WA, Inc. (7683) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: ¥25.34B
• Dividend Yield: 1.05%
• Average Volume (3M): 30.26K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 37.0
• Beta (1Y): 0.58
• Revenue Growth: 2.95%
• EPS Growth: -24.92%
• Country: JP
• Employees: 512
• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Sector Strength: 84
• Industry: Apparel - Retail
• EPS (TTM): 9.38
• Shares Outstanding: 19,079,920
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 35,840
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 30,260
• PEG Ratio: -1.20
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.30
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.09
• P/FCF Ratio: 48.36
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: N/A
• Number of Analyst Covering: 0
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 61 Neutral
• Price Target: ¥1,426.00 ▲(6.18% Upside)
• Action: Downgraded Date: 03/19/26
• Date: Action: Downgraded 03/19/26

The score is supported by solid top-line growth and a conservatively financed balance sheet, but is held back by weakening profitability/cash conversion trends and a high P/E valuation. Technical indicators are broadly neutral, offering limited additional support.

Positive Factors

Consistent Revenue Growth

Sustained mid-teens top-line growth across 2022–2026 indicates durable demand and successful scale-up of the retail apparel model. That steady revenue expansion supports capacity utilization, long-term investment, and helps absorb fixed costs even if margins fluctuate.

Conservative Balance Sheet

A very low-debt capital structure and expanding equity base provide financial flexibility in a cyclical retail industry. This conservatism supports investment, inventory cycles, and resilience to shocks, reducing refinancing and liquidity risk over the medium term.

High Gross Margins and Positive FCF

Strong gross margins combined with a return to sustained positive free cash flow in 2024–2026 indicate core product economics are healthy. This underpins long-term cash generation capacity for reinvestment, deleveraging, or shareholder returns despite near-term volatility.

Negative Factors

Margin Compression

A clear multi-year decline in operating and net margins reduces the company's ability to convert revenue into retained earnings. Persistently lower margins can constrain reinvestment, weaken ROE, and increase sensitivity to cost inflation or promotional pricing over time.

Weak Cash Conversion

Operating cash flow running well below reported net income and volatile free cash flow point to working-capital swings and lower earnings quality. Over the medium term this can limit predictable funding for capex, dividends, or strategic initiatives despite positive headline profits.

Declining Return on Equity

A multi-year decline in ROE signals the business is generating lower returns on invested capital. If sustained, this trend can impair shareholder value creation, reduce reinvestment efficiency and make growth initiatives more dependent on incremental capital deployment.

WA, Inc. Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

WA, Inc. (7683) is a diversified technology company specializing in software solutions and digital services across various sectors including finance, healthcare, and education. With a strong focus on innovation, WA, Inc. develops cloud-based platforms that enhance operational efficiency and optimize customer engagement. The company’s core products include enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and data analytics tools designed to meet the evolving needs of businesses worldwide.

WA, Inc. Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Strong and consistent revenue growth (low-to-high teens through 2026) and a very low-debt balance sheet support resilience. Offsetting factors are margin compression since 2024 (net margin down to ~3.0% in 2026) and weaker/variable cash conversion where operating cash flow runs well below net income in 2025–2026.

Income Statement

Revenue has grown consistently from 2022–2026 (annual growth mostly in the low-to-high teens, including ~18% in 2026), showing solid demand and scale-up. Profitability is healthy at the gross level (roughly 61–64% gross margin), but operating and net profitability have cooled since 2024: net margin fell from ~5.5% (2024) to ~4.4% (2025) and ~3.0% (2026), with a similar step-down in operating margin. Strengths are strong top-line trajectory and high gross profitability; weaknesses are the recent compression in operating and net profitability that suggests higher costs, investment spend, or pricing/discount pressure.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet looks conservatively financed with very low leverage (debt-to-equity roughly 3–5% across years), providing flexibility in a cyclical retail environment. Equity and assets have steadily expanded over time, supporting growth. Returns on equity are decent but have moderated recently (from ~11.7% in 2024 to ~9.3% in 2025 and ~6.2% in 2026), which aligns with the margin compression seen in earnings. Overall strength is balance-sheet resilience; the main watch item is declining return generation versus prior peaks.

