Nomura Holdings (NRSCF) Q2 2027 Earnings Report

The call was broadly positive: management highlighted 50% growth in four-division income before income taxes, strong first-half and second-quarter ROE, record Wealth Management recurring revenue and inflows, solid Investment Banking momentum, continued Banking Division growth, and disciplined expense and risk management. These positives were partly offset by sequential declines in group earnings, sharp declines in Wholesale and Global Markets results, an 85% Wholesale expense ratio above target, market uncertainty, seed-investment valuation losses, and a slower October start in some businesses.

Management maintained a quantitative target for ROE of 10%-12% or higher toward 2030, with ROE 13.1% 2030 described as the vision to be achieved, and committed to a 40% or higher payout ratio and 50% or higher total payout ratio; for October, Wealth Management revenue was at roughly the same level as in the second quarter, Wholesale got off to a somewhat slower start than in the previous quarter, Investment Banking was off to a slow start but the pipeline remains solid, and the Wholesale cost ratio is expected to come down as the company proceeds with monetization, although the second half is difficult to comment quantitatively; overseas asset management opportunities will be studied if the company is blessed with great opportunities, but size-wise, a large size deal is not expected, while overseas wealth management remains focused on organic sales, with revenue having grown by about sixfold since 2020, AUM about 44 billion, and more than 3,000 client accounts opened.