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/  

2015: 55.05 billion JPY
2016: 46.49 billion JPY
2017: 55.88 billion JPY
2018: 45.11 billion JPY
2019: 58.06 billion JPY
2020: 72.31 billion JPY
2021: 89.58 billion JPY
2022: 95.44 billion JPY
2023: 110.88 billion JPY
2024: 130.10 billion JPY

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1368742/...ies-operating-revenue/
 

im Wert von mehr als 800 Millionen US-Dollar.

AST SpaceMobile wird ab 2030 rund 4,5 Mrd. Dollar generieren

8. Dezember 2024

Erst vor Kurzem schloss AST SpaceMobile einen Zehnjahresvertrag mit Vodafone ab. Das sieht die Deutsche Bank als wichtigen Meilenstein.

https://www.ariva.de/news/kolumnen/...-mrd-dollar-generieren-11477710
 

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS)
32.90
+6.39
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ASTS/

Rakuten owning about 31 million shares of AST.
 

"I've been publishing with Kobo Writing Life for over a decade and they are an integral part of my author business. I love how they help me publish internationally and reach readers all over the world. The KWL team is friendly and helpful, and I have regular opportunities to market my books to readers. Thanks, KWL!"
Joanna Penn,The Creative Penn

"I have published through Kobo Writing Life for years, and highly recommend it. The process is simple, the platform is effective, and the customer service is exemplary."
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best-selling author Melissa Foster

“Self-publishing has changed my life in every conceivable way. KWL is an outstanding platform, thanks to the ease of uploading and the advanced sales data broken out into an easy-to-understand map that I love.”
Marie Force, NYT Best Seller

https://www.kobo.com/de/en/p/...m_source=enblog&utm_medium=header

 

According to Pixalate’s January 2025 rankings, rakuten.co.jp, nature.com, and msn.com were the top three websites for programmatic ad quality in Japan

London, Feb. 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pixalate, a leading global platform for ad fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics, has released the January 2025 Publisher Trust Index (PTI) for Japan. This index evaluates apps across various platforms, including the web, the Apple App Store, and the Google Play Store.

Japan Website PTI Rankings (January 2025)

rakuten.co.jp
nature.com
msn.com

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/...ic-Ad-Traffic.html
 

Rakuten Ichiba gains share in e-commerce against Amazon, as it improves logistics capabilities to be on par with Amazon and Rakuten’s ecosystem strengthens over time.  

Rakuten Cloud Validated Telecom Blueprint in the Dell Open Telecom Ecosystem Lab

A collaborative approach to making telecommunications consumable

December 2024

The Rakuten Cloud Validated Telecom Blueprint on Dell Technologies Infrastructure is engineered to revolutionize the methods by which Communications Service Provider (CSP) customers implement and oversee NFV infrastructure and services

https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/en-us/...print-otel-white-paper/
 

 

New Year Coffee Talk: Rakuten International Outlook with Amit

February 12, 2025

by RNN

RNN took the opportunity to sit down with two of Rakuten Group's global leaders for an in-depth chat on their businesses' year-end activities and the year ahead at the start of 2025.

In the first of these interviews, Amit Patel, CEO of Rakuten International, which oversees multiple businesses in the Americas and Europe, provides insights into the strategy and results behind Rakuten Rewards' peak shopping season. He also highlights recent success of businesses such as Rakuten Kobo, Rakuten France, and Rakuten Viki, while sharing the future vision of Rakuten International, and what to look forward to in 2025, as well as his own personal New Year's resolution.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/innovation/rnn/2025/2501_007/
 

Rakuten is at the forefront of technological advancements in Artificial Intelligence, securing a #36 rank on the AI innovations leaderboard among the top 100 tech companies. Rakuten has released 26 AI-driven solutions in the last 6 months alone. Among those innovations, Business, Automation and Text represent 92% of their AI-related product releases. Below is a breakdown of Rakuten's most recent AI Innovations by category and full list of their AI-related developments updated daily.

https://www.futurepedia.io/ai-innovations/rakuten
 

Japan Loyalty Programs Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook 2025: A $6.29 Billion Market by 2029, with 12.9% CAGR Forecast During 2025-2029

Dublin, Feb. 11, 2025

In value terms, the Japanese loyalty market has recorded a CAGR of 17.1% during 2020-2024. The will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 12.9% during 2025-2029. Japan's loyalty market is expected to increase from US$3.35 billion in 2024 to reach US$6.29 billion by 2029.

