ending Dec 2025）

| Part | JPY |
| --- | ---: |
| Cost of revenue | 56 |
| SG&A | 36 |
| Operating income | 8 |
| (Ref.) Net income | 8 |

### Margin funnel

Gross margin 43.9% → Operating margin 7.9% → Net margin 8.4%
Derived from reported figures (DERIVED).

## Revenue and profit pattern

Pattern: Revenue and profit up
Revenue growth: +7.1%; Core profit growth: +4.8%
Growth quality: revenue-led
Operating leverage (core profit growth ÷ revenue growth): 0.67×
Calculated from comparable annual consolidated filings.

## Year over year（FY ending Dec 2024 → FY ending Dec 2025、JPY mn）

| Metric | Prior | Current | Change | % change |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue | 27,707 | 29,660 | 1,954 | +7.1% |
| Gross profit | 13,336 | 13,017 | -319 | -2.4% |
| Operating income | 2,228 | 2,334 | 106 | +4.8% |
| Net income attributable to owners | 1,481 | 2,497 | 1,016 | +68.6% |
| Operating cash flow | 722 | 1,670 | 948 | +131.3% |
| Free cash flow | 105 | 1,183 | 1,079 | +1032.3% |

## History（JPY mn）

| Period | Revenue | Op. income | Op. margin | Net income | Op. CF | FCF | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| FY ending Dec 2019 | 16,511 | 880 | 5.3% | 75 | 771 | 441 | S100L0SA |
| FY ending Dec 2020 | 20,213 | 1,497 | 7.4% | 745 | 2,258 | 1,857 | S100NPLY |
| FY ending Dec 2021 | 23,403 | 2,306 | 9.9% | 2,775 | 1,162 | 984 | S100QIJ5 |
| FY ending Dec 2022 | 20,536 | 1,247 | 6.1% | 47 | 102 | -314 | S100T57C |
| FY ending Dec 2023 | 24,071 | 1,118 | 4.6% | 451 | 1,061 | 558 | S100VH33 |
| FY ending Dec 2024 | 27,707 | 2,228 | 8.0% | 1,481 | 722 | 105 | S100XU6S |
| FY ending Dec 2025 | 29,660 | 2,334 | 7.9% | 2,497 | 1,670 | 1,183 | S100XU6S |

## People and productivity（FY ending Dec 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP）

| Metric | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Revenue per employee (consolidated) | ¥84.5M |
| Operating income per employee (consolidated) | ¥6.6M |
| Net income per employee (consolidated) | ¥7.1M |

Employees, revenue and profit are consolidated. Average annual salary is a separate parent-company figure. Calculated from disclosed figures (DERIVED).

| History | FY ending Dec 2021 | FY ending Dec 2022 | FY ending Dec 2023 | FY ending Dec 2024 | FY ending Dec 2025 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Employees (consolidated) | 431 | 498 | 615 | 669 | 351 |
| Average salary (parent company) | ¥6.1M | ¥5.8M | ¥5.6M | ¥5.7M | ¥6M |
| Average age (parent company) | 32.3 years | 32.3 years | 32.4 years | 32.3 years | 32.4 years |
| Average tenure (parent company) | 2.8 years | 2.7 years | 2.8 years | 2.9 years | 2.8 years |

Year over year: Employees (consolidated) -47.5% · Revenue (consolidated) +7.1%

## Segments（FY ending Dec 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP、JPY mn）

| Segment | Revenue | Share | Op. income | Op. margin |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Mobile Service Business | 27,972 | 94.3% | 4,895 | 17.5% |
| Financial Service Business | 1,689 | 5.7% | -1,080 | -63.9% |

### segmentMix — Revenue and profit mix

Calculated from disclosed figures (DERIVED). Shares use total segment revenue and total positive segment profit respectively. Difference = profit share − revenue share (pt). Inter-segment sales may prevent reconciliation to company revenue.

| Segment | Revenue share | Profit share | Difference (pt) | Margin |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Mobile Service Business | 94.3% | 100.0% | 5.7 | 17.5% |
| Financial Service Business | 5.7% | — | — | -63.9% |

Loss-making segment (excluded from profit shares): Financial Service Business -1,080 JPY mn

Segment → industry: Mobile Service Business → Internet Services & Apps / Financial Service Business → Crypto & Blockchain / Financial Service Business → Venture Capital / Mobile Service Business → Advertising

## Revenue by geography

No geographic revenue breakdown was disclosed.

