The Group's growth and business strategies as Explained by Masatoshi Kumagai

We have been repeating and practicing this GMOism since we started our internet business in 1995. As you can see, 8,000 partners from both domestic and international locations regularly gather to recite it.

The common value foundation of GMOism has allowed all group companies to continue to grow in the same direction. GMOisms are updated every year. We believe that our ability to survive in the internet industry is due to our continuous reading, updating, sharing, and thorough implementation of GMOism across all our group companies. Part of this, the Spirit Venture Declaration, is available to the public, so please take a look at it.

Quantitative Target "55-years plan"

The Spirit Venture Declaration also includes the statement, 'All quantitative goals in the GMO Internet Group are based on the 55-year plan.' This concept has become a common language among the group's partners and serves as a premise for formulating internal annual goals. The year 2023 comes at the midpoint of 55-year plan, and the Internet revolution we are aiming for is in its second half. Achieving our 55-year plan requires sustaining profit growth of more than 15% annually. While we do not disclose earnings forecasts, we have communicated this concept of “15% profit growth” to investors through our IR meetings. We will continue to aim to achieve this goal through sustained growth.

In the latter half of the Internet revolution, AI takes center stage.

Here is a graph of the cycles of past industrial revolutions and the technological innovations that triggered them. We can see that the world economy repeats business cycles of 50 years each. It is now known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and it has been 30 years since Windows 95 became the starting point of the Internet Revolution. In the remaining 25 years of the second half of the Internet Revolution, there is no doubt that AI will take center stage and change the world. In fact, AI and the robotics that implement it represent the greatest technological revolution in human history. While AI currently exists within the screens of PCs and smartphones, it is only when integrated into robots that it will physically transform the world. Physical AI is not merely a technological innovation, but a "civilizational shift" that will rewrite the very fabric of industrial order.

We introduce our group's proactive utilization of AI and our challenges to solve social issues through physical robotics here. Please take a look.

Become a group that thrives over hundreds of years.

GMO Internet Group has continuously sought the optimal organizational structure to thrive in the rapidly evolving internet industry and consistently create value. In preparation for the latter half of the Internet revolution, our group shifted from its current business holding company structure to a position closer to that of a pure holding company in January 2025. This is the first step towards building a solid management foundation to achieve the goal of “Become a group that thrives over hundreds of years.” We will continue to enhance our group structure to achieve sustainable growth.

The transition to a holding company structure holds significance for two key reasons.

First, "Promoting agile management."
Our group has always pursued a management style that emphasizes speed by delegating authority to each group company. By further advancing this delegation of authority, we will enable more nimble decision-making and further accelerate our management speed..

Second is enhancing group synergies to their full potential. We believe that the Company will become more similar to a pure holding company and that each group company will be aligned horizontally, enabling smoother creation of ideas and maximization of synergies. With these two points, we will further accelerate the pace of growth and ensure achieving of sustainable growth.

Under this structure, we believe our role as the holding company should focus on the following four functions.

First, enhancing group synergies to their full potential. We will promote projects requiring cooperation across the entire group which will serve as a foundation for the creation of group synergies among companies.

Next, creating new growth drivers. We will provide support for businesses in the Group that are expected to become new growth drivers. Our group has grown as an aggregation of number one services, and we will foster and strengthen new number one businesses. Regarding one and two that I just mentioned, I will present two examples later.

And third, enhancing group structural efficiency. As we develop our group management, we will continue to search for the best formation for sustainable growth of the entire group. Following our transition to a holding company structure, we have encountered new kinds of cases, which I will speak of later.

Finally, serving as a hub for sharing group management expertise. It underpins the management of group companies through know-how on group management, know-how on the use of AI, and the cultivation of group brands.

As of March 2026, our group structure is as follows. These areas are for increasing the efficiency of the group structure and maximize synergies.

The first initiative of our reformation was the transfer of our business to the former GMO AD Partners. The new GMO Internet, which has inherited our founding infrastructure business, launched under a new organizational structure in January 2025. In September, GMO Commerce was newly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) Growth Market. In October, GMO Product Platform and GMO TECH Holdings began operating under new organizational structures. GMO Product Platform was established through a management integration within the Group between GMO Research & AI and GMO TownWiFi, while GMO TECH Holdings was formed through a management integration between GMO TECH and DesignOne Japan, which had previously been listed on the TSE Standard Market. In December 2025, Prime Strategy (currently GMO Prime Strategy), listed on the Standard Market, joined the Group, becoming the 12th publicly traded company within the Group.. We will continue to drive value creation through strategic organizational restructuring initiatives like these.
You may have noticed that some companies in this figure are listed with larger size. GMO Payment Gateway, GMO Internet, and GMO Financial Holdings have each obtained their own issuer ratings and have also raised their own funds, and we expect them to become a larger presence within the Group.

Cloud and Rental Server (Hosting) Business

E-commerce solutions Business

Payment and Settlement Business

Internet access (provider) Business

The group listed companies that develop internet infrastructure businesses are as follows. Please see the IR sites of each company for more information.

• Cryptographic Security – Preventing eavesdropping, data tampering, and impersonation using authentication technology by GlobalSign.
• Cybersecurity – Combatting cyberattacks with top-tier white-hackers from GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae and GMO Flatt Security.
• Brand Security – Providing impersonation monitoring and takedown support by domain and trademark experts.

1. Preventing Eavesdropping, Tampering, and Identity Spoofing. (Cryptographic Security)

Based on the technology of this certification authority, we expand our business since then Covid-19 period with “Electronic Seal GMO SIGN.” Currently, the company has the No.1 market share in Japan in terms of the number of transmissions, and is becoming firmly established as a business infrastructure for companies and local governments. It is steadily accumulating as solid recurring revenues, and we position it as one of our future growth drivers.

2. Countermeasures against cyberattacks. (Cyber security)

It is hard to find an official data of number of white hackers who are technicians who use their knowledge of cyber security for socially correct purposes, but we believe 40% of the domestic workforce is employed by us. We have excellent partners (employees) who win international hacker contests. In cyber security, not only we have large corporate clients, but also provide training to improve the skills of the Cyber Defense Force in the Self Defense Forces in Japan, and support the Metropolitan Police Department which they called Cyber Investigations. Therefore, we have received several certificates of appreciation and awards.

3. Monitoring and removal support for impersonation threats. (Brand security)

The Internet is full of counterfeit products and spoof sites. We monitor, report, and deal with such counterfeits, and our services are mainly used by companies that take care of their brands. We monitor, report, and deal with such counterfeits, and our services are mainly used by companies that value their brands.

In Feb 2025, launched the "Internet Security for Everyone" project.

In February 2025, We have brought together the technologies of our group’s security-related companies to launch a new project, "Internet Security by GMO," under the slogan "A Safe Future for Everyone."

This project is an initiative aimed at establishing ourselves as the top-of-mind brand in the field of security. To date, it has progressed through seven phases, and what you see here represents the overall framework. The upper section illustrates our ongoing initiatives through continuous provision of products and services, while the lower section highlights initiatives through events such as large-scale conferences. By pursuing both product and service delivery as well as event-based activities, we are steadily strengthening brand recognition.

This is our third initiative, “.yourbrand.” In recent years, with the emergence of generative AI, impersonation and phishing scams have become increasingly sophisticated. We believe that delivering peace of mind through stronger anti-phishing measures is more essential than ever to protecting—and enhancing—brand value.

Most companies use common domains such as .com or .jp. For many years, we also used gmo.jp as the domain for our URLs and email addresses. We are now migrating from gmo.jp to our “.gmo” brand top-level domain (TLD), under group.gmo. From an customer’s perspective, because emails come from “.gmo,” it is instantly clear that the sender is authentic—significantly reducing friction and communication costs. In other words, “.yourbrand” is the ultimate countermeasure against phishing.

What makes this especially noteworthy is that the application window will open for the first time in 14 years, and the timing of the next window has not been determined—in effect, a “once-in-a-decade opportunity.” Since we began making proposals, we have received strong inbound interest, clearly different from the previous application round. Ahead of the application window scheduled to begin in spring 2026, we will steadily develop this business as a new pillar of solid recurring revenue, with the potential for high unit prices and strong retention.