Japan's loyalty programs are rapidly evolving through digital platform integration, driven by the rise of e-commerce and mobile payment adoption. Companies such as Rakuten are creating interconnected ecosystems where consumers earn rewards seamlessly across multiple services, boosting retention and engagement. This trend will intensify over the next few years as businesses prioritize digital transformation to meet shifting consumer preferences and competitive demands.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/...ing-2025-2029.html
 

on Friday at February 14, 2025 after my estimates.  

Rakuten to Power Fashion Show for Paul Smith Through the “by R” Project to Support the Japanese Fashion Scene

Tokyo, February 12, 2025 - Rakuten Group, Inc. today announced that it will support the fashion show for fashion brand Paul Smith during Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO 2025 A/W, scheduled for March 17 to March 22, 2025, through the “by R” project to support the Japanese fashion scene.

Paul Smith is a design company founded in 1970 by British designer Sir Paul Smith. Starting as a modest 3 x 3 meter shop in Nottingham, England, it has grown into a globally renowned brand, admired by fans in Japan and around the world, with approximately 130 stores across more than 60 countries. While Paul Smith has primarily showcased its collections in Paris, in December 2024 it joined Rakuten's online fashion shopping platform, Rakuten Fashion, and will participate in Rakuten Fashion Week TOKYO, supported by Rakuten’s "by R" project.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2025/...=2&category=ec
 

Adding AI to open RAN will encourage rather than limit

A growing number of operators are requesting open RAN solutions for new wireless network deployments. By using RAN platforms and systems that support open interfaces, operators can ensure that these solutions are designed to be compatible with future deployments and allow them to source their RAN infrastructure from multiple vendors. The use of open RAN by operators is expected to grow as the industry transitions through 5G Advanced to 6G.

The importance of AI in both 5G Advanced and 6G raises the question of how adding AI to open RAN will impact multi-vendor solutions. Results from a different question in the survey suggest that operators are not expecting this to be an issue. 54% of respondents said that adding AI to open RAN would make multi-vendor solutions more likely, and a further 39% said it would make no difference or it depends on the implementation. Only 8% said it would make multi-vendor solutions less likely.
The outcome is that operators are expecting AI to bring significant benefits to RAN deployments. Adding AI to open RAN will encourage rather than limit multi-vendor solutions for RAN infrastructure.

https://www.lightreading.com/ai-machine-learning/...ng-ai-to-the-ran-
 

Rakuten Bank, Ltd. (5838.T)

5,680.00
+700.00
(+14.06%)
Day's Range5,256.00 - 5,680.00
52 Week Range2,465.00 - 5,680.00
Volume 4,376,900
Avg. Volume 1,330,174
Market Cap (intraday) 991.058B

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/5838.T/

 

Rakuten Bank Reports Strong Financial Growth for 2024

The latest announcement is out from Rakuten Bank, Ltd.

Rakuten Bank, Ltd. reported consolidated financial results for the nine months ending December 31, 2024, showing significant growth with a 30.3% increase in ordinary income and a 40.4% rise in ordinary profit compared to the previous year. This performance highlights the bank’s strong position in the industry and its successful strategies, which may positively impact its stakeholders and market presence.

https://www.tipranks.com/news/...rts-strong-financial-growth-for-2024
 

The first Trump administration ultimately secured $1.5 billion for open RAN in the US. Now, at the beginning of the second Trump administration, many are hoping for the same or better.

Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies
January 13, 2025

https://www.lightreading.com/open-ran/...-resurgence-during-trump-2-0
 

Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
February 12, 2025

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has received P168 million (¥444 million) from Japan to set up an Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) system in the University of the Philippines — a grant that aims to eventually advance the development of open-access 5G technology in the country.

"The project is expected to establish an environment to deploy Open RAN leading to increased competition in the base station market, which will lead to lower costs in the deployment and operation of 5G networks, as well as stimulate innovation, in the Philippines," the embassy said.

https://qa.philstar.com/headlines/2025/02/12/...%2520the%2520country.
 

Revenue increased across all segments, including Internet Services, FinTech, and Mobile, resulting in record-high full-year revenue of JPY 2.28 tn for FY 2024 (+10.0% YoY)

In addition to revenue growth, significant profit improvements in Rakuten Mobile and cost optimization efforts at the group level led to a Non-GAAP OI of JPY 7.0 bn (JPY +160.1 bn YoY) and IFRS OI of JPY 53.0 bn (JPY +265.8 bn YoY), achieving full-year consolidated profitability for the first time since 2019. EBITDA profit was JPY 326.0 bn (+ 120.0% YoY)

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
 

At the group level, self-funding was achieved in FY2024. Through Internet Services EBITDA, cash flow from FinTech businesses ,working capital improvements, and Rakuten Mobile's own financing (e.g., lease), we covered our funding needs for mobile business and interest payments in the current fiscal year without relying on new debt at Rakuten Group, Inc.

In December 2024, we issued U.S. dollar-denominated perpetual subordinated bonds to replace 2nd and 4th domestic subordinated bonds with a first call date in November and December 2025. This completed measures for all corporate bonds maturing or reaching their call dates by the end of 2025. In February 2025, we conducted a buyback of 2nd and 4th domestic subordinated bonds. We remain focused on balance sheet management by reducing interest-bearing debt and actively controlling the corporate bond redemption schedule.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
 

Segment revenue: JPY 1.28 tn (+5.8% YoY), Non-GAAP OI*1 : JPY 85.1 bn (+29.8% YoY), achieving growth in both revenue and profit

Domestic EC GMS: JPY 5.96 tn (-1.5% YoY), impacted by factors such as the high YoY comparison hurdle for Rakuten Travel due to the partial end of the nationwide travel support in July 2023, and the transfer of the Rakuten Pay (online payment) business to the FinTech segment in September 2023. However, excluding these impacts, Domestic EC GMS grew by 4.6% YoY*2, showing positive growth. In 2025, we aim for mid- to- high-single digit growth in Domestic EC GMS.

International Business Unit : Revenue was USD 2.04 bn (+8.5% YoY) showing strong growth driven by solid performance from Rakuten Kobo and Rakuten Viber. Non-GAAP OI turned positive for the full year, reaching USD 48.54 mm (+USD 93.45 mm YoY), supported by cost reduction and profitability improvement efforts across businesses, including Rakuten Rewards.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
 

Segment revenue: JPY 820.4 bn (+13.1% YoY), Non-GAAP operating income*1: JPY 153.4 bn (+37.9% YoY). The customer base and transaction value expanded in each business throughout the year.
Rakuten Card: Shopping GTV grew on higher card membership and average customer spending. FY2024 Shopping GTV: JPY 24.0 tn (+13.7% YoY), contributing to increased segment revenue. Due to increased operating leverage from top-line growth and marketing optimization, achieved a significant increase in profit for the full year.

Rakuten Bank: Accounts grew by leveraging group synergies. Number of accounts: 16.48 mm*2 (as of end of Dec. 2024, +11.6% YoY). With further progress in converting accounts into main accounts and daily transactional accounts, the deposit balance also increased, reaching JPY 12.0 tn*2*3 (as of end of Dec 2024, +16.9% YoY). Led by the accumulation of assets under management, and also policy interest rate hike, interest income grew significantly in the second half of the year and achieved a significant increase in revenue and income.

Rakuten Securities: Continued expansion of the customer base, and various transactions were strong. Despite zero domestic stock commissions from Oct 2023, achieved an increase in revenue and profit thanks to the diversification of revenue mix and the control of marketing and other costs. Number of general securities accounts: reached 11.93 mm as of the end of Dec 2024 (+17.0% YoY) and 12mm in Jan 2025.

Rakuten Payment: Continued growth in GTV due to expansion of customer base. Achieved profitability for the full year due to continued control of marketing expenses.

file:///C:/Users/Ganss/Downloads/24Q4setE/24Q4PPT_E.pdf
 

Rakuten Mobile achieved profitability in the final month of 2024 five years after launch, with chair Mickey Mikitani targeting full-year EBITDA to turn positive in 2025, driven by subscriber and ARPU gains.

The operator’s EBITDA in December hit JPY2.3 billion ($15.1 million). The figure for the full-year dropped by JPY98.7 billion from a year ago to a loss of JPY53.8 billion.

Mikitani attributed the move to profit to strong subscriber acquisition and increased ARPU due to improved network quality, as well as ongoing cost control and rising ad revenue.
He added Rakuten Mobile will be “a driving force” for the group’s future growth, accounting for 34.4 per cent of consolidated revenue growth in 2024.

Mikitani noted it covered annual capital needs without relying on new debt for the group. Capex fell from JPY169 billion in 2023 to JPY81 billion last year. The company noted some investments were postponed to 2025, with the outlay forecast to climb to JPY150 billion.

https://www.mobileworldlive.com/rakuten/...%28%2415.1%2520million%29.
 

After five years of losses Rakuten Mobile hits positive territory – but the Japanese telco still has a mountain of debt.

Robert Clark, Contributing Editor
February 14, 2025

Rakuten Mobile is aiming for full-year EBITDA profitability this year after eking out its first positive monthly result.

The unit recorded positive EBITDA of 100 million Japanese yen (US$650,000) in December, its first since it started service in April 2020.

It hiked full-year revenue by 26% to JPY284 billion ($1.9 billion) and shaved its operating loss by more than a quarter, but still posted a deficit of JPY216 billion ($1.4 billion).

It achieved JPY2.3 billion ($15.1 million) positive EBITDA in December, with full-year revenue up 21% to JPY441 billion ($2.9 billion).

Rakuten says after years of borrowing to grow the mobile business it achieved self-funding last year and is now able to keep it afloat without taking on more debt.

Its mobile unit has some hefty liabilities which, of course, aren't reflected in EBITDA numbers. It reported outstanding debt of JPY1.13 trillion ($7.4 billion) at December 31, along with JPY207 billion ($1.4 billion) in lease obligations and JPY328 billion in other liabilities. Gross assets totaled JPY1.92 trillion ($12.6 billion).

https://www.lightreading.com/finance/...first-ebitda-profit-this-year
 

February 13, 2025

Kyivstar made progress on its open RAN ambitions, announcing the launch of a laboratory test in Ukraine in partnership with Rakuten Symphony as part of ongoing efforts to rebuild the country’s digital infrastructure.

Veon-owned Kyivstar stated it will test Rakuten Symphony’s cloud-native RAN software in a controlled laboratory environment.

The companies explained the testing process is intended to shape Ukraine’s long-term digital infrastructure strategy, as Kyivstar continues its push for an open and robust mobile network for its 24 million subscribers.

The development comes after Veon and Rakuten Symphony signed an agreement in 2023 to jointly rebuild Ukraine’s telecoms infrastructure in the aftermath of its ongoing war with Russia. The companies pledged to invest in digital services and open RAN in a commitment to re-establish network infrastructure in the country.

Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of Veon, described the testing phase as a “critical milestone” in the digital recovery efforts and expressed ambitions to further expand the companies’ partnership beyond the current project.

https://www.mobileworldlive.com/europe/...en-gain-ground-on-open-ran/