Recruit Holdings Co Ltd

TSE:6098

Earnings Call Analysis

Recruit Holdings Q1 FY2024 Earnings Overview

Recruit Holdings saw mixed results in Q1 FY2024. HR technology revenue in the U.S. declined by 5.0% year-over-year but increased 7.7% quarter-over-quarter, suggesting a potential rebound by late 2025. Marketing investments are up to drive future growth, despite a drag on margins. Japan's business is promising, with expectations of a 70% increase in HR tech revenue by year's end. The company maintains its full-year guidance, aiming to revert to positive year-on-year growth in H2 FY2024. Recruit is also enhancing its Indeed platform and planning new product demos in upcoming events.

Strategic Overview and Market Conditions

During the latest earnings call, the senior management of Recruit Holdings outlined the strategic direction and market conditions affecting the company. They noted the continued high interest rate environment and economic uncertainties but believe the number of job openings in the U.S. will bottom out after declining for another 18 to 24 months. Revenue for the HR technology segment had decreased by 5% year-over-year in the U.S. market but showed a quarter-over-quarter increase of 7.7%. This indicates that while overall conditions are tough, internal measures are positively impacting performance【4:1†source】【4:13†source】.

HR Technology and Indeed PLUS

One of the main focuses was on the HR Technology sector, especially on the transition of customers from Indeed to the new Indeed PLUS platform. The transition is going well; the company reported a 45% increase in revenue year-over-year on a yen basis. Indeed PLUS is contributing positively although it's difficult to break down exact contributions from various components at this juncture. This transition is expected to continue bearing fruit in upcoming quarters【4:6†source】【4:18†source】.

Cost Management and Profit Margins

The company discussed its proactive cost management measures. Marketing investments have increased due to weak yen, but spending is overall higher compared to the previous quarter to prepare for future growth. Despite the increase in cost, the EBITDA margin for the HR technology segment has slightly declined from 38.1% in FY 2023 Q1 to 35.2%. The company aims to use Indeed PLUS to enhance revenue, and expects to refine its cost structure further, particularly through headcount reductions to improve efficiency【4:3†source】【4:13†source】.

Market Adaptations and Future Developments

Recruit Holdings is taking several steps to adapt to market conditions. The company is pursuing quality over quantity by ensuring high-quality candidates for its clients, willing to charge more for better quality services. This approach has started showing positive results. Additionally, the marketing and sales organization is undergoing changes to improve efficiency. Future focus includes launching new services and strategic collaborations to drive revenue growth incrementally【4:4†source】【4:19†source】.

Revenue Projections and Share Repurchase

Revenue projections remain largely unchanged despite the economic uncertainties, with the belief that the company will hit the bottom of job demand soon. There is no expected revision to the full-year guidance as of now. Furthermore, the company announced a share repurchase program for a maximum of JPY 600 billion, showing confidence in its financial health and future growth prospects【4:8†source】【4:15†source】.

Earnings Call Transcript 2025-Q1

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Welcome to the Recruit Holdings Company Limited Q1 FY 2024 Earnings Conference Call. This call is the simultaneous translation of the original call in Japanese and translation is provided for the convenience of investors only. I am Mizuho from IR and PR. And joining me today is Junichi Arai, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations of Recruit Holdings. The Q1 financial results presentation video and transcript were uploaded to the IR website at 3:00 p.m. today.

Today, we will start with Jun's opening remarks then followed by a Q&A session. Now I pass the call to Jun. Please go ahead.

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Hello, everyone. Thank you very much for your attendance today. Before I take your questions, I would like to make a few additions to the presentation we disclosed at 3 p.m. just 1 hour ago. So 3 months ago in the FY 2023 earnings announcement on May 15, Deko said the following about the positioning of the current fiscal year and the background behind FY 2024 guidance, especially for the HR technology business, so let me once again refer to that.

When I was thinking about this message this morning, Shiraoka-san of Nikkei wrote an article on the Eyes from the Journalist about us. And I think this article is only in Japanese. So I hope this will be translated into English so that the overseas institutional investors can take a look. And regarding the content that we disclosed on May 15, our thinking behind my meetings in July were summarized well in the article, exactly the message I wanted to talk about today. And so it will be redundant with that article, but let me once again mention this.

