Starts Publishing Corporation (7849) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: ¥14.78B
• Dividend Yield: 3.16%
• Average Volume (3M): 2.57K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 10.4
• Beta (1Y): 0.43
• Revenue Growth: -7.41%
• EPS Growth: -17.57%
• Country: JP
• Employees: 235
• Sector: Communication Services
• Sector Strength: 97
• Industry: Publishing
• EPS (TTM): 119.30
• Shares Outstanding: 3,840,000
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 3,710
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 2,566
• PEG Ratio: -0.43
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.36
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.79
• P/FCF Ratio: 18.46
• 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: 74 Outperform
• Price Target: ¥4,150.00 ▲(7.79% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/18/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/18/26

The score is driven primarily by strong financial quality (especially the debt-free, well-capitalized balance sheet) and appealing valuation (low P/E and solid dividend yield). These positives are partially offset by weaker technicals (trading below key moving averages with soft momentum) and a 2025 step-down in revenue/earnings alongside sharply lower operating and free cash flow versus 2024.

Positive Factors

Debt-free, well-capitalized balance sheet

A zero-debt balance sheet and rising equity provide durable financial flexibility: the company can fund content acquisition, marketing, or M&A without refinancing risk, absorb cyclical revenue dips, and sustain dividends or buybacks. This structural strength reduces solvency risk and supports long-term strategic execution.

Consistent cash-generation track record

Historically close FCF-to-net-income conversion signals reliable internal funding for operations and IP investment. That pattern underpins sustainable capital allocation (content development, digital transition) and supports resilience through content cycles, providing a durable foundation even if short-term cash flow fluctuates.

Historically healthy margins and prior revenue expansion

Strong gross and operating margins for a publisher indicate efficient editorial, production and distribution capabilities and pricing power in core genres. The 2021–2024 revenue expansion shows ability to scale IP and channels, a structural advantage that supports long-term profit recovery if growth headwinds ease.

Negative Factors

2025 revenue and earnings slowdown

A material slowdown with margin compression in 2025 signals that recent top-line momentum and pricing/leverage may be weakening. If driven by softer content sales or mix shifts, this can have persistent effects: lower reinvestment capacity, reduced bargaining power with creators/distributors, and prolonged margin pressure absent structural changes.

Sharp 2025 drop in operating and free cash flow

A marked year-over-year cash-flow decline increases cash-conversion volatility and constrains discretionary spend. For a content business this can delay new IP development or marketing, pressuring future revenue. Lower FCF also limits buffer for dividends or opportunistic investments, raising funding risk if weakness persists.

Negative recent revenue/EPS trends and limited liquidity

Negative revenue and EPS growth indicate underlying demand or margin challenges that may not reverse quickly. Combined with small average trading volume, the company faces scale and liquidity constraints that can hinder access to capital, make partnerships or larger deals harder, and amplify execution risk during prolonged softness.

Starts Publishing Corporation Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Starts Publishing Corporation engages in the publishing business in Japan. The company publishes magazines, such as Oz magazine, Oz magazine trip, Metro Minutes, and Aerde; operates Oz Mall, an information site for women; and provides OZ premium reservation service, which allows online reservations for restaurants, hotels, beauty salons, etc. It also operates novel posting sites, such as Noichigo, Berry's Cafe, and Novem, as well as publishes books, e-comics, e-books, and comics. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

How the Company Makes Money

Starts Publishing Corporation Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Strong overall fundamentals supported by a very conservative, debt-free balance sheet and historically healthy profitability. The main negatives are the 2025 annual slowdown (revenue/earnings softness, margin compression) and a sharp year-over-year drop in operating and free cash flow, which raises near-term cash-conversion volatility.

Income Statement

Profitability is strong for a publisher, with healthy gross and operating margins in recent years and net margins holding in the mid-to-high teens (2025 annual). Revenue expanded meaningfully from 2021–2024, but 2025 annual revenue and earnings softened versus 2024, with noticeable margin compression (operating and net), signaling a near-term slowdown after a strong run.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is very conservative: total debt is reported at zero across all periods, implying low financial risk and high flexibility. Equity has grown substantially over time, and returns on equity were solid in 2022–2024, though profitability dipped in 2025 versus the prior year—still, the company remains exceptionally well-capitalized.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is generally good with free cash flow closely tracking net income in most years, and the company rebounded strongly from weak 2020 cash conversion. However, 2025 annual operating cash flow fell sharply versus 2024 and covered a smaller share of earnings, and free cash flow declined materially year over year, introducing higher near-term volatility despite still-positive free cash flow.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	8.14B	8.58B	8.34B	7.02B	5.52B
Gross Profit	4.18B	4.74B	4.55B	3.59B	2.59B
EBITDA	1.83B	2.41B	2.34B	1.67B	940.27M
Net Income	1.38B	1.83B	1.78B	1.17B	566.48M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	12.90B	11.98B	10.59B	8.55B	6.75B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	7.07B	7.72B	6.34B	4.85B	3.79B
Total Debt	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Total Liabilities	2.13B	2.21B	2.42B	2.16B	1.48B
Stockholders Equity	10.77B	9.77B	8.17B	6.39B	5.28B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	791.56M	1.63B	1.63B	1.15B	1.17B
Operating Cash Flow	798.75M	1.69B	1.70B	1.25B	1.21B
Investing Cash Flow	-985.10M	33.00M	-92.53M	-103.65M	-54.05M
Financing Cash Flow	-459.41M	-344.00M	-115.72M	-76.66M	-67.12M

Starts Publishing Corporation Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 3850.00
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For JP:7849, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 3850 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 3790.25, above the 50-day MA of 3778.24, and below the 200-day MA of 3936.09, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -6.84 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 56.37 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 46.31 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for JP:7849.

Starts Publishing Corporation Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
7849	74 Outperform	¥14.78B	10.41	―	3.16%	-7.41%	-17.57%
6176	73 Outperform	¥10.51B	15.76	―	―	7.76%	12.44%
9478	70 Outperform	¥6.97B	13.19	―	0.87%	-3.02%	-30.86%
Sector *	60 Neutral	$48.67B	4.58	-11.27%	4.14%	2.83%	-41.78%
9475	58 Neutral	¥9.74B	38.48	―	1.06%	0.02%	-88.78%
3641	48 Neutral	¥9.29B	62.89	―	1.02%	-8.03%	―

Starts Publishing Corporation Corporate Events

Starts Publishing Posts Lower 2025 Earnings but Strengthens Balance Sheet

Starts Publishing Corporation reported full-year 2025 results showing a decline in performance, with net sales down 5.1% to ¥8.14 billion and operating profit dropping 24.9% to ¥1.76 billion, leading to a 24.6% fall in net profit and lower earnings per share. Profitability ratios, including return on equity and operating margin, weakened year on year, as ordinary profit to total assets and operating profit to net sales both fell, signaling softer operational efficiency.

Despite the earnings downturn, the balance sheet strengthened, with total assets rising to ¥12.90 billion and net assets increasing to ¥10.77 billion, lifting the capital adequacy ratio to 83.5% and boosting net assets per share. Cash flows from operating activities roughly halved and the company moved to negative investing cash flow and higher financing outflows, indicating increased investment and shareholder or debt-related payouts, but it still closed the period with a solid cash position of ¥5.57 billion, supporting financial resilience ahead of its planned shareholder meeting and filings in March 2026.

The most recent analyst rating on (JP:7849) stock is a Buy with a Yen4262.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Starts Publishing Corporation stock, see the JP:7849 Stock Forecast page.