## Cash flow（FY ending Dec 2025, consolidated, J-GAAP）

| Item | Amount (JPY mn) | % of revenue | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Operating cash flow | 1,670 | 5.6% | S100XU6S |
| Capital expenditure | 487 | 1.6% | S100XU6S |
| Free cash flow | 1,183 | 4.0% | 算出 |
| Investing cash flow | 744 | 2.5% | S100XU6S |
| Financing cash flow | -820 | -2.8% | S100XU6S |
| Dividends paid | 690 | 2.3% | S100XU6S |
| Change in cash | 1,593 | 5.4% | S100XU6S |
| Cash and equivalents | 13,114 | 44.2% | S100XU6S |

## Balance sheet

Figures are as of each fiscal year end. Derived values are marked as such in the source column. Lease liabilities are excluded from interest-bearing debt.

| Metric | FY ending Dec 2021 | FY ending Dec 2022 | FY ending Dec 2023 | FY ending Dec 2024 | FY ending Dec 2025 | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Cash and equivalents | 6,883 | 6,492 | 8,052 | 11,521 | 13,114 | S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Total assets | 20,235 | 22,597 | 25,915 | 32,976 | 37,504 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Net assets | 9,820 | 9,696 | 10,046 | 12,721 | 13,964 | S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Share capital | 1,944 | 2,026 | 2,046 | 2,125 | 2,159 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Trade receivables | 2,866 | — | — | — | — | S100QIJ5 |
| Property, plant and equipment | 261 | 264 | 362 | 780 | 765 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Intangible assets excluding goodwill | 1,178 | 2,130 | 1,730 | 1,488 | 3,012 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Goodwill | 1,035 | 1,743 | 1,538 | 1,332 | 2,198 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Investment securities | 835 | 1,096 | 1,140 | 1,143 | 1,104 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Current assets | 13,163 | 14,413 | 17,587 | 23,850 | 25,778 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Current liabilities | 8,924 | 10,558 | 13,451 | 16,852 | 20,418 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Short-term borrowings | 1,850 | 2,450 | 3,413 | 4,429 | 4,738 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Long-term borrowings | 1,245 | 2,118 | 2,314 | 3,091 | 2,748 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Bonds | 125 | 55 | — | — | — | S100QIJ5, S100T57C |
| Interest-bearing debt | 3,220 | 4,623 | — | — | — | 算出 |
| Total liabilities | 10,415 | 12,901 | 15,869 | 20,255 | 23,540 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Non-controlling interests | 745 | 813 | 860 | 1,573 | 665 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Equity attributable to owners of parent | 9,002 | 8,761 | 9,026 | 11,056 | 13,072 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Retained earnings | 4,899 | 4,496 | 4,720 | 5,972 | 7,779 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |
| Treasury stock | -308 | -308 | -308 | -308 | -308 | S100QIJ5, S100T57C, S100VH33, S100XU6S |

### Assets and funding mix

| Assets | Share | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Cash | 35% | S100XU6S |
| Property, plant and equipment | 2% | S100XU6S |
| Intangibles and goodwill | 14% | S100XU6S |
| Investment securities | 3% | S100XU6S |
| Other assets | 46% | S100XU6S |

| Funding source | Share | Source |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Other liabilities | 63% | S100XU6S |
| Equity | 37% | S100XU6S |

### Balance sheet history

| Metric | FY ending Dec 2021 | FY ending Dec 2022 | FY ending Dec 2023 | FY ending Dec 2024 | FY ending Dec 2025 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Total assets | 20,235 | 22,597 | 25,915 | 32,976 | 37,504 |
| Equity | 9,820 | 9,696 | 10,046 | 12,721 | 13,964 |
| Interest-bearing debt | 3,220 | 4,623 | — | — | — |
| Cash | 6,883 | 6,492 | 8,052 | 11,521 | 13,114 |

## Asset intensity and goodwill

Ratios are derived from reported values. Goodwill is used only when separately reported, never inferred from combined intangible assets.

| Metric | Value | Sources |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Asset intensity (fixed assets ÷ revenue) | 2.6% | S100XU6S |
| Fixed assets ÷ total assets | 2.0% | S100XU6S |
| Goodwill ÷ parent equity | 16.8% | S100XU6S |

Goodwill over 4 years: 1,035 → 2,198 JPY; total investing cash flow: -2,987 JPY. This does not imply causation.

### Cash quality

Net cash = cash − interest-bearing debt. Net debt ratio = (interest-bearing debt − cash) ÷ positive operating cash flow. Omit when debt components are incomplete; other ratios are derived from reported figures.

| Metric | Value |
| --- | ---: |
| Cash ratio (cash ÷ total assets) | 35.0% |
| Cash ÷ revenue | 44.2% |
| Net cash (cash − interest-bearing debt) | — |
| Net debt ÷ operating cash flow | — |
| Cash conversion (operating CF ÷ operating income) | 71.6% |
| Cash vs. profit gap | -827 JPY mn (of net income -33.1%) |
| Shareholder returns / net income | — |
| Shareholder returns / FCF | — |
| Shareholder payments — dividends / net income | 27.6% |
| Shareholder payments — dividends / FCF | 58.3% |
| CapEx intensity (capex ÷ revenue) | 1.6% |
| Investing CF relative to operating CF | 44.5% |

## ROA and ROE

ROE is decomposed into net margin × asset turnover × financial leverage. Leverage can raise ROE, so the ratio alone does not assess a company's condition. Ending balances are used without a prior year; total equity approximates parent equity when unavailable.

| Period | Net margin | Asset turnover | ROA | Financial leverage | ROE | Sources |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 2021 | 11.9% | 1.16× | 13.7% | 2.25× | 30.8% | S100QIJ5 |
| 2022 | 0.2% | 0.96× | 0.2% | 2.41× | 0.5% | S100T57C |
| 2023 | 1.9% | 0.99× | 1.9% | 2.73× | 5.1% | S100VH33 |
| 2024 | 5.3% | 0.94× | 5.0% | 2.93× | 14.7% | S100XU6S |
| 2025 | 8.4% | 0.84× | 7.1% | 2.92× | 20.7% | S100XU6S |

## Ownership

| Counterparty | Relation | Ratio | As of |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 株式会社日本カストディ銀行(信託口) | Major shareholder | 10.5% | 2025-12-31 |
| 有限会社ジュノー・アンド・カンパニー | Major shareholder | 10.2% | 2025-12-31 |
| 日本マスタートラスト信託銀行株式会社(信託口) | Major shareholder | 7.1% | 2025-12-31 |
| 都木 聡 | Major shareholder | 6.5% | 2025-12-31 |
| 株式会社サイバーエージェント | Major shareholder | 4.3% | 2025-12-31 |
| 赤浦 徹 | Major shareholder | 2.4% | 2025-12-31 |
| 野﨑 哲也 | Major shareholder | 1.9% | 2025-12-31 |
| 小林 保裕 | Major shareholder | 1.8% | 2025-12-31 |
| 大田 宜明 | Major shareholder | 1.5% | 2025-12-31 |
| 谷地舘 望 | Major shareholder | 1.3% | 2025-12-31 |

## Sources

| Document | ID | Published | URL |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 有価証券報告書－第21期(2025/01/01－2025/12/31) | S100XU6S | 2026-03-27 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100XU6S,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第20期(2024/01/01－2024/12/31) | S100VH33 | 2025-03-26 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100VH33,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第19期(2023/01/01－2023/12/31) | S100T57C | 2024-03-27 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100T57C,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第18期(2022/01/01－2022/12/31) | S100QIJ5 | 2023-03-30 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100QIJ5,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第17期(令和3年1月1日－令和3年12月31日) | S100NPLY | 2022-03-24 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100NPLY,, |
| 有価証券報告書－第16期(令和2年1月1日－令和2年12月31日) | S100L0SA | 2021-03-25 | https://disclosure2.edinet-fsa.go.jp/WZEK0040.aspx?S100L0SA,, |

## Definitions

- Amounts are in millions of JPY (rounded). The period is stated in each table heading
- Operating margin = operating income ÷ revenue. Net income is attributable to owners of the parent when disclosed
- Free cash flow (FCF) = operating cash flow − capital expenditure
- ¥100 model = breakdown per ¥100 of revenue (rounded so parts sum to 100)
- Segment revenues include inter-segment sales and may not sum to consolidated revenue
- Source IDs are EDINET document IDs (docID). "算出" (derived) means computed from other disclosed values
- All figures are extracted mechanically from filings. AI-written text never generates figures
- Source: company filings submitted to EDINET (Financial Services Agency of Japan). Figures were extracted, edited and processed, and charts and text were created, by Vizora — not by the FSA (used under the Public Data License v1.0).