What Deko said on May 15 is the following: Of course, financial market stress is increasing under high interest rate conditions and economic uncertainties remain high. As I mentioned earlier, against the background that the supply of workers to the job market in the U.S. is not increasing significantly as in the past. And even if a recession occurs, we believe that it is unlikely that the number of job openings will decline by another 3 million or so from the current level. We assume that the number of job openings in the U.S. will hit the bottom after decreasing for another 18 or 24 months. In FY 2024, we would like to operate in the year 0 of the economic cycle in the sense that the decline of job demand may bottom out and the trend may turn up in the future. By improving the efficiency of monetization, which has been our focus in recent years, we hope to return to a positive year-on-year revenue trend in the second half of the fiscal year, even during a period of declining openings.

So that was the message by Deko. In other words, the FY 2020 forecast for HR technology and the consolidated guidance range are based on the assumption and outlook, the job demand in the U.S. will continue to decline until mid to late FY 2024 -- excuse me, 2025, then will bottom out. Looking at the Q1 revenue for HR technology on a U.S. basis. Revenue in the U.S. decreased 5.0% year-over-year. However, it increased 7.7% quarter-over-quarter. And HR technology segment revenue, including Japan and Rest of World, decreased 2.5% year-over-year, however, increased 7.2% quarter-over-quarter, which means that the Q1 results are in line with the assumption we communicated on May 15, that the revenue for the first half of fiscal year 2024 will continue the trend of year-over-year decline.

Given the current situation, we believe that there is no need to revise the full year guidance. However, if we determine that it is necessary to revise our guidance due to changes the business environment, we will communicate to you at the appropriate time. And after the announcement, we received a number of questions from many people, so I'd like to provide a response first. We will conduct a share repurchase of maximum JPY 600 billion. We've announced such a share repurchase program. And on the first day of that announcement, we've made share repurchases through the ToSTNeT-3.

Some investors asked who actually bought the shares. I was not able to provide a response to that question so I will continue to refrain from disclosing that. But the before yesterday, the sellers' earnings releases made a mention of that. Since it has now become a public information, I would like to share information with you at this time. There have been speculations that, perhaps, overseas investors made a sale, but that is not the case.

The company NTT Data was the company that made a sale on ToSTNeT-3. This has become public, so I can share this with you now. So now I will take your questions. and over to you, Shen-san.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

[Operator Instructions] So first of all, Nomura Securities, Oum-san, please.

[Jiyong Oum, analyst]

Can I -- can you hear me?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Yes.

[Jiyong Oum, analyst]

I have a question on Indeed job posting. In July, various sectors, the index is now trending upward. So Arai-san, if you could share with us your view on this. Is this one-off? Temporary? Or it has hit the bottom and is trending upward? So that's my first question. Second question is, in the material, it says Indeed monetization progress compared to Q4, Q1 is starting to show results, it says. So if you could elaborate on that point, which part do you see some actual outcome?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Thank you for the question. Thank you for looking at the data very closely. As I've mentioned in the past, we do not become overly happy or disappointed by monthly results. So this alone cannot help us making a big decision, but the data may look flat, but the volatility is still high. So in November, when we announced our second quarter results, I would like to touch on this. We do not want to be happy or disappointed on monthly results and just steadily work, do what we have to do.

So that is my question -- answer to your first question. I do not think it has hit the bottom yet in progress. How we can offer higher added value products and services so that more users can use our service and pay money to us. We talked about this in the March event. We're taking various initiatives and also developing and launching smaller scale services and try to identify what works and what doesn't.

So we're trying to accumulate knowledge and experience. And as a result of that, the unit price is rising up and so at work, we will increase the scale, the area, the customers -- number of customers. But we're trying to -- try many things and try to work what works and decide what doesn't work on a day-to-day basis. It's not that we are having a higher [ pit ] rate, but on a quarter on quarter U.S. and for the entire segment, we are trending upwards. So we can say that there are certain level of impact. So we will continue researching and studying our initiatives.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Next, SMBC Nikko, Maeda-san, please.

