COVER Corporation, the Tokyo Growth Market company that operates the hololive VTuber franchise, told the Tokyo Stock Exchange on September 24 that it is raising its profit forecast for the six months to September 2026, even as it holds sales guidance flat.
The company's May forecast called for ¥22.27bn in sales, ¥1.93bn in operating profit, ¥1.93bn in ordinary profit and ¥1.35bn in interim net profit. The revised guidance keeps sales at ¥22.27bn but lifts operating profit 81.3% to ¥3.5bn, ordinary profit 76.2% to ¥3.4bn, and interim net profit 70.4% to ¥2.3bn. Interim earnings per share guidance rises to ¥35.03 from ¥20.56. For comparison, the same six months a year earlier produced ¥21.75bn in sales and ¥2.67bn in operating profit, a level the new forecast now clears.
| Metric | Previous forecast (May 2026) | Revised forecast (Sept. 2026) | Change | Same period last year (actual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | ¥22.27bn | ¥22.27bn | Unchanged | ¥21.75bn |
| Operating profit | ¥1.93bn | ¥3.5bn | +81.3% | ¥2.67bn |
| Ordinary profit | ¥1.93bn | ¥3.4bn | +76.2% | ¥2.67bn |
| Interim net profit | ¥1.35bn | ¥2.3bn | +70.4% | ¥2.0bn |
| Interim EPS (yen) | ¥20.56 | ¥35.03 | +70.4% | ¥30.46 |
COVER attributes the upgrade to hololive Dreams, a smartphone game it operates jointly with a partner, which began service in July 2026 and recorded stronger initial uptake than the company had planned for at the start of the fiscal year. Its licensing and tie-up business is also running ahead of plan.
Merchandising told a different story. Inventory shortages in the first quarter and shifted launch timing for products, including trading-card-game items, left that segment tracking differently from the original plan. The resulting change in sales mix fed through to spending: costs are coming in below the original budget, which the company cites, alongside the game and licensing strength, as a reason profit is rising faster than sales.
The company left its full-year forecast untouched. It says it cannot yet reasonably calculate how far the first-half outperformance will carry into the second half, and it is still examining whether the gains are durable. COVER describes the current operating environment and results as generally solid and says it will disclose promptly if a further revision becomes necessary.