1st Quarter Financial Results: Q&A (GMO FY26 Q1 QA 260515 e)

About this update from Gmo Internet Group, Inc.

Q1 12/26 Results Presentation - Q&A This document summarizes the questions received from participants at the financial results briefing held on May 15, 2026. Responses were provided by Masashi Yasuda, CFO of GMO Internet Group, Inc., and Noriko Inagaki, Group Managing Executive Officer of the Group. Please note that some answers have been supplemented by the IR Department. Consolidated Strategy 【Q1】 At the briefing, you mentioned the positive aspects of the AI revolution, such as for infrastructure and security. Could you also share the negative impacts of the AI revolution on the Group's overall businesses? 【A1】 In parts of the Advertising & Media business, we are seeing impacts from clients bringing operations in-house and from increased customer-acquisition competition outside of search. We are shifting personnel from affected divisions to growth businesses, and the impact on consolidated performance is minor. We will continue to advance structural reforms so that we can remain competitive in the AI era. (Yasuda) 【Q2】 In Q1, businesses other than Infrastructure and Financial appear to have posted profit declines. From Q2 onwards, is there a risk that capital expenditures on AI and similar items could cause core businesses to see profit declines? 【A2】 The profit decline reflects strategic investments in Security, the transition to a stock-type model in Advertising & Media, and market conditions in Crypto Assets. Company-wide AI utilization costs will be incurred, but the impact will not significantly weigh down our performance. The Financial business has also stabilized, with diversified revenue sources driven by the growth of CFD. At this time, we are not planning any investments that would cause significant P&L volatility compared with Q1. (Yasuda) 【Q3】 With the transition to IFRS, should we interpret the ongoing 15% annual profit growth target on a "business profit" basis going forward? Also, please share the status of your DOE deliberations. 【A3】 This is also an important item internally, and as we are still digesting the change, the materials still refer to "operating profit." However, as investors are aware, please consider this on a "business profit" basis going forward. As for the introduction of DOE, while adoption is progressing across Group companies, we are continuing to consider introduction at the parent level as well, taking into account the impact of IFRS. (Yasuda) 【Q4】 Q1 progress is strong. With that in mind, what is your internal image of the level of expenses (investments) the Group will deploy this fiscal year? 【A4】 While there are items such as branding costs that will fully ramp up from the next fiscal year onward, we currently do not anticipate any new large-scale strategic investments this fiscal year that would cause significant volatility in our performance. (Yasuda) Internet Security 【Q5】 Regarding the Security business, the profit decline came as a surprise given that the electronic certification and seal business of subsidiary GMO GlobalSign Holdings posted higher profits. You explained this was due to promotional costs at the Brand Security business - what is the scale of those costs? 【A5】 As you noted, the electronic certification and seal business of GMO GlobalSign Holdings posted higher profits, but on a consolidated basis we are seeing a profit decline mainly for two reasons. First, the difference in consolidation scope: sales that GMO GlobalSign Holdings recorded against other Group companies are eliminated upon consolidation in our financials. Second, under IFRS-specific accounting treatment, we are recognizing expenses more conservatively. Note that promotional costs in the Brand Security business are less than 100 million yen in scale. They stand out because the Security segment itself is small, but the core businesses themselves are performing well. (Inagaki) Other 【Q6】 Please share the factors behind the wider loss in "Other businesses." Is much of it a one-off factor from GMO SONIC? Also, please describe what types of businesses make up this segment. 【A6】 The Other segment consists mainly of brand activities and businesses in the investment phase. GMO SONIC is held around this time every year, but the loss this year was larger than usual due to differences in the event's conditions - this is a one-off impact. Regarding businesses in the investment phase, the impact mainly reflects the more aggressive investments being made at GMO Financial Holdings. (Inagaki) Financial Strategy 【Q7】 Please share your funding plans and financial management policy for this fiscal year. 【A7】 We are not considering any equity financing whatsoever. We will address existing bonds and borrowings, but we do not plan any actions that would significantly impact our balance sheet structure. We will continue to optimize our financial discipline. (Yasuda) Shareholder Returns 【Q8】 Now that the Group has met the listing maintenance criteria for the Prime Market, please share your view on the timing of share buybacks. 【A8】 Our policy of working toward our long-term share-buyback target remains unchanged. We may take action when capacity arises, but we cannot comment on specific timing at this point. (Yasuda)

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