Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
Japan Credit Rating Agency, Ltd. (JCR) announces the following credit rating.
Rakuten Group, Inc. (security code: 4755) Bonds: A-
(1) Consolidated non-GAAP operating income for the fiscal year ended December 2024 (FY2024) was 7 billion yen (a loss of 153 billion yen in the previous fiscal year), marking the first income in five fiscal years since FY2019. The profitability of the mobile business is improving, with Rakuten Mobile, Inc. (“Rakuten Mobile”)’s non-consolidated EBITDA turning to be positive in a single month. For FY2025, the Company plans to increase consolidated non-GAAP operating income and achieve a full-year positive non-consolidated EBITDA for Rakuten Mobile.
(2) As of July 7, 2025, Rakuten Mobile’s number of contract lines reached 9 million (8.85 million excluding BCP contract lines). As shown by this fact, the KPIs of the mobile business have been steady. As competition with rivals for contract acquisition intensifies, JCR will continue to closely watch whether this direction is maintained. There has been no change to the financial strategy from previous policies. The funds for the redemption of the corporate bonds maturing in FY2025 have already been in place, and JCR believes that there are no particular concerns on the financial side. The proceeds from the bond issue will be used for 5G-related investment (Bonds no. 23 and 24) and CP redemption funds, etc. (Bonds no. 25).
Akihisa Motonishi, Naoki Muramatsu
https://www.jcr.co.jp/download/...15e8f699596c10bef1434/25d0506_f.pdf
In conclusion, the Open RAN market is poised for substantial growth, driven by its ability to offer flexible, scalable, and cost-effective network solutions, particularly in the context of 5G deployments and the broader shift towards open and interoperable architectures.
https://www.google.com/...lysis+-+growth+trends+%26+forecast+(2026+-+
May 13, 2025
Open RAN promised to revolutionise the radio access network marketplace, with its open interface specifications enabling a more diverse supplier ecosystem which, in turn, would lead to more choice, greater innovation and lower costs for telcos. However, Open RAN has diverged from its original concept into what it is today. How has the technology changed and how have the views of telcos changed? This panel discusses the state of Open RAN in 2025 and its future potential, the lessons from trials and early deployments, and its effect on the wider RAN marketplace.
Featuring:
Robert Curran, Consulting Analyst, Appledore Research
Sarat Puthenpura, Chief Architect, Open Radio Access Network, Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and Aether, Linux Foundation
Javed Khan, Sr. Director, 5G RAN Product Management, Rakuten Symphony
Warren Bayek, Vice President, Technology Office, Wind River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUaLxaN-zZo
With the Rakuten Card, cardholders will receive an extra four percent Cash Back on top of what they already earn while shopping on Rakuten's platform of more than 3,500 stores, in-person, or online, up to the first $7,000 of credit card spending each calendar year.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/...ap-13-consumer-press-104200058.html
Trotz eines kurzfristigen Kursrückgangs bleiben die Analystenerwartungen für Rakuten im Jahr 2025 insgesamt positiv: Der Analystenkonsens liegt im Bereich "Aufstocken" beziehungsweise "Kaufen", das durchschnittliche Kursziel bewegt sich stabil über dem aktuellen Kurs und zeigt damit Aufwärtspotenzial.
Wichtige Details:
Das durchschnittliche Kursziel für die Aktie liegt derzeit zwischen 950 und 1.020 JPY, was etwa 10–22% über dem letzten Kursniveau (ca. 910 JPY) liegt.
Die Analystenempfehlungen verteilen sich auf etwa 40–53% "Kaufen" und 47–60% "Halten"; ein Verkauf wird kaum empfohlen.
Umsatz und EBITDA sollen laut Schätzungen 2025 weiter wachsen: Für 2025 erwarten Analysten einen Umsatzanstieg auf rund 2,48 Billionen JPY und eine EBITDA-Marge von über 16%, deutlich über dem Vorjahreswert.
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/...-fur-rakut-pWeyJSYCR5a1KYn.9ot4FQ
Rakuten Mobile’s virtualized technology Rakuten Mobile built one of the world’s first fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile networks using Open RAN architecture. In conventional networks, the infrastructure is typically built by deploying dedicated hardware and integrated software. Rakuten Mobile, on the other hand, introduced virtualization technology, replacing hardware functions with software throughout the entire network. This enables network automation and significantly reduces operating costs. Moreover, when updates to the network are needed (e.g., 4G to 5G) – which is a challenge with conventional mobile network infrastructure – Rakuten Mobile can simply update the network software with no need for costly hardware changes, thereby reducing capital investment.
The mobile carrier industry is a capital-intensive sector that requires large-scale capital investment. However, once the break-even point is surpassed, it generates stable cash flow over the long term. As Japan’s newest and most modern mobile network, Rakuten Mobile has incorporated fully virtualized technology into its network, which is a fundamentally different approach from legacy operators. This enables automation and remote control across many parts of the network, significantly reducing operating expenses and future capital investment costs, giving us a long-term cost advantage.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/documents/annual.html
Expanding our global business is another important element in expanding the Rakuten
Ecosystem. Unfortunately, with the population of Japan declining year by year,
developing markets globally is extremely important for achieving long-term and
sustainable growth. Rakuten’s global strategy can be broadly divided into two
categories. One is development centered on our Group services that form the
Rakuten Ecosystem. The other is centered on our global platform, Rakuten
Symphony. For the former, we aim to link services such as Rakuten Rewards,
Rakuten Viber, Rakuten Kobo and Rakuten Viki. In 2024, we expanded our customer
base for each service, generating approximately 14 billion yen in profit from
these four services. As a next step, we would like to develop Rakuten’s
membership business overseas and promote and expand cross-use. This can be
achieved by focusing on points or cashback programs, as well as by providing
excellent UX through AI specialized for the Rakuten Ecosystem as mentioned
above.