[Eiji Maeda, analyst]

It is perhaps similar to the previous questioner. But the 7.7% quarter-on-quarter increase in revenues that you mentioned earlier, due to the progress in monetization and the market environment, perhaps we are seeing a recovery in matching. So I would like to understand the factors contributing to the 7.7%. Could you elaborate, please?

And also looking at the latest employment statistics, we see that the market is on a growth trend. We have not seen any revisions to the guidance, however. But looking at the latest numbers, do you see that perhaps the numbers are trending down faster than your expectations? Or is everything within your expectations? I would like to ask about your views on the latest trends.

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Thank you very much for the question. I would like to respond to the second part of the question first. So what I mentioned and also covered in the presentation, basically from what we shared in May, what we are seeing is, within expectations, that's contributing to the background, to the numbers that we are seeing. So it's not that things are moving significantly over the past several weeks, and hence, we have not made any revision to the forecast.

And if it's just performance, it's one thing. But if the currency exchange is moving alongside and perhaps the story may be different, but the exchange rate is also trending within our expectation at JPY 145 to the dollar. Therefore, we've not made any revision. It's not that our views have changed significantly or our forecast will not be revised any -- significantly as a result of what we are seeing today.

And looking at the Indeed Hiring Lab, among others, the number of job posts, both paid and free, continues to show a declining trend. So it's not that the market environment is improving, rather it's a result of our efforts bearing fruit in some part. I believe we can take this as good news. As Deko, in year 0, this is what we consider as a preparatory year towards year 1 and year 2, so we will continue to build on our efforts. And we are making preparations for our efforts to bear a fruit, a big fruit in the future.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Next BofA Securities, Nagao-san, please.

[Yoshitaka Nagao, analyst]

Nagao from BofA Securities. My first question is on HR tech. EBITDA margin revenue, compared to the previous quarter or on a year-on-year basis, has recovered to a certain extent. But margin is declining. Looking at the material, your marketing investment is increasing and Indeed PLUS is another positive increase factor. So the intent of the marketing investment, at this point in time, and PLUS, the increase in cost from Indeed PLUS, so if you could elaborate on that point, please? That's my first question.

Second question is there's an impact from Indeed PLUS, so HR -- marketing solutions EBITDA margin is improving quite significantly. Recently, M&S TV commercial, I do not see much the matching in solutions. And so Indeed PLUS, the transfer portion and the existing business, advertisement promotion is probably being controlled, I think, very meticulously. So if you could talk about that. So 2 questions on margin.

[Junichi Arai, executive]

So your first question. FY 2023, Q1 HR technology margin was 38.1%. And this time, it is 35.2%. And so you talked about that decline. First, in May, we had the second workforce reduction and so they came off of the payroll reduction, but there was a time lag. And so the contribution to the first quarter was only June. And so from the second quarter, we will have a full contribution, the quarter that we are currently going on, so that's one factor.

And for the advertisement and promotion, the amount is increasing and due to weak yen, the amount is bigger on yen basis. But the actual amount compared to the previous first quarter, we are spending more, that is a fact, because we are trying many things in many areas to prepare for the future, we had been controlling, suppressing the cost in previous years. So we are now using Indeed PLUS contribution.

Japan business, as I mentioned on the 15, is now catching up with HR technology. We think -- we said that the margin can improve to catch up with the HR technology level. I think you remember that, as Deko's words. So there's margin difference. So low margin is coming to this side. And so this is somewhat of a drag. That's what it meant. It's not that we are spending more cost on Indeed PLUS, actually. So that's my answer to your first question.

And the other question was M&S, matching and solution, we continue our tight control. But as you know, Nagao-san, in HR and in the marketing solutions stage, I mentioned this on the material the advertising and promotion is bigger in Q1 and Q3. So compared to that, Q1 spending may seem smaller and the amount is smaller. So comparing Q4 and Q1, we do spend differently, but it's not that we're trying to control the entire amount. We are -- we continue our stance on spending where we need to.

