Recruit Holdings: Mar Q Results: Positive Surprise — Accelerating Indeed Monetization Drove Strong Earnings

Research evidence excerpt

Recruit Holdings: Mar Q Results: Positive Surprise — Accelerating Indeed Monetization Drove Strong Earnings

Update

May 15, 2026 09:06 AM GMT

Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co., Ltd.+MRecruit Holdings (6098) | Japan Tetsuro Tsusaka, CFA

Equity Analyst

Mar Q Results: Positive Surprise Tetsuro.Tsusaka@morganstanleymufg.comLuyuan Yang, CFA +81 3 6836-8412

Luyuan.Yang@morganstanleymufg.com +81 3 6836-8423

— Accelerating Indeed Keiji Nishimura

Research Associate

Keiji.Nishimura@morganstanleymufg.com +81 3 6836-8424

Monetization Drove Strong

Recruit Holdings (6098.T, 6098 JT)

Internet & Media | JapanEarnings

Stock Rating Overweight

Industry View In-Line

Price target ¥10,000

Reaction to earnings Shr price, close (May 15, 2026) ¥7,825

Mkt cap, curr, basic (bn) ¥10,996.1

Strengthens our thesis Meaningful upside Meaningful revision higher Avg daily trading value (bn) ¥41.9

Impact to our thesis Financial results versus consensus Direction of next 12-month

consensus EPS

Source: Company data, Morgan Stanley Research

Vs. forecasts: A positive surprise, with both reported EBITDA and guidance

exceeding market expectations by around 10%. Accelerating monetization at Indeed

was the key driver of strong earnings.

Main surprises: Monetization at Indeed accelerated and matching accuracy

improved on AI-driven advancements. ARPJ (unit price indicator) rose +25% in 4Q,

and the F3/27 full-year plan projects a further +18% increase, pointing to accelerated

growth in unit price. Improved job matching accuracy at Indeed is creating sales

opportunities beyond the traditional job advertising market, enabling the company

to capture a broad share of corporate hiring budgets.

Recommended action: Results were a positive surprise that we feel could prompt a

re-rating of the share price level.