Sixteen of the 20 YouTube channels with the greatest Super Chat revenue of all time belong to VTubers, yet at NIJISANJI owner ANYCOLOR the entire Livestreaming category that includes Super Chat was only about 10% of 55.7 billion yen in annual revenue (YouTube Culture and Trends, Virtual Creators report 2025; ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 results). That gap is the central fact of the VTuber business in 2026: tipping makes the headlines, merchandise pays the bills. COVER, the company behind hololive production, grew revenue 13.7% to 49.3 billion yen in the year to March 2026, but merchandising alone was 48.1% of that total, and operating profit fell 11.8% after a 3.2 billion yen write-off. Audience demand is not the constraint: 57% of US online 14 to 44 year olds surveyed in May 2024 had watched a VTuber in the past year, and VTuber-related videos average 50 billion YouTube views a year. For the wider tipping picture, see our YouTube Shorts RPM and monetization statistics. We aggregated data from the securities filings and investor presentations of COVER Corporation and ANYCOLOR Inc., YouTube’s Culture and Trends report and Help Center, Yano Research Institute, YouTube’s official blog, and the published transcript of COVER’s earnings briefing.
TL;DR
- 16 of the 20 channels with the greatest Super Chat revenue of all time belong to VTubers, as of February 2025 (YouTube Culture and Trends, Virtual Creators report 2025).
- Creators receive 70% of Supers revenue confirmed by Google, after tax and app store fees (YouTube Help Center).
- ANYCOLOR (NIJISANJI) net sales: 55,681 million yen in FY2026.4, up 29.9%; operating profit 20,172 million yen, up 23.9% (ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 financial results).
- COVER (hololive production) revenue: 49,330 million yen in FY2026.3, up 13.7%; operating profit 7,056 million yen, down 11.8% (COVER FY2026.3 presentation).
- Livestreaming (Super Chat, memberships, AdSense) was about 10% of ANYCOLOR revenue; Commerce was 68% (ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation).
- Merchandising was 23,747 million yen, 48.1% of COVER revenue, versus 9,137 million yen for streaming/content (COVER FY2026.3 presentation).
- 57% of surveyed US online 14 to 44 year olds watched a VTuber in the past 12 months (Google/SmithGeiger, May 2024, via YouTube).
- VTuber-related videos averaged 50 billion YouTube views a year over the past three years (YouTube Data 2017-2024, via YouTube Culture and Trends).
- hololive channels: 95.02 million total YouTube subscribers and 27.5% overseas viewers at March 31, 2026 (COVER Growth Strategies, May 2026).
- VTuber market: 126 billion yen forecast for FY2026/3 (Yano Research Institute, as cited by COVER).
- COVER Q1 FY2027.3 revenue fell 8.3% to 8,825 million yen; ANYCOLOR Q1 FY2027.4 rose 5.4% to 16,620 million yen (company Q1 results, 2026).
1. Super Chat: Where VTubers Lead YouTube
Live tipping is the one YouTube metric VTubers own outright. YouTube’s own report states that 16 of the 20 channels with the greatest Super Chat revenue of all time belong to VTubers, as of February 2025 (YouTube Culture and Trends, Virtual Creators report). The format suits the genre: long live streams, a chat-driven relationship with an anime-style persona, and on-screen acknowledgement of each paid message create a loop that conventional creators rarely match.
The mechanics cap what reaches the talent. Creators receive 70% of Supers revenue confirmed by Google, after local sales tax and app store fees are deducted, and the more a viewer pays, the longer the message stays pinned (YouTube Help, Super Chat and Super Stickers). For agency talents, that 70% is then divided under private contracts, which is why per-talent income cannot be derived from public data. Live viewing is also mainstream on the platform: on average, over 30% of daily logged-in YouTube viewers watched live content in Q2 2025, and YouTube says it paid out over 100 billion dollars to creators, artists and media companies over the last four years (YouTube Official Blog, Made on YouTube 2025).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Top 20 all-time Super Chat channels that are VTubers | 16 of 20 (as of February 2025) | YouTube Culture and Trends, Virtual Creators report 2025 |
| Creator share of Supers revenue | 70%, after sales tax and app store fees | YouTube Help Center, Super Chat and Super Stickers |
| Daily logged-in viewers who watched live content, Q2 2025 | Over 30% on average | YouTube Official Blog, Made on YouTube 2025 |
| YouTube payouts to creators, artists and media companies | Over 100 billion dollars over four years | YouTube Official Blog, Made on YouTube 2025 |
| ANYCOLOR Super Chat revenue, Q1 FY2027.4 vs Q4 | Unchanged quarter on quarter (ad revenue declined seasonally) | ANYCOLOR FY2027.4 Q1 presentation |
| ANYCOLOR Livestreaming revenue, Q1 FY2027.4 | 1,444 million yen (+4.3% YoY) | ANYCOLOR FY2027.4 Q1 presentation |
Context note: YouTube does not publish Super Chat totals by channel. Third-party trackers such as Playboard estimate them from public chat data; those figures are unofficial estimates, and Playboard’s ranking pages refused automated access during research (rate limited), so no Playboard amounts are quoted here.
