Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

- und daher habe ich mir nach dem Einstieg bei Alibaba, die inzwischem mehr als 20% gut gemacht haben, auch einige Rakutens gekauft.

Look Out Amazon, Here Comes...Rakuten?
Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten announced on Tuesday it is acquiring Ebates for $1 billion.

The acquisition, which Rakuten hinted at last week, is part of the Japanese company’s push to grow its base beyond its domestic market and hopefully, become a global player. Having made some $1.2 billion acquisitions to date along these lines, this is Rakuten’s most ambitious move to date.

However, investors are dubious that the company can absorb yet another foreign acquisition, much less one the size of Ebates, despite Rakuten’s strong cash position.
Then there is the ever-present Amazon, which dominates the e-commerce market in the U.S. Few believe it will falter in the face of Chinese giant Alibaba, much less a Rakuten-Ebates combo.

Rakuten Goes Forth

Not surprisingly, Rakuten says it is undaunted. For starters, it has assembled a very interesting mix of acquisitions. There is messaging app Viber, which it purchased for $900 million in February, the Canadian ebook offering Kobo, Spanish video service Wuaki.tv, Viki, a digital content platform and Buy.com.
Now it has picked up Ebates.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikamorphy/2014/09/...ere-comes-rakuten/  

Rakuten Mobile Launches "SAIKYO KIDS Program"

MAY 10, 2024

Rakuten Mobile has announced the start of the "SAIKYO KIDS Program" to support children's first smartphones. If monthly data usage stays within 3GB, users essentially only pay 480 yen per month (538 yen including taxes) until the age of 12. At the announcement event, a Rakutenian and their child held a panel discussion where they talked about smartphone use for elementary school students, in addition to the benefits of the program from the parent's perspective.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/innovation/rnn/2024/2405_009/
 

May 10, 2024

Rakuten Mobile has announced the start of the "SAIKYO KIDS Program" to support children's first smartphones. If monthly data usage stays within 3GB, users essentially only pay 480 yen per month (538 yen including taxes) until the age of 12. At the announcement event, a Rakutenian and their child held a panel discussion where they talked about smartphone use for elementary school students, in addition to the benefits of the program from the parent's perspective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBtJKL3zIqs
 

Rakuten Product Conference 2024: Enterprise SaaS and AI

May 09, 2024

Unlock the power of technology for everyone. Join us at Rakuten Product Conference ‘24 on May 21st and 22nd as we reimagine innovation in Enterprise SaaS and AI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zudCT9TmjYg
 

On the fence about how to manage your mobile network? Let history be your guide

By Geoff Hollingworth

Chief Marketing Officer Rakuten Symphony
May 6, 2024

In this post I want to expand on the statements I made about game changing innovation and the paradigm shift facing telecom.  

At day zero before a disruptive technology is launched, everything feels normal and under control. But looking back at that moment from the future, it’s apparent that the change was so impactful it makes you wonder how we functioned without it.

A good example is the launch of Web 2.0 in 2007. At the time, we were all happily surfing statically created Web 1.0 web pages on our computers. But now can we imagine a world without the social media, photo sharing, e-commerce and other capabilities that define how we use the Internet today? The same thing can be said about smartphones and many other technologies.

It's day zero for Telecom Reinvented

For MNOs it’s day zero of a massive shift in terms of both their operational mindset and technologies that are leveraged, which are virtualized, software-driven, and feature standardized network software and hardware. And it’s hard to see the changes when you are at day zero. This new approach is distinguished by the need for a network-wide standardized data pool to be created and used for AI-powered autonomous automation.

The MNOs who embrace this network industrialization can change their businesses by taking advantage of the opportunities for cost cutting and new revenues that this network paradigm shift brings with it.  

Rakuten Mobile has been at the forefront of this change in leveraging a software-first automation approach to manage a nation-wide network with only 250 engineers. Other MNOs will look back on this change and ask themselves, how did we boost our revenue when we couldn’t launch complex 5G standalone services with a zero-touch approach?  

Or how did we support new services when we couldn’t autonomously manage tens of thousands of edge network servers?

Or how did we make a profit when we had such huge teams of network engineers managing the network?

We also have the chance to answer other pressing questions. How do we make AI safe?  How do we reduce fraud?

I think we'll all look back at this period the same way as we look back at the start of Web 2.0 apps or the smart phone in 2007. Those MNOs who are late to the network industrialization revolution will struggle to compete and they will reflect on this inflection point and realize the consequences of not adopting this reinvented approach to telecom.    