[Yoshitaka Nagao, analyst]

So one quick follow-up question, if I may, please. So M&S, advertisement promotion, on a Q-on-Q basis is what you just mentioned. But on a year-on-year basis, compared to Q1 last year the amount has gone down? Or is it up?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Just a moment. The advertisement promotion in Marketing Solutions is slightly higher, but when we say advertisement, there is real advertisement and sales promotion. There are a few items here. So comparing the entire amount, it is about the same for sales and promotion. And in HR Solutions, pretty much the same. Maybe slightly lower on both sides and that is why margin is inching up. Yes, it's not substantial.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

[Operator Instructions] SBI securities, [ Hoshi-san ], please.

[Unknown Analyst]

This is [ Hoshi ] from SBI Securities. I have 2 questions. The first question regarding Indeed Japan business. On a yen basis, Q-on-Q, we've seen 15% increase, but continuing growth from the conventional Indeed and the new business, which is contributing more to this growth rate. And also, I would like to know more about the progress of this collaboration since the last announcement. That's my first question. The second question is regarding staffing service in U.S. and Europe. I believe -- should we expect a similar decrease for this business in both Europe and U.S.? Or should we expect somewhat of a recovery starting from the second half in the U.S.?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Looking at the existing India, Japan and Indeed PLUS, which is contributing more to growth, that is a very difficult question. Even internally, this is something we extensively discussed. The reason why it is difficult to say is because of the switch from Indeed to Indeed PLUS, customers who have been using Indeed will continue to use the same service. In addition, we will have new customers, new users spending more to enjoy these services. And then, we have Indeed PLUS, which is a new way of getting sales. According to what [ Hoshi-san ] said, if we look at that from a completely new sales entry point, then we can determine the contribution by business.

But actually, in reality, the 2 are intricate. The -- combined, therefore, it is difficult to segment and say with certainty which is contributing more. But in relation to second part of your question, the shift is progressing well. If you ask us whether everything is going well, there are certainly some areas that still need to be worked on and some issues from the operations standpoint that still need to be addressed. But overall, we see that this shift is going in the direction that we envisaged from the beginning.

So looking at contribution from the original Indeed and the new Indeed PLUS, since this shift is going in the right direction, we see that, combined, it is contributing more. We are still in the transition period, so it is difficult to segment and say with certainty, this is the conventional Indeed, this is the new Indeed, and this is the switch. But from next year and onwards, within the HR Technology business, we'll be able to see the U.S., the largest region, followed by Japan, so we will be able to present, more clearly, the difference and changes from what it is today.

But as of today, this shift or the change is happening right now as we speak. So it is difficult to say contribution is coming from which part. But customers say that the service has become more convenient. Users find it easier to use our service. So we continue to receive good reviews. This will drive growth going forward. I apologize for not a straightforward answer.

And for the staffing service, minus 1.1%, and this is smaller than the negative range on a full year basis that we presented, but there are still uncertainties. We will continue to hold on to a tough view, a severe view on this. We are not optimistic about this business launch, particularly the U.S. will be quite challenging.

[Unknown Analyst]

I would like to ask a follow-up question. In relation to my first question, after the announcement of PLUS, the Indeed share in the HR market or the presence of Indeed, I believe, is increasing combined with the conventional Indeed. Is that a true assessment?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

On a yen basis, we've seen 45% increase in revenue year-over-year, this is including Indeed PLUS. So if that is the case, then it is true that our presence is increasing, and we need to do more to further increase our presence.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Next, CLSA Securities, Kato-san, please.

[Jun Kato, analyst]

Yes. Kato from CLSA Securities. HR tech Japan is my question. 29% increase, first quarter was good. Full year, you're aiming for 70%. And so are you off to a slower start? Or the Indeed PLUS impact will be on the second half? How do I -- how should I interpret this?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

First, FX is one factor. There are a few other factors too. So it's not that we can push this up in a linear fashion. I think we will gain momentum more, but this started from -- launched on January 30. So we think we will gain momentum and gain speed as we go by. But we're not concerned. So my image is that it will increase more in the second half. That is our original projection. So we are not concerned about that. On a Japanese yen basis, it is 45% year-over-year, 45% up year-on-year. So we're not concerned.