2. Agency Revenue: NIJISANJI vs hololive in FY2026
The two listed Japanese agencies now book more than 100 billion yen between them, but they are on different trajectories. ANYCOLOR grew net sales 29.9% to 55,681 million yen in the year ended April 30, 2026, with operating profit up 23.9% to 20,172 million yen (ANYCOLOR, FY2026.4 financial results). That is a 36.2% operating margin, the kind usually seen in software, not talent management.
COVER grew faster on the top line than on the bottom. Revenue rose 13.7% to 49,330 million yen in the year to March 31, 2026, but operating profit fell 11.8% to 7,056 million yen, a 14.3% margin (7,056 / 49,330), and net profit fell 45.7% to 3,016 million yen (COVER, FY2026.3 presentation). The company missed its own forecast of 52,500 million yen revenue and 8,200 million yen operating profit, and wrote off the entire book value of its Holoearth metaverse software, a 3,199 million yen impairment, plus 1,856 million yen of cost of sales for disposing of and writing down slow-moving inventory (COVER, Notice of extraordinary loss and forecast differences, May 2026).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ANYCOLOR net sales, FY ended April 30, 2026 | 55,681 million yen (+29.9%; prior year 42,876) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 financial results |
| ANYCOLOR operating profit / margin | 20,172 million yen (+23.9%) / 36.2% | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 results and presentation |
| ANYCOLOR net profit | 14,091 million yen (+22.4%) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 financial results |
| COVER revenue, FY ended March 31, 2026 | 49,330 million yen (+13.7%) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| COVER operating profit / net profit | 7,056 million yen (-11.8%) / 3,016 million yen (-45.7%) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| COVER revenue vs its own forecast | 49,330 vs 52,500 million yen (-6.0%) | COVER notice, May 14, 2026 |
| COVER Holoearth impairment | 3,199 million yen | COVER notice, May 14, 2026 |
| ANYCOLOR equity ratio / dividend per share | 73.9% / 75.00 yen | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 financial results |
Context note: the two companies close their fiscal years one month apart (COVER in March, ANYCOLOR in April), so the combined 105,011 million yen (49,330 + 55,681) mixes slightly different 12-month windows. COVER’s presentation rounds the Holoearth charge to about 3.3 billion yen; the formal notice gives 3,199 million yen, which is the figure used here.
3. Revenue Mix: Merchandise Out-Earns Super Chat
The business model looks like a character-goods company with a live channel attached. ANYCOLOR’s Livestreaming category, defined as revenue from sources such as Super Chat, YouTube membership and Google AdSense, was 5,602 million yen in FY2026.4, about 10% of revenue, while Commerce, the sale of merchandise and digital content, was 38,092 million yen or 68% (ANYCOLOR, FY2026.4 presentation). In other words, every yen of tipping, membership and ad revenue is matched by roughly 6.8 yen of merchandise and digital goods (38,092 / 5,602).
COVER shows the same shape. Merchandising was 23,747 million yen, 48.1% of revenue, up 15.6%, while streaming/content was 9,137 million yen, 18.5% of revenue (9,137 / 49,330), down 2.0%. Concerts and events (9,247 million yen, +18.7%) now out-earn streaming, and licensing/collaborations grew fastest at +25.3% to 7,198 million yen (COVER FY2026.3 presentation). Live streams are the marketing engine; physical and digital goods are the monetization layer. The same pattern appears across creator merchandising in our creator merchandise and print-on-demand statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ANYCOLOR Livestreaming (Super Chat, memberships, AdSense), FY2026.4 | 5,602 million yen (about 10% of revenue) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation |
| ANYCOLOR Commerce (merchandise and digital content) | 38,092 million yen (68%) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation |
| ANYCOLOR Event / Promotion | