Nomura Holdings Reports 29% Drop in Q2 Net Profit

Nomura Holdings reported a 29% year-over-year decrease in net profit for the second quarter of fiscal year 2027, reaching ¥103.7 billion. This decline comes despite a 50% increase in the interim dividend, raised to ¥35 per share from ¥27 the previous year.

The decrease in profit was driven by a combination of factors. While wealth management demonstrated strong performance with record asset inflows of ¥7,554 billion, leading to a 79% stock income coverage ratio, segments like investment banking and fixed income experienced declines. Overall, the company’s tax profit increased by 30%, however, this was offset by a decline in revenue from the previous quarter.

Specifically, the investment banking segment saw a decrease in revenue despite maintaining momentum in key product areas. Global Markets revenues stabilized after a strong previous quarter, while fixed income revenues declined due to a flattening of yields. The banking segment, however, showed positive results, driven by KPI progress and rising interest rates.

Despite these mixed results, Nomura’s overall return on equity (ROE) reached 13.3%, continuing a trend of improvement and hitting the lower end of its 10-12%+ target for FY2030. This positive signal is tempered by the fact that total revenue decreased 12% compared to the previous quarter, signaling a short-term plateau in growth. The company’s ability to further increase its ROE and capitalize on the momentum in wealth management will be a key metric to watch in the coming quarters.