As the 8th initiative, Mr. Jiro Hiroe, a former Lieutenant General of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, was appointed as the General Manager of the Group Cyber Defense Business Promotion Headquarters "6." With the participation of Mr. Hiroe, who has held pivotal posts in the communications and cyber defense domains, we will further accelerate the expansion of our cybersecurity business into the defense and public sectors.

As the 10th initiative, we established "MUFG GMO SECURITY," a joint venture between MUFG Bank, our company, and GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae. We have established a system to provide cybersecurity solutions to MUFG's vast customer base. By combining our technological capabilities with MUFG's customer network, we aim to realize a safe and secure future.

And as the 12th initiative, we held the "3rd GMO Grand Conference Spring: Cybersecurity 2026" on March 5, 2026. The "GMO Grand Conference" started in March 2025, followed by September 2025, making this the third event. As one of Japan's largest cybersecurity conferences, bringing together leading figures from defense and government, research institutions, and technology companies, it saw unprecedented enthusiasm. The event reaffirmed the high level of interest in cybersecurity discussions through industry-government-academia collaboration.

For the past 30 years, we have been developing products in the field of internet infrastructure. We now position security as our next foundational domain. Looking ahead, through these differentiated services, we also aim to contribute to solving social challenges in the fields of AI and robotics. We look forward to continuing to deliver on these ambitions.

The following are the listed group companies engaged in the Internet Security business. For more information, please refer to company’s IR website.

The group's listed companies that operate internet financial businesses are as follows.

The group's listed companies that are developing Crypto Assets businesses are as follows. Please see the IR site for more details.

On July, 2018, GMO Aozora Net Bank has launched as next-generation Internet banking business by joint venture agreement with Aozora Bank.
With its management philosophy of “Everything we do is for our customers, Becoming the No. 1 technology bank,” we have combined our technology with Aozora Bank's expertise in bank and risk management to provide a unique, smart, next-generation service at a low price. It is an online bank with utilizing APIs, but no branches at all.

Recently, the number of corporate accounts has been surging, with many newly established corporations choosing GMO Aozora Net Bank. With deposit balances surpassing 1 trillion yen and achieving the No. 1 ranking in the growth rate of main bank selection for two consecutive years, its growth trajectory as an internet bank has been firmly established. We will continue to play a vital role as a key growth engine for the Group as a next-generation technology bank. We appreciate your continued interest and support.

We operate businesses primarily in internet infrastructure and security, where we hold the No.1 position in Japan. Our overseas business is primarily focused on wholesale and direct sales.

The wholesale business mainly consists of “.shop” domains and SSL certificates. “.shop” was acquired in 2016 by GMO Domain Registry through an auction against competitors such as Amazon, for USD 41.5 million (approximately JPY 4.9 billion at the exchange rate at that time)—the highest price paid under the then-new gTLD program. The key to a successful domain is being short and easy to remember. The greatest strength of “.shop” lies in its instant recognition as representing a “shop.” Transcending language and cultural barriers, it is now used by customers worldwide, with overseas markets accounting for about 90% of registrations. Among the products offered by the Group, it has the highest overseas ratio, and as a recurring-revenue business, it contributes steadily to the sustainable growth of our infrastructure segment.

The direct selling is not under the “GMO” brand, but served by unified overseas brand “Z.com.” We will continue to contribute to the further spread of our internet services around the world by providing innovative services through direct selling by “Z.com” with “the world's No.1 service and the world's easiest-to-remember domain name”.

In the second half of the Internet Revolution, where AI takes center stage, the development and utilization of AI human resources is our most critical theme. "Toward a Hyper-Automation Corporate Group"—this is the direction we are currently steering the entire group. To raise our AI utilization capabilities to a world-class level, we are focusing our recruitment on AI and advanced professional talent, while also heavily investing in upskilling our existing partners in AI applications. By aiming for a state where all 8,000 partners utilize AI agents on a daily basis, we will dramatically enhance the productivity of the entire group.