Cash Flow

Cash generation has improved meaningfully versus the 2021 loss-making cash flow period, with positive operating cash flow and free cash flow in 2024–2026. However, cash flow quality is mixed: operating cash flow is only about half of net income in 2025–2026 (and was even weaker in 2023–2024), and free cash flow similarly runs near ~54–61% of net income in 2024–2026. Free cash flow also shows volatility (very strong in 2022, sharp drop in 2023, then recovery), indicating working-capital swings and/or uneven investment cadence. Strength is the return to sustained positive free cash flow; weakness is the relatively weak conversion of earnings into cash and higher variability year to year.

Breakdown	TTM	Jan 2026	Jan 2025	Jan 2024	Jan 2023	Jan 2022
Income Statement
Total Revenue	23.29B	23.33B	22.80B	21.26B	17.60B	15.70B
Gross Profit	14.10B	14.19B	14.02B	13.40B	11.31B	10.11B
EBITDA	2.12B	1.67B	2.17B	2.22B	1.63B	1.59B
Net Income	1.01B	688.07M	996.00M	1.16B	689.17M	707.57M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	13.78B	13.46B	13.15B	12.40B	10.83B	10.07B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	2.72B	2.62B	2.97B	3.30B	3.42B	3.70B
Total Debt	604.13M	359.31M	315.71M	373.36M	397.45M	274.68M
Total Liabilities	2.83B	2.39B	2.40B	2.46B	2.07B	1.96B
Stockholders Equity	10.94B	11.06B	10.75B	9.94B	8.76B	8.11B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	0.00	525.90M	503.00M	366.84M	102.62M	1.31B
Operating Cash Flow	0.00	968.55M	918.00M	605.45M	314.92M	1.46B
Investing Cash Flow	0.00	-469.25M	-653.00M	-428.88M	-555.78M	-136.01M
Financing Cash Flow	0.00	-680.21M	-624.00M	-441.50M	-416.11M	-350.97M

WA, Inc. Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 1343.00
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For JP:7683, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 1343 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 1352.50, below the 50-day MA of 1355.35, and above the 200-day MA of 1338.56, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 2.03 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 46.01 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 50.41 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for JP:7683.

WA, Inc. Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
2792	72 Outperform	¥40.46B	10.95	―	3.62%	-0.98%	-29.86%
2726	70 Outperform	¥260.59B	19.60	―	1.46%	12.02%	-15.70%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$18.38B	12.79	-2.54%	3.03%	1.52%	-15.83%
7683	61 Neutral	¥25.34B	36.96	―	1.05%	2.95%	-24.92%
3415	55 Neutral	¥15.83B	15.18	―	1.08%	17.48%	83.54%
3548	53 Neutral	¥26.47B	13.91	―	4.99%	-7.21%	-5127.88%
2686	42 Neutral	¥11.92B	-3.30	―	―	-9.54%	-53.85%

WA, Inc. Corporate Events

WA Subsidiary Himiko Lifts Sales but Sees Profit Dip as Costs Rise

Himiko Co., Ltd., a consolidated subsidiary of WA, Inc., reported net sales of ¥5,553 million and net income of ¥209 million for the fiscal year ended January 2026, extending a multi-year growth trend in revenue. Strong demand for seasonal footwear and solid e-commerce performance underpinned top-line growth, but higher raw material costs and increased labor-related expenses weighed on margins, leading to a year-on-year decline in profit.

In a further sign of brand strength, Himiko received the “Best-Seller Award in the Shoes Category, Ladies’ Division” at the 2025 Department Store Buyers’ Awards for the sixth consecutive year. The recognition reinforces the HIMIKO brand’s positioning in Japan’s women’s footwear market and supports WA’s strategy of driving growth through product appeal, department store presence, and online expansion aimed at supporting women’s empowerment.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:7683) stock is a Buy with a Yen1502.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on WA, Inc. stock, see the JP:7683 Stock Forecast page.

WA, Inc. Grows Sales but Sees Profit Squeezed by Rising Costs

WA, Inc. reported higher net sales for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, rising 4.6% year on year to 17,892 million yen, supported by new store openings, the integration of additional outlets from the 31 Sons de mode business acquisition, and stronger online sales driven by an expanded lineup of web-only products. Despite this top-line growth, operating profit fell 38.2% to 791 million yen, with ordinary profit and net profit also declining, as wage hikes, higher purchase costs, and increased logistics expenses tied to energy price rises and yen depreciation significantly compressed margins.

