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AppBank, Inc. (JP:6177)
:6177
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AppBank, Inc.
(6177)
Select Model
Select Model
Rating:44Neutral
Price Target:
¥134.00
▲(7.20% Upside)
The score is held down primarily by weak financial performance—multi-year losses, very low recent gross margins, and continued negative operating/free cash flow—despite improved sales momentum and debt reduction to zero. Technicals also remain bearish with the stock trading below key moving averages and a negative MACD, while valuation is difficult to assess due to negative earnings and no dividend yield provided.
Positive Factors
Revenue Recovery
The sharp 2024 revenue rebound (~+103% YoY) demonstrates the business can regain top-line demand after prior declines. Sustained revenue recovery can improve scale economics, help absorb fixed costs, and create a credible path toward restoring operating leverage and profitability over several quarters.
Debt Elimination
Reducing total debt to zero materially lowers financial risk and interest expense, increasing strategic flexibility. For a cash-burning company, zero reported debt extends runway, reduces refinancing and default risk, and provides optionality to allocate future cash to operations or strategic initiatives rather than debt service.
Lean Cost Base
A 36-person workforce reflects a very lean operating model that can scale with revenue growth, enabling potentially rapid improvement in unit economics. Maintaining disciplined headcount while top line recovers can yield faster margin recovery versus peers with heavier fixed labor loads.
Negative Factors
Multi-year Losses
The company has reported net losses every year from 2019–2024, eroding equity and indicating chronic inability to generate sustainable profits. Multi-year losses limit retained capital, raise financing costs, and reduce flexibility to invest in growth or absorb shocks, impeding durable recovery.
Collapsed Gross Margins
A drop in gross margin from ~44% to ~4% indicates structural pricing pressure or a deteriorating business mix that erodes core profitability. Such persistent margin compression means revenue growth alone may not restore earnings without meaningful pricing, mix, or cost-of-goods-sold improvements.
Chronic Cash Burn
Operating cash flow has been negative annually from 2020–2024, with 2024 OCF ≈ -¥228M and FCF ≈ -¥240M, indicating ongoing cash burn. Persistent negative cash generation forces reliance on external financing, increases dilution or leverage risk, and constrains the company's ability to fund investments or survive extended weak demand.
AppBank, Inc. (6177) vs. iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ)
Market Cap
¥3.45B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)2.16M
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)0.97
Revenue Growth89.13%
EPS Growth-23.83%
CountryJP
Employees36
SectorCommunication Services
Sector Strength97
IndustryAdvertising Agencies
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-23.00
Shares Outstanding24,993,500
10 Day Avg. Volume843,170
30 Day Avg. Volume2,160,426
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.09
Price to Book (P/B)17.79
Price to Sales (P/S)1.27
P/FCF Ratio-5.26
Enterprise Value/Market CapN/A
Enterprise Value/RevenueN/A
Enterprise Value/Gross ProfitN/A
Enterprise Value/EbitdaN/A
Forecast
1Y Price TargetN/A
Price Target UpsideN/A
Rating ConsensusN/A
Number of Analyst Covering0
EPS Forecast (FY)N/A
Revenue Forecast (FY)N/A
AppBank, Inc. Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company DescriptionAppBank Inc. engages in media, rights management, and advertising platform businesses in Japan. The company offers iPhone applications, iPhone cases, accessories, and iPhone related news through AppBank.net site; game strategy media, including hit puzzle RPG Puzzle & Dragons capture media and capture media for pull hunting monster strike; and strategies for games and SNS. It also operates YouTube channels Max Murai and Studio Murai that uploads gameplay videos; sells banner advertisements and article advertisements; and manages video content-related rights. AppBank Inc. was founded in 2008 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.
How the Company Makes MoneyAppBank, Inc. generates revenue primarily through the monetization of its mobile applications. This includes in-app purchases, advertising, and premium app subscriptions. The company may also earn income through partnerships with other app developers and platforms, providing services such as app marketing, user acquisition, and performance analytics. These partnerships can enhance the company's market reach and increase user engagement, thereby driving revenue growth.
