TBS Holdings booked its strongest first quarter for revenue in the group's history, but the top line masked a sharp profit slide as advertisers grew cautious about buying television airtime.
For the three months to June 2026, consolidated sales rose 4.8 percent to ¥105.4bn, a record for a first quarter, according to the earnings materials, not an all-time high for any quarter; the same presentation shows an earlier quarter posting higher sales of roughly ¥110bn. Operating profit fell 43.0 percent to ¥4.6bn, ordinary profit dropped 19.0 percent to ¥12.8bn, and net profit attributable to shareholders declined 18.2 percent to ¥14.5bn.
The culprit was TBS Television's spot advertising, which fell 11.9 percent to ¥19.7bn as advertisers pulled back amid what the company described as global economic uncertainty tied to Middle East tensions. Streaming advertising revenue dropped 11.3 percent to ¥2.7bn over the same period, even as paid-streaming subscription revenue climbed 29.1 percent to ¥3.7bn, helped by a Netflix series produced by TBS Television.
Citing that same advertiser caution, TBS Holdings lowered its full-year outlook for the year ending March 2027.
| Metric | Previous forecast | Revised forecast | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | ¥440.0bn | ¥435.0bn | -¥5.0bn |
| Operating profit | ¥26.0bn | ¥23.0bn | -¥3.0bn |
| Ordinary profit | ¥39.0bn | ¥38.0bn | -¥1.0bn |
| Net profit | ¥48.5bn | ¥48.5bn | Unchanged |
Net profit guidance stayed at ¥48.5bn because the company expects a different mix of one-off investment gains and losses to offset the weaker operating result.
The pain spread unevenly across the business. Media and content segment operating profit fell 57.3 percent to ¥2.6bn, and the lifestyle unit swung to a ¥757mn operating loss from a ¥131mn profit a year earlier, as core retail brands including the PLAZA chain and BCL cosmetics saw weaker sales. Real estate and other operations were the bright spot, with profit up 41.5 percent to ¥2.8bn.
The company also disclosed it has bought back 3.43 million shares for ¥21.2bn through the end of July, working toward a ¥36.0bn ceiling announced in May, and left its annual dividend forecast of ¥100 per share unchanged.