The company’s earnings per share decreased from 42.05 yen to 33.84 yen, underscoring pressure on profitability even as the sales base broadened. These results highlight a challenging cost environment for fashion and specialty retailers in Japan, suggesting that WA, Inc. must balance continued growth investments with tighter cost control to protect earnings and shareholder returns amid inflationary and currency headwinds.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:7683) stock is a Buy with a Yen1502.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on WA, Inc. stock, see the JP:7683 Stock Forecast page.

WA, Inc. Earnings Slip Despite Higher Sales, Company Targets Profit Rebound in FY2027

WA, Inc. reported a modest 2.3% increase in net sales to ¥23.3 billion for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, but profitability weakened, with operating profit down 36.2% and profit attributable to owners of the parent falling 31.0%. Earnings per share declined accordingly, although the company maintained a strong equity-to-asset ratio of 82.2% and slightly increased net assets, underscoring a still-solid financial base.

Operating cash flow improved year on year, and cash on hand remained broadly stable, but the company reduced its annual dividend from ¥34.00 to ¥17.00 per share following a prior year that included a special commemorative payout. Looking ahead to the fiscal year ending January 31, 2027, WA, Inc. is guiding for 5.7% sales growth and a sharp recovery in profitability, with operating profit expected to rise 41.0% and EPS projected to rebound to ¥46.15, signaling management’s confidence in restoring margins and supporting future shareholder returns.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:7683) stock is a Buy with a Yen1502.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on WA, Inc. stock, see the JP:7683 Stock Forecast page.

W A, Inc. Posts Modest February Sales Growth on Strong Online Demand

W A, Inc. reported non-consolidated monthly sales for February 2026, with total revenue of ¥986 million driven by ¥475 million from stores, ¥305 million from online channels, and ¥206 million from other sales. Apparel contributed ¥156 million, highlighting the role of the MISCH MASCH and 31 Sons de mode brands within the company’s product mix.

Compared with February of the previous fiscal year, total sales rose to 102% as store sales reached 95% year-on-year, online sales climbed to 113%, and other sales increased to 103%. The figures, based on internal monthly closings and excluding consolidated subsidiaries, suggest modest overall growth with particularly strong momentum in e-commerce, underscoring a gradual shift toward online demand in the company’s retail operations.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:7683) stock is a Buy with a Yen1502.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on WA, Inc. stock, see the JP:7683 Stock Forecast page.

WA, Inc. Posts 5% Annual Sales Growth as Apparel and Online Businesses Strengthen

WA, Inc. reported its non-consolidated monthly sales for January 2026, showing total sales of ¥1,780 million, up from ¥1,679 million a year earlier, contributing to a 5% year-on-year increase in total sales for the twelve months ended January 2026. Store sales for the period were broadly flat year-on-year at 99%, while online sales continued to be a growth driver at 119% of the previous year’s January level, and other sales rose to 119% as well; apparel sales, now including both MISCH MASCH and 31 Sons de mode, expanded from ¥304 million to ¥431 million over the comparable January period. The figures, which exclude consolidated subsidiaries, indicate steady overall top-line growth and a strengthening of the company’s apparel segment and digital channels, underscoring a gradual improvement in WA, Inc.’s retail performance despite mixed momentum in brick-and-mortar stores.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:7683) stock is a Buy with a Yen1502.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on WA, Inc. stock, see the JP:7683 Stock Forecast page.

W A, Inc. Posts 5% Year-on-Year Sales Growth Through December 2025

W A, Inc. reported its non-consolidated monthly sales for December 2025 and cumulative results for FY2026 to date, showing total sales of ¥1,540 million for December and ¥16,090 million for the February–December period. Store sales and online sales both recorded year-on-year growth in most months, with total sales running at 105% of the prior-year level, indicating steady top-line expansion despite some monthly volatility. The apparel segment, which now incorporates the MISCH MASCH and 31 Sons de Mode businesses, generated ¥2,480 million in sales over the period, reflecting a stronger contribution than in the previous fiscal year and underscoring apparel’s rising importance within the company’s overall revenue mix. As figures are non-consolidated and based on monthly closings, they primarily highlight a positive demand trend in W A, Inc.’s core domestic retail operations rather than its broader group performance.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:7683) stock is a Buy with a Yen1502.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on WA, Inc. stock, see the JP:7683 Stock Forecast page.