And if telecom is not taking advantage of these important changes in the next 10-15 years, shame on the industry.

https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...etwork-let-history-be-your-guide

 

https://www.rakuten-sec.co.jp/web/company/...se/pdf/press20240513.pdf  

https://contents.xj-storage.jp/xcontents/AS92404/...513132414990s.pdf  

Certainly! In May 2024, Rakuten Viber, a global leader in private and secure messaging and calls, introduced an AI-powered feature for group chats. Leveraging technology similar to ChatGPT, this feature summarizes long conversations into bullet points, ensuring essential details aren’t lost1. Here are the key points:

         •§AI Chat Summary: The feature condenses up to 100 unread messages in a group chat into a concise summary.
         •§Efficient Communication: It extracts crucial parts of conversations, enhancing decision-making and productivity.
         •§Privacy: Summaries are visible only to users who request them, ensuring confidentiality.
         •§Data Security: Viber doesn’t save summaries on its servers, ensuring a secure user experience.

This innovation reflects Rakuten Viber’s commitment to smarter, more efficient communication2. The feature is gradually rolling out to users in the U.S., the Philippines, Ukraine, Japan, Bulgaria, and Poland1. With over 1 billion registered users and 820 million monthly active users, Rakuten Viber continues to evolve3. Exciting times ahead!

https://www.bing.com/...p;adppc=EDGEDSP&PC=EDGEDSP&showconv=1
 

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2024/0514_01.html  

MAY 14, 2024

Rakuten Mobile chief hails network quality gains

On its Q1 earnings call, Mikitani claimed “smooth progress” in turning around the group’s loss-making mobile unit, noting profitability is just around the corner, with a target of EBITDA turning positive by December 2024.

He noted it is now in the third phase of its launch, which is telling customers about its improved network quality. It is working to a target of 10 million subscribers by end-2025.

The operator’s revenue grew 7.1 per cent year-on-year to JPY62 billion ($396.3 million), with mobile service sales expanding 36 per cent to JPY36.1 billion. Its operating loss was JPY66 billion compared to JPY92 billion a year earlier.

Rakuten Symphony’s revenue jumped 55.3 per cent to $118 million.

In early April the operator said it added 1.5 million subscribers within a year, taking its total to 6.5 million at end-March.

Capex in the first quarter dropped 47 per cent to JPY33 billion from a year earlier.

The operator is targeting commercial launch of service on the 700MHz band in June, which will help take population coverage to 99.9 per cent.

https://www.mobileworldlive.com/rakuten/...ils-network-quality-gains/
 

Refinance risk for 2024 has already been resolved. In addition, by issuing US dollar-denominated senior bonds and JPY-denominated private placement notes in April 2024, the liquidity gap for corporate bonds that mature in 2025 has largely been addressed

Continued efforts to increase intra-group cash flow, including optimization of working capital, and reduce interest bearing debt through various capital procurement activities

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Latest IR Materials
First Quarter 2024
 

Steady revenue growth in each business

Consolidated revenue: JPY 513.6bn Record high for Q1

Internet Services: Rakuten Ichiba and Rakuten Travel plus overseas businesses performed well

FinTech: Growth in all services from expansion of customer base and transaction value

Mobile: Growth in Rakuten Mobile subscribers boosted MNO service revenue by JPY 9.6bn YoY

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Latest IR Materials
First Quarter 2024
 

Revenue expansion and successful cost optimization in each business

Consolidated Non-GAAP OI +JPY 43.5bn YoY

On track to achieve annual profitability

Internet Services: significant profit improvement in growth investment businesses and overseas businesses

Rakuten Card: profitability improved
Rakuten Payment: turned profitable
Rakuten Securities: profit back to pre-zero commission level

Rakuten Mobile: continued loss reduction thanks to revenue growth and cost optimization

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Latest IR Materials
First Quarter 2024
 

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, the Rakuten Group achieved several notable financial results:

Revenue Growth: The group recorded year-on-year revenue growth in all three segments: Internet Services, FinTech, and Mobile. Consolidated revenue reached 513.6 billion yen, a record high for the first quarter, up 8.0% compared to the previous year.

Operating Losses Improvement: Non-GAAP operating losses in Q1 FY2024 were 25.4 billion yen, a significant improvement of 43.5 billion yen YoY. This improvement was due to increased revenue, better profitability in domestic e-commerce growth investment businesses, strong performance in various FinTech businesses, and reduced losses at Rakuten Mobile.

Cash Flow: The consolidated EBITDA (an indicator used to assess cash flow generation) for the quarter was profitable, recording 52.8 billion yen, an increase of 49.3 billion yen YoY.  

The total number of MNO subscriptions (both individual and business) saw acceleration, reaching 6.8 million as of May 13, 2024.

https://rakuten.today/blog/q1-fy2024-results.html

That are against the 6.32 million at the end of Q1/2024 a strong increase of 0.48 million in only six weeks. If this pace will continue in the next 30 weeks – and I am sure after the excellent quality reports of the last weeks – Rakuten Mobile will add additional 2.4 million subscribers to the 6.8 million as of May 13, 2024 = 9.2 million subscribers at the end of 2024.

