Is Rakuten Mobile profitable in 2026?

Rakuten Mobile's segment posted its first full-year Non-GAAP EBITDA profit of JPY 12.9bn in FY2025 (up JPY 66.7bn YoY), reported Feb 11, 2026. But parent Rakuten Group posted a seventh consecutive annual net loss of JPY 177.8bn for FY2025, disclosed Feb 12, 2026.

Who owns Rakuten Mobile?

Rakuten Mobile is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rakuten Group, Inc. (TSE: 4755), a Japanese conglomerate. Rakuten Group's market cap was roughly JPY 1.73 trillion as of July 24, 2026, per gurufocus.com.

What is Rakuten Mobile's biggest competitor?

NTT Docomo, KDDI, and SoftBank are Rakuten Mobile's main rivals in Japan. Their low-cost sub-brands ahamo, povo 2.0, and LINEMO already match Rakuten's price point, while the Big 3 collectively hold the vast majority of subscribers versus Rakuten's 10.36 million as of March 31, 2026.

Could AI replace Rakuten Mobile?

No. Spectrum licenses, physical network infrastructure, and regulated MNO status can't be replicated by AI. Rakuten uses AI internally, with 11 AI agents live across its ecosystem as of Q1 FY2026, for customer service and RAN optimization, not as a substitute for the network itself.

How many subscribers does Rakuten Mobile have in 2026?

Rakuten Mobile passed 10 million MNO subscriptions in December 2025 and reported over 10.36 million as of Q1 FY2026 (March 31, 2026), after adding 1.71 million net subscribers in 2025, up 143.8% year over year.

What happens when Rakuten Mobile's KDDI roaming deal ends?

KDDI's 4G roaming agreement with Rakuten Mobile expires end-September 2026. Rakuten has run its own 700MHz platinum-band coverage since June 2024 to cut reliance, but a January 27, 2026 outage still spilled traffic onto KDDI's network, per totomaga.com.

Telecom infrastructure · subsidiary of Rakuten Group, Inc. · Japan

Rakuten Mobile

mobile.rakuten.co.jp ↗

Japan's fourth mobile carrier, built and funded by Rakuten Group.

Losing its protection

Assessed 25 July 2026 · Evidence as of 25 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 25 July 2026 · Checkable from end of September 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: KDDI 4G roaming agreement for Rakuten Mobile expires; network must stand on its own

The call

The mobile arm just turned profitable and passed 10 million users, but it still leans on a parent that hasn't posted an annual profit in seven years.

Rakuten Mobile is a phone service company in Japan that made its first annual profit in 2025 and signed up over 10 million customers, but its parent company Rakuten has lost money seven years straight and keeps borrowing money to pay for network buildout through 2036. Copying Rakuten is getting easier because Japan's three biggest phone companies (NTT Docomo, KDDI, and SoftBank) already launched cheaper phone plans called ahamo, povo 2.0, and LINEMO that charge the same prices. The company faces a major test in September 2026 when it stops using KDDI's network for backup coverage, which could cause customers to leave if call quality suffers, and investors will watch whether Rakuten stops losing money overall by mid-2027.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. This is a physical spectrum and tower business; AI agents don't replace a carrier's network or license. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: NTT Docomo (ahamo), KDDI (povo 2.0), SoftBank (LINEMO). All three big carriers now run cheap sub-brands matching Rakuten's price, cutting its main reason to switch. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. A national MNO license, cross-sell into Rakuten's shopping, card and bank users, and parent bonds funding the network through 2036.

What would change this call

KDDI's 4G roaming agreement with Rakuten Mobile expires end-September 2026. Shows whether Rakuten's own network can hold coverage without customer churn once roaming ends.
Rakuten Mobile's Q2 FY2026 earnings release on August 10, 2026. Shows whether mobile segment EBITDA profitability from FY2025 is sustained or reverses.
Rakuten Group's FY2026 full-year net income result. Shows whether the seven-year streak of group net losses inflects toward profit.