[Jun Kato, analyst]

On the full year, 70% is in U.S. dollar based?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Yes. And that is based on JPY 140 to -- JPY 145 to a dollar.

[Jun Kato, analyst]

So the other question staffing in Japan, 7.5% year; and full year, 5%. And so is it going better than you thought? Or do you expect a deceleration in the second half? What is your image?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

It's too early to decide. It's only 3 months into the year. But with the current pace, we think it will be stronger than our projection. Of course, because we have high-quality candidates. We are introducing strong staffing, temporary workers. But this is because many workers are active on assignment. In Japan, the update -- the renewal is 3 months. And so this gives us a better visibility, but there's still high volatility. So is hard to say what will happen at the end of the year. We cannot be too bullish. But if the current pace continues, it may be higher than our projection. But it's hard to say.

[Jun Kato, analyst]

The 7.5%, if you break this down to volume and unit price, its volume. As you mentioned, its volume. More staff are on assignment. Are you negotiating for the price increase? Or is it difficult?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

We are modest. We're humble, so we do have to do that.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Next, Mizuho Securities, Kishimoto-san, please.

[Akitomo Kishimoto, analyst]

This is Kishimoto from Mizuho Securities. I have question regarding Matching & Solutions. I have 2 questions, but the first one is on M&S. In the Marketing Solutions, by verticals, I would like to get some color, by verticals, for the first quarter results. And what are your expectations for growth rates for each vertical from second quarter onward? Restaurant dining, perhaps, is doing better than others. So what was the driver for the growth for dining in particular? That's my first question.

And the second question is, in the fall, you plan to launch a spot-work business. How is this business going to be launched? I apologize for this rather vague question, but I would like to know more about this. Is it going to be, like, a blockbuster type of launch, so in the short term, margin may be low, but first, you want to establish a substantial volume? Is it how you imagine this business will be launched? Or is it going to be a soft launch, and then depending on the customers' inquiries or leads from customers, you will see the revenues and the mix gradually increase? I would like to see how this business will be launched in the fall. Those are the 2 questions I have.

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Regarding Marketing Solutions in your first question, on May 15, we said the rate of increase of sales, we provided range from 1.5% to 9%. So based on this assumption we want to increase the margin, excluding corporate overhead costs, to 30% range. We will continue to work on the 2 pillars in the marketing solutions. We continue to see good progress with regards to these 2 pillars. Unless there is any negative change, then we believe growth within the range that I presented for this fiscal year is possible. That's the first thing. So in my presentation, I gave a comment on this.

For example, travel. We have seen a certain period in which the unit price remains stable. So this is a factor contributing to the sales in this business. But looking at the different verticals, the housing, house and real estate and beauty businesses account for a large portion. So they will continue to drive the sales of this business. If we continue to build sales from these 2 areas, then it is likely that we will be able to land within the range that I presented. I can go on for more. It's not that we are seeing any negatives in the verticals. All the areas are growing and contributing to sales increase in the first quarter.

And the summer season will, of course, further drive demand in travel and other verticals and then it will subside. So we are not optimistic that this level will continue throughout the year. But at the moment, we don't have any news -- negative news. As for the spot-work business we are a latecomer in this area, so we need to do our homework and we need to do more research so that we can provide a service that fits the expectations and needs of our users and customers, so we are still in the study phase. We are still working on this business.

And legally as well, there are established rules and regulations that need to be observed. And since we are coming into this market late, we need to make sure that we don't inconvenience other people, other stakeholders. We want to make sure that we follow the rules. And as a team working on the designing of this business, we are paying attention all these things and going through a due process. I apologize for also giving you a vague answer, but when the right time comes, we hope we'll be able to provide you with more information.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Mito Securities, Watanabe-san, please.

[Unknown Analyst]

Watanabe from Mito Securities. Can you hear me?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Yes.