For the latter, we are promoting the spread of Open RAN solutions, which support the
cost advantage of Rakuten Mobile. Rakuten is the first company in the world
to commercialize end to-end, fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile network
technology. In the conventional telecom industry, it was common to purchase and
implement packaged solutions from specific vendors. Open RAN is a technology
that opens up these specifications and enables the interconnection of equipment
from different vendors. As a leading company in the industry, we will promote
this while developing Symphony as a platform operator that provides a range of
solutions that make up the network. We’re aiming to provide not only Open RAN
solutions, but also the high-tech cloud technology that makes it work. In
addition, we can offer Rakuten Ecosystem features, such as membership systems
and point programs to support consumer services development, to third parties.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/documents/annual.html
The Rakuten International business unit heightens Rakuten’s global presence through its diverse portfolio of services, including cashback rewards, digital content, and communication apps. Its key services include:
Rakuten Rewards: A leading shopping platform offering cashback deals and rewards to consumers in the U.S., Canada and U.K. Rakuten Rewards helps its members save on their everyday purchases from thousands of retailers and services in apparel, health and beauty, dining, grocery, travel, and electronics, among many other categories.
Rakuten Viber: This popular super app connects 1.57 billion people with free and secure messaging, high-quality voice calls, video calls, and more. With users in over 190 countries and regions and rapidly expanding business-to business and payments offerings, Viber makes marketing easier for brands to attract their audience.
Rakuten Kobo: Catering to book lovers worldwide, Rakuten Kobo suits all reading preferences with its suite of award-winning e-readers and a bookstore offering more than six million eBooks and audiobooks.
Rakuten Viki: A leading platform for Asian entertainment and culture where millions of people discover and consume primetime shows and movies subtitled in more than 200 languages by our community of avid fans.
Driven by Rakuten Kobo and Rakuten Viber, Rakuten International realized strong revenue growth in 2024. The successful implementation of cost-cutting and profitability improvement initiatives through its services resulted in a full-year operating profit.
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/documents/annual.html
July 19, 2025
Popular messaging platform Rakuten Viber has launched Viber Ads Manager, a self-service advertising platform that enables small and medium agencies and advertisers in the Philippines to independently run ad campaigns in target markets with a pay-as-you-go model.
Powered by global ad tech provider Adslot, Viber Ads Manager now gives direct access to Viber’s ad inventory and extensive global user base. Smaller advertisers can choose from preset advertising packages tailored to their goals and budgets, target audiences with ease to maximize visibility and performance, and engage users through captivating mobile ad formats.
Viber Ads Manager is now available in the Philippines, and small and medium agencies and advertisers can now join the platform to run their own ad campaigns.
Thousands of global and regional brands already advertise on Viber via the Viber for Business suite tailored for enterprises. Viber Ads Manager complements the app’s existing self-serve accounts which help smaller businesses optimize communication with customers.
“Viber Ads Manager is the next step in Viber’s super app strategy, part of which is to create an ecosystem of solutions for businesses of all sizes,” said Cristina Constandache, Chief Revenue Officer at Rakuten Viber. “We’re excited to launch it in a number of our key markets after successful testing, giving smaller advertisers a simple way to run targeted campaigns on their own terms.”
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/07/19/...l-run-campaigns-directly/
It was sold out due to popular demand.
Official name: Rakuten Group Co., Ltd. 25th Unsecured Corporate Bonds (with special provisions for the same ranking limited to bonds)
https://www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/bond/jbond/...468cd16e48d26581769c3
July 25, 2025
Rakuten Advertising's Affiliate Intelligence is a suite of cutting-edge AI-powered tools designed to provide advertisers with unique insights and ensure robust brand protection. For example, Rakuten Advertising Detect can pinpoint instances of ad fraud or performance anomalies, while Partnership Discovery identifies optimal partnerships between advertisers and publishers. In this report, we hear from Rakuten Advertising's AI strategy leader at Rakuten Optimism in the US, and from a user of Partnership Discovery who boosted their sales by nearly 40%.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6bHmHzc_fs&t=23s
Jul 24, 2025
Rakuten Mobile, Rakuten Symphony and Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT) demonstrate energy savings at the Japan OTIC Lab: RF channel reconfiguration research has been conducted by Rakuten Mobile, Rakuten Symphony and QCT to validate energy savings for a complete end-to-end 4G mobile network lab demonstration setup. Energy savings have been achieved through RF channel reconfiguration rApp using real-time power measurement tools from the Japan OTIC lab which provides an independent and open interconnectivity verification environment to test and certify hardware including base station equipment.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/...Spring-2025-Global-PlugFest