 

https://www.alphaspread.com/security/tse/4755/earnings-calls/q1-2024

 

AT&T, AST SpaceMobile draw closer to sat-to-phone launch

MAY 16, 2024

US operator AT&T struck a deal with AST SpaceMobile to provide what they claim will be the first full space-based broadband service direct to common mobile phones, although a launch date was not specified.

The six-year agreement replaces the pair’s previous memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2020.

AT&T is also a strategic investor in the direct-to-device satellite player (a “$20 million revenue commitment”, according to an AST SpaceMobile investor presentation last month) alongside Google and Vodafone Group. The trio have invested a total of $110 million of ten-year subordinated convertible notes.

In addition to AT&T, AST SpaceMobile is collaborating with Rakuten Mobile, Rogers Communications, Orange, Vodafone and American Tower to address internet connectivity gaps, but the US operator is the only commercial agreement to date.

https://www.mobileworldlive.com/att/...closer-to-sat-to-phone-launch/
 

In domestic e-commerce services, the mainstay of Internet services, the growth rate of total transaction value slowed down compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023, due to the impact of changes in marketing strategies aimed at improving profitability. However, operating profit increased. In the internet shopping mall "Rakuten Ichiba" and the travel reservation service "Rakuten Travel", customer retention continued due to various measures aimed at improving customer convenience and satisfaction.

In other Internet Services including overseas internet services, strong sales growth continued in the US cashback service "Rakuten Rewards", in the mobile messaging and VoIP services "Viber", the e-book service "Kobo", and the video streaming service "Viki" within the overseas content business, the number of users increased, resulting in steady performance improvement and contributing to the expansion of segment profit.

As a result, revenue for the Internet Services segment rose to ¥285,703 million, a 5.4% year-on-year increase, while segment profit stood at ¥13,600 million, a 14.8% year-on-year increase.

(Millions of Yen)
Three months ended March 31, 2023 Three months ended March 31, 2024
Amount Change YoY  % Change YoY
Segment revenue 271,138 285,703 14,565 5.4%
Segment profit 11,851 13,600 1,749 14.8%

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Latest IR Materials
First Quarter 2024

 

CEO Mikitani about Rakuten Viber: “We have increase of 5.4%, so accounting for 1.5 billion people.”

Source: Conference Call Q1/2024
 

Rakuten Group, Inc. ist ein weltweit führendes Unternehmen, das Menschen durch Technologie und Innovation empowert. Die Philosophie hinter dem japanischen Wort “Rakuten” bedeutet “Optimismus”. Sie drückt das Engagement des Unternehmens für eine bessere, optimistischere Zukunft aus, indem es Einzelpersonen, Unternehmen und der Gesellschaft die Möglichkeit gibt, ihre Träume zu verwirklichen. Rakuten umfasst mehr als 70 Unternehmen und hat über 1,8 Milliarden Mitglieder weltweit. Das Service-Ökosystem basiert auf Mitgliedschaften und bietet eine vielseitige Palette von Dienstleistungen. Dazu gehören E-Commerce, digitale Inhalte, Werbung, Unterhaltung und Kommunikation. Der Hauptsitz von Rakuten befindet sich im Crimson House in Tokyo, Japan. Der Gründer und CEO, Hiroshi Mikitani, leitet das globale, innovative Unternehmen, das sich darauf konzentriert, Träume zu erfüllen und Werte durch Innovation und Unternehmertum zu schaffen.  

April 23, 2024

https://comm.rakuten.co.jp/news/2024/20240423.html
 

https://www.rakuten.com.tw/info/release/2024/  

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/stock/bond.html  

Four Level 3 applications for immediate impact in MNOs

Anshul Bhatt
Chief Product Officer, BU Intelligent Operations Rakuten Symphony

May 13, 2024

https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...ons-for-immediate-impact-in-mnos
 

The Biden Administration continues to champion the concept of open mobile networks

May 08, 2024
By Paul Lipscombe

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/...nding-pot-for-open-ran/
 

The global open RAN market size was valued at USD 1.8 billion in 2023 and is expected to hit around USD 32 billion by 2033, poised to grow at a CAGR of 33.40% from 2024 to 2033.

Key Takeaways
North America contributed 45% of market share in 2023.
Asia-Pacific is estimated to expand the fastest CAGR between 2024 and 2033.
By component, the hardware segment has held the largest market share of 49% in 2023.
By component, the services segment is anticipated to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 35.3% between 2024 and 2033.
By unit, the radio unit segment generated over 39% of the market share in 2023.
By unit, the distributed unit segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR over the projected period.
By deployment, the hybrid cloud segment generated 50% of the market share in 2023.
By deployment, the private cloud segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR over the projected period.

Open RAN Market in the U.S. 2024 to 2033
The U.S. open RAN market size was estimated at USD 0.56 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach around USD 10.16 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 33.50% from 2024 to 2033.

https://www.precedenceresearch.com/open-ran-market