[Unknown Analyst]

So indeed, Arai-san, you earlier that you are making small efforts and this is bearing fruit. So you talked about many things, but I want you to elaborate on that. And you talked about workforce reduction. Are you okay with the less head count? And why -- are you sufficiently doing this under the laws and regulations? No problems there. Could you elaborate. Can you hear me?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Yes. So I understand you have 2 questions. First is elaborate on the small efforts. And the other is are we okay with less head count. So let me answer your second question first. We are making sure that we can operate with fewer head count. You may remember when I said in May, for faster action, faster decision-making, we are trying to become a more lean structure to prepare for year 1 and year 2. So that is the purpose of the head count reduction. So we're not losing any function or losing speed. We're trying to become faster, so it's a head count reduction to become speedier. So we hope this will be positive for us. That is our structural design and that's what we are executing. So we have no worries there. Please rest assured.

And to your first question, the small efforts, what are they? It is in multiple industries, but we want to raise the quality of the applicants. If the clients want higher-quality applicants we will say, yes, we will do that if you could pay a little more. We will make sure you can find and meet such candidates. So we're continuing such screening and tuning to introduce such candidates. So we're testing such service. And if the clients like it, then they will be happy to pay more, so those are some fruits that we're starting to see. So they may be small scale now, but if they work, they may become bigger.

[Unknown Analyst]

So yes, understood. So with your people, you are working -- you're functioning well. And quality that you mentioned last time is now showing results in Q1?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Yes. Well, it's not a big result in terms of numbers. But once we have more successful initiatives, it will also show in numbers later on.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Oum-san from Nomura Securities, please.

[Jiyong Oum, analyst]

I would like to ask about the collaboration. You mentioned that one of the management themes is to increase efficiency, among others. Looking at the sales structure organization, have you had any progress in the first quarter? And also, to be more specific, if you have any milestones that you are currently working towards, I would like to know more about them.

[Junichi Arai, executive]

On May 15, Kitamura and Deko talked about this. And also, I believe it was during the fireside chat that they talked about this. Indeed PLUS is currently running ahead and going forward the Japan HR business and HR technology business will increase in their affinity. And we are currently considering the appropriate organizational structure to further drive that. I believe that was mentioned. So evolution of the Japanese business, this includes the evolution of the products, the services, the operations and also the margin, eventually, will also be evolved.

So we are working on this. And there are things that go well, that do not go so well, bad connectivities among other issues. So we are starting to identify. But in any way, we are looking into this. We are studying into this. And we are eliminating the negatives or issues one by one in order to realize this integrated management. So once we realize that we will be able to enter the next step, evolve, and we believe we will be able to present figures that will be appreciated by the market participants.

[Jiyong Oum, analyst]

I have one more question if I may.

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Yes, please go ahead.

[Jiyong Oum, analyst]

Regarding Indeed, for example, Indeed Apply, ATS connection, have you had any additional events that you can share with us?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Well, there are some things that are reflected in numbers, some are not. Back in March, on the product and also product and service development, we talked about this back in March, we do not have plans to do something similar next year, but when we announced the results for the third quarter, if there are any new service announcement or if there's going to be any evolution that we can share with regards to the existing products and services or with regards to any new business, we will be able to share with you if we have any when we announce the third quarter results.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

JPMorgan Securities, Mori-san, please.

[Haruka Mori, analyst]

I have 2 questions. I may overlap with the earlier questions, I'm sorry. But first, HR technology, U.S. trend in May, so you said that you are moving in line with our in May. Any changes in the clients' sentiment, customers' sentiment of where -- so is it in line with your cautious outlook? Or not? Macro data is starting to move, as we saw from last week. And ZipRecruiter, I know they are different from you, but they were cautious in third quarter in their projection. So Indeed, there is no change? Or it has changed, but within your expectation? So my first question is about your nuance.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

And what is your second question?

