Rakuten Group FY2022 and Q4 FY2022 Financial Results Highlights

・The Rakuten Group recorded revenue growth in all three segments in FY2022 and Q4 FY2022: Internet Services, FinTech and Mobile. Consolidated revenue achieved double-digit growth, reaching a record high of 1.9 trillion yen, up 14.6% year-on-year (YoY).

・In FY2022, advertising revenue grew significantly to 183.0 billion yen, up 15.9% YoY, driven by an increase in orders for online advertising centered around Rakuten Ichiba and Rakuten Travel^*1.

・The average number of monthly active users across the Rakuten Group in Japan*² surpassed 39 million, up 11.2% YoY. The Rakuten Ecosystem customer base continues to expand, with 75.6% of all users using two or more services over the past 12 months.

・Due to ongoing strategic investment in future growth for the Mobile segment, including the installation rollout of network base stations, the Rakuten Group recorded Non-GAAP operating losses of 325.6 billion yen in FY2022. Excluding the Mobile and investment businesses, Non-GAAP operating income was 177.4 billion yen, up 9.6% YoY.

・Revenue for the Internet Services segment in FY2022 reached 1,086 billion yen, up 8.7% YoY. Non-GAAP operating income for domestic e-commerce*³ grew significantly to 95.6 billion yen, up 36.6% YoY, for the year.

・Domestic e-commerce gross merchandise sales (GMS) in FY2022 grew by 12.3% YoY, reaching 5.6 trillion yen, demonstrating continued growth even more than one full year since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, Rakuten Travel achieved double-digit growth in domestic accommodation gross transaction value (GTV). In addition, Rakuten’s fashion business^*4 surpassed 1 trillion yen in GMS in FY2022.

・U.S.-based cashback service Rakuten Rewards achieved significant growth in both revenue and profit in FY2022, recording revenue of 991 million USD, up 13.3% YoY, and Non-GAAP operating income of 63 million USD, up 12.0%, driven by successful marketing initiatives and continued momentum in consumer behavior trends.

・The FinTech segment delivered growth in both revenue and profit for FY2022, with revenue of 663.4 billion yen, up 7.2% YoY, and Non-GAAP operating income of 98.7 billion yen, up 10.8% YoY.

・The number of Rakuten Cards issued reached 28.08 million in December 2022 and annual shopping GTV jumped to 18.2 trillion yen, up 25.8% YoY. The company made steady progress towards achieving its “Triple Three” mid-term goals of 30 million cards issued, 30 trillion yen in shopping GTV and 30% GTV market share.

・As of the end of December 2022, Rakuten Bank surpassed 13.39 million individual customer accounts and Rakuten Securities reached 8.64 million general securities accounts, demonstrating steady growth in their respective customer bases. 

・In FY2022, the Mobile segment recorded revenue of 368.7 billion yen, a significant increase of 62.0% YoY. Operating losses of 492.8 billion yen were recorded. After peaking in Q1 FY2022,  operating losses continue to contract due to the increased number of paying customers in line with the end of the campaign offering one-year of free mobile service, increased ARPU (average revenue per user) due to subscribers transitioning to the new Rakuten UN-LIMIT VII service plan, reduced roaming costs as the Rakuten network coverage area expands and other factors.

・100% of Rakuten Mobile subscribers became paying customers as of September, and as Rakuten UN-LIMIT VII’s essentially free-of-charge campaign came to a close at the end of October, ARPU increased from 837 yen in Q1 FY2022, before the announcement of the new service plan, to 1,805 yen in Q4 FY2022*⁵. Average monthly data usage also increased significantly from 9.5 GB in December 2021, before the new service plan was announced, to 18.4 GB in December 2022, contributing to increased ARPU.

・The total number of MNO and MVNO subscribers reached 5.06 million as of the end of December 2022*⁶. New MNO subscribers have shown a net increase since December 2022.

・The average number of Rakuten services used per Rakuten Mobile subscriber increased by 2.61 services, as Rakuten Mobile continues to promote cross-use within the Rakuten Ecosystem*⁷. For subscribers, the average annual purchase amount on Rakuten Ichiba increased 49% after subscribing to Rakuten Mobile*⁸.

・The number of 4G outdoor base stations exceeded 52,003 as of December 31, 2022. The company aims to have 60,000 base stations in operation by the end of FY2023. In addition, the number of outdoor 5G base stations (outdoor Sub6 macro base stations) increased to 7,058 nationwide.

・The company announced the full-scale launch of the Rakuten Mobile Business Plan, a mobile carrier service for business customers, from January 30, 2023. More than 600 businesses are already using the service, and the number of business subscribers is forecast to continue to increase.

・Rakuten Symphony revenue increased significantly to 231 million USD in Q4 FY2022, up 141 million USD over the previous quarter. Cumulative sales revenue since launch reached 548 million USD.


^*1Total sum of advertising sales in Japan recorded in each segment (Internet Services, FinTech and Mobile). Includes internal Group transactions.
^*2 Comparison of the average number of monthly active users between the end of October and December FY2022. Figures are for Rakuten members who earned at least 1 Rakuten Point in the relevant month.
^*3 Domestic e-commerce GMS = Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Travel (GTV on checkout basis), Rakuten Books, Rakuten Books Network, Rakuten Kobo (domestic), golf business, Rakuten Fashion, Rakuten Dream businesses, Rakuten Beauty, Rakuten 24 and other first-party daily necessities shops, Rakuten Car, Rakuten Rakuma, Rakuten Rebates, Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper, cross border trading, etc. Excludes some tax-exempt businesses and includes consumption tax.
^*4 Sum of fashion-related genres on Rakuten Ichiba (fashion, fashion accessories, sports, beauty, etc.) and Rakuten Fashion.
^*5 Sales of each service divided by the average of the number of subscribers at the end of the most recent quarter and the number of subscribers at the end of the previous quarter. Q4 FY2022 are preliminary figures.
^*6 Preliminary subscriber figures.
^*7 Users who applied by October 2021 and are eligible for billing. Cross-use numbers include Rakuten Mobile.
^*8 Calculated based on users with a Rakuten Mobile subscription during the period from January to December 2022 and for whom at least 12 months have passed since the month in which the subscription started (including users who cancelled during the period).GMS growth is the weighted average of figures comparing GMS in the 12 months prior to subscribing and the most recent 12 months (January to December 2022) for each contract start month.