What this is
How little of the founders’ retained earnings could have come from Pokémon Company dividends: at most ¥2.1bn of Creatures’ ¥29.3bn (2020) and ¥57m of Game Freak’s ¥10.0bn (2015).
How it’s built
- The Pokémon Company paid out about ¥84m to 2017 and about ¥3.07bn before March 2020.
- Other holders own at most 68%, so at most ¥2.09bn could have reached Creatures: at least 92.9% of its retained earnings it earned itself.
- The same test for Game Freak gives at most ¥57m, so at least 99.4%.
What we assumed
- Payouts were dividends paid in proportion to holdings.The research treats retained-earnings gaps as dividends; the 2018 one is supported by a rise in the legal reserve.
- One founder could have received up to 68% of dividends.An upper bound: Nintendo holds 32%, so all other holders together hold 68%. At a 34% holding the share is 96.4%.
- The 2018 payout is ¥2,983m.A later correction puts it at ¥2,989m; the ¥6m difference does not matter here.
Sanity check
Retained earnings understate what a founder earned if it paid its own dividends, so the test is conservative.
Where it comes from
Our calculation from other figures in the trainer’s notes:
Show the working
- TPC distributions FY2 1999 FY2 2017: 84
- TPC distributions before Mar 2020: 3,067
- Creatures retained earnings Mar 2020: 29,275
- Max TPC dividends in Creatures retained earnings at 68: 2,086%
- Min non dividend share: 92.9%
- Game Freak retained earnings Mar 2015: 9,974
- Creatures' ¥29.3bn RE holds ≤¥2.1bn of TPC dividends (≥93% earned by working)
Where it’s used
Related figures
Built from this one