AppBank, Inc. Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Despite a sharp 2024 revenue rebound (~+103% YoY) and debt reduced to zero, financial health remains weak due to persistent net losses (2019–2024), severely compressed gross margins (~4% in 2023–2024), and ongoing cash burn (negative operating and free cash flow through 2024). The much smaller equity base also limits balance-sheet cushion.Income Statement
Revenue rebounded sharply in 2024 (up ~103% YoY), showing the top line can recover. However, profitability remains very weak: the company has posted net losses every year from 2019–2024, with 2024 still at a ~-24% net margin. A key concern is the multi-year erosion in gross profitability (gross margin falling from ~44% in 2019 to ~4% in 2023–2024), indicating pricing pressure and/or an unfavorable mix that continues to overwhelm any revenue recovery.12
Very Negative
Balance Sheet
Leverage improved materially: total debt declined to zero in 2024 (down from ¥59M in 2023), reducing financial risk and improving flexibility. The trade-off is a much smaller equity base versus prior years (equity fell from ~¥700M in 2019 to ~¥71M in 2024), reflecting cumulative losses and weakening balance-sheet cushion. Returns on equity are deeply negative across the period, underscoring that the capital structure is less leveraged but the business is still not earning its cost of capital.33
Negative
Cash Flow
Cash generation is the biggest weakness: operating cash flow is negative every year from 2020–2024 (and near breakeven in 2019), with 2024 operating cash flow at about -¥228M and free cash flow about -¥240M. While free cash flow losses are broadly in line with reported losses in recent years, the company is still consuming cash rather than funding operations internally, which heightens financing and liquidity risk if conditions do not improve.9
Very Negative
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 | Dec 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 490.14M | 994.44M | 471.98M | 388.69M | 342.11M | 547.48M |
| Gross Profit | 20.79M | 44.11M | 55.44M | 27.43M | 67.32M | 206.65M |
| EBITDA | -405.58M | -235.49M | -480.32M | -274.49M | -175.44M | -170.56M |
| Net Income | -421.40M | -239.32M | -421.00M | -288.90M | -186.25M | -177.58M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 161.50M | 281.95M | 280.00M | 276.74M | 414.59M | 604.29M |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 163.47M | 70.83M | 163.00M | 123.03M | 242.62M | 472.44M |
| Total Debt | 59.99M | 0.00 | 59.00M | 14.79M | 19.59M | 36.12M |
| Total Liabilities | 83.53M | 211.07M | 253.00M | 127.16M | 79.71M | 84.77M |
| Stockholders Equity | 77.97M | 70.87M | 77.97M | 149.59M | 334.88M | 519.52M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 0.00 | -239.70M | -306.00M | -218.47M | -228.19M | -173.29M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 0.00 | -227.54M | -300.39M | -216.42M | -194.41M | -171.92M |
| Investing Cash Flow | 0.00 | -14.68M | -6.71M | -4.99M | -18.89M | -84.70M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 0.00 | 236.83M | 347.54M | 101.83M | -16.52M | -130.34M |
AppBank, Inc. Technical Analysis
Positive
125.00
Price Trends
133.60
Positive
165.14
Negative
148.90
Negative
Market Momentum
0.90
Negative
52.86
Neutral
62.77
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For JP:6177, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 125 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 132.40, below the 50-day MA of 133.60, and below the 200-day MA of 148.90, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.90 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 52.86 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 62.77 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for JP:6177.
AppBank, Inc. Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (60)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
69 Neutral | ¥1.72B | 47.27 | ― | 1.00% | 5.79% | -30.56% | |
62 Neutral | ¥4.51B | 86.64 | ― | 2.36% | 5.91% | -64.01% | |
60 Neutral | $48.67B | 4.58 | -11.27% | 4.14% | 2.83% | -41.78% | |
58 Neutral | ¥1.84B | 10.72 | ― | ― | 21.68% | 110.72% | |
55 Neutral | ¥1.28B | 19.29 | ― | 1.98% | 5.87% | ― | |
47 Neutral | ¥1.36B | -3.43 | ― | ― | ― | ― | |
44 Neutral | ¥3.45B | -4.10 | ― | ― | 89.13% | -23.83% |
* Communication Services Sector Average
JP:6177
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Lovable Marketing Group, Inc.
1,151.00
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Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.