Key numbers

10M+ mobile subscriptions reached (Dec 2025)
Mobile segment EBITDA hits +¥12.9bn, first full year (FY2025)
Group net loss ¥177.8bn, seventh straight yearly loss (FY2025)

Named risks

Rakuten Group's seventh consecutive annual net loss (JPY 177.8bn, FY2025) keeps credit scrutiny elevated. Severity: high
KDDI roaming agreement expires Sept 30 2026, risking coverage-quality churn if network absorption fails. Severity: high
Jan 27, 2026 outage exposed reliance on NTT East infrastructure and traffic spillover to KDDI. Severity: medium
FinTech reorganization (Oct 1, 2026) could alter group financing capacity for mobile network buildout. Severity: medium
Heavy ongoing bond issuance and refinancing needs through 2036 sustain balance-sheet dependency. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
NTT Docomo, KDDI, SoftBank (Big 3)	losing to	Big 3 hold vast majority of Japan mobile lines vs Rakuten's 10.36M as of Mar 2026
KDDI	contesting	4G roaming deal expires end-Sept 2026, testing Rakuten network self-sufficiency
NTT Docomo (ahamo)	contesting	ahamo sub-brand matches Rakuten's low-cost pricing tier as of 2026
SoftBank (LINEMO)	contesting	LINEMO sub-brand competes directly at Rakuten's price point as of 2026

Questions people ask

Is Rakuten Mobile profitable in 2026?: Rakuten Mobile's segment posted its first full-year Non-GAAP EBITDA profit of JPY 12.9bn in FY2025 (up JPY 66.7bn YoY), reported Feb 11, 2026. But parent Rakuten Group posted a seventh consecutive annual net loss of JPY 177.8bn for FY2025, disclosed Feb 12, 2026.
Who owns Rakuten Mobile?: Rakuten Mobile is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rakuten Group, Inc. (TSE: 4755), a Japanese conglomerate. Rakuten Group's market cap was roughly JPY 1.73 trillion as of July 24, 2026, per gurufocus.com.
What is Rakuten Mobile's biggest competitor?: NTT Docomo, KDDI, and SoftBank are Rakuten Mobile's main rivals in Japan. Their low-cost sub-brands ahamo, povo 2.0, and LINEMO already match Rakuten's price point, while the Big 3 collectively hold the vast majority of subscribers versus Rakuten's 10.36 million as of March 31, 2026.
Could AI replace Rakuten Mobile?: No. Spectrum licenses, physical network infrastructure, and regulated MNO status can't be replicated by AI. Rakuten uses AI internally, with 11 AI agents live across its ecosystem as of Q1 FY2026, for customer service and RAN optimization, not as a substitute for the network itself.
How many subscribers does Rakuten Mobile have in 2026?: Rakuten Mobile passed 10 million MNO subscriptions in December 2025 and reported over 10.36 million as of Q1 FY2026 (March 31, 2026), after adding 1.71 million net subscribers in 2025, up 143.8% year over year.
What happens when Rakuten Mobile's KDDI roaming deal ends?: KDDI's 4G roaming agreement with Rakuten Mobile expires end-September 2026. Rakuten has run its own 700MHz platinum-band coverage since June 2024 to cut reliance, but a January 27, 2026 outage still spilled traffic onto KDDI's network, per totomaga.com.

Timeline

2026-07-13Rakuten Symphony selected for METI grant to deploy Open RAN/RIC in Global South
2026-06-24Rakuten Symphony and Celona announce enterprise private 5G Open RAN partnership
2026-05-14NEDO-funded R&D project with KDDI announced to cut RAN power use 40%
2026-04-01Rakuten Mobile joins 5 carriers to launch JAPAN Roaming emergency 4G service
2026-02-24Rakuten SAIKYO Plan (Data Type) introduced
2026-02-12Rakuten Group reports FY2025 seventh consecutive annual net loss, JPY 177.8bn
2026-01-27About 6-hour Rakuten Mobile outage from NTT East data-center power fault
2025-12-31Rakuten Mobile passes 10 million MNO subscriptions
2025-07-10Rakuten Group issues inaugural JPY 15bn sustainability bonds for 5G buildout
2024-06-01Rakuten begins operating 700MHz platinum band to cut KDDI roaming reliance

Revision history

25 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

In the same band

Netgear Intelsat Mavenir Systems