Nomura Holdings (TSE:8604), Japan’s largest investment bank, has reported its highest ever full-year net profit, supported by strong performances across all divisions and prudent cost management, despite mounting global market volatility.
For the fiscal year ended 31 March 2025, Nomura posted a net profit of ¥340.7bn (US$2.3bn), up 21% from the previous year. Return on equity hit 10%, in line with management’s medium-term targets.
In the January–March quarter alone, net income rose 27% year-on-year to ¥72bn (US$480m), although it fell 29% compared to the prior quarter as the effects of new US tariffs started to weigh on markets.
Business momentum across all segments
All three of Nomura’s core divisions—Wealth Management, Investment Management, and Wholesale—delivered strong results over the year:
- Wealth Management posted its best pretax income in 11 years, driven by a 30% rise in recurring revenues.
- Investment Management achieved its highest pretax income since the division was established in 2021.
- Wholesale—encompassing investment banking and global markets—recorded its best performance in 15 years, underpinned by broad-based revenue gains and tight cost controls.
However, in the fourth quarter, Wealth Management and Investment Management saw mild year-on-year declines in net revenue, reflecting a cautious client stance amid market uncertainty.
Riding market volatility
CFO Takumi Kitamura said volatility since April had so far been a net positive for Nomura’s markets business, with wider margins in equity and foreign exchange trading boosting revenue trends.
“A certain degree of volatility really works in favour of our business,” Kitamura said at an earnings briefing.
Despite a slowdown in equity issuance and M&A due to client hesitancy, Kitamura expressed confidence that activity would rebound once markets stabilise.
Expanding globally through Macquarie deal
As part of a strategy to secure more stable, fee-based revenue, Nomura announced this week a US$1.8bn acquisition of Macquarie Group’s US and European public asset management operations.
The acquisition—the most ambitious since Nomura’s 2008 purchase of Lehman Brothers’ assets—will substantially expand the firm’s footprint in the United States, which Kitamura described as a “clear growth market” given its strong demographic and economic fundamentals.
CEO Kentaro Okuda said the acquisition supports Nomura’s 2030 management vision of “Reaching for Sustainable Growth”, aiming to boost global assets under management and enhance corporate value.
Shareholder returns and outlook
Nomura also announced a share buyback of up to ¥60bn, targeting the repurchase of up to 100 million shares between May and December 2025.
The annual dividend for FY2024/25 was set at ¥57 per share, including a commemorative ¥10 dividend.