[Haruka Mori, analyst]

Second question is on Matching & Solutions. Another repetitive question your profit was quite big. But the Marketing Solutions revenue is growing steadily. So on a quarterly basis, the advertisement and promotion is one factor, but anyway, are you finding better ways to maintain and increase revenue in a more efficient way? Should we just think -- understand that the advertisement promotion was lower this quarter or…

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Or so your second question is on a full year basis. The corporate over -- before corporate overhead cost margin is aimed at 30% for the Marketing and Solutions. And so towards that target, we are reducing where we can. But in Q4, we will use what we need to use. So all inclusive, we will save where we can to achieve the target number, and the result is the result of our efforts. It's not that we have given up on the revenue and started focusing on the cost.

We have such intention, but operating in a natural way and bearing this result. So I think we are in a positive position. And to your first question, yes, we understand ZipRecruiter's projection, but we are different from them. We are in line with our expectations. So sudden market improvement or sudden customers halt is unlikely from what we saw in July. So we are in line with our outlook. Shen-san, should we take more questions?

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Did we cover the second question?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Yes, I answered the second question first.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

My apologies. Okay. So we still have more time. So Nagao-san from BofA, please. Nagao-san, I believe, is not online.

[Junichi Arai, executive]

I see.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Nagao-san, I see his hand up again. Nagao-san, please.

[Yoshitaka Nagao, analyst]

I would like to ask a rather difficult question. Looking at your company and how you generated profits, there is cyclical element. But in times of recessions, you're active, you're proactive in cutting costs to maintain profitability. That is my view of the company. Of course, it's difficult to tell the future. But if there's going to be a hard landing with regards to the U.S. economy, you talk about 0 -- year 0 and you are now making preparations for the next step. Is it possible make that drastic change in one go? What is sense of urgency shared amongst the management? Perhaps you are shifting your gear into neutral? I guess, the other way of asking this is, is there more room to cut costs? Are you ready to implement such actions? What are your views and assessment of this right now?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Since last week, I've been talking about this with Deko, looking at the current labor environment, focusing on the labor market, it appears that things have not gone wrong or gone in strange directions. And based on that, we have not changed the range, the guidance range that we presented earlier. But at times, for example, the financial market is affecting the real economy in adverse ways, and then we enter into a negative cycle.

So if that were the case, then we needed to be prepared to also change our forecast and guidance as well. But right now, we have not seen anything like that. And for HR technology, the SG&A expenses, the large items are people and advertising and promotion costs. So if things turn up, if we expect higher revenues, if we see more capabilities for us to do a lot of things, then we will start to use advertisement. We'll start to make advertisement investments, and we will start hiring more. And we can achieve higher revenues, then the margin will also follow. So that's what we are aiming and that's what we expect to have been in year 1 and beyond.

If we continue the current operations. And if we further make cost cuts, we don't think this is necessary at this time. What Deko said is that for the next 18 to 24 months, the job openings will continue to decline gradually. If we see a sudden decline, as we saw in the first months of COVID pandemic, then things will be different. But our current expectation is different. It will be a gradual decline. If that is the case, then we will continue to work on our planning. But of course, we need to be flexible if things change. And we believe we have the capabilities to adapt to change. Deko has a great sense in making such assessments, so I'm not worried.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

We may perhaps take 1 more question, but are we okay? It seems okay. So it's a bit before time, Arai-san. Could you give us the last remarks?

[Junichi Arai, executive]

Thank you again for today. So last but not least, we will have, Indeed FutureWorks 2024 on September 26 in Dallas, Texas. So we would like you to come to the venue or online is also welcome. And after that, on October 1, morning, Japan time, we will invite the analysts to share with you Indeed's product strategy and the product update that we explain in the Indeed FutureWorks. So we'll do product demo and Q&A. So like Watanabe-san said, what we are doing these days, I hope we could explain our initiatives, so you could listen firsthand what is going on.

We will let you know the details in September by e-mail so I hope you'd look forward to that. And the individual and group and large IR meetings will continue. In September, first week, we have a few Tokyo conferences, which we will also take part in. And Nagao-san -- with Nagao-san, we are planning a fireside chat. So I hope you could come. We welcome the institutional investors. So thank you very much.

[Mizuho Shen, executive]

Thank you very much. We will close the financial results briefing today. Thank you for joining us today. And thank you, I ask you for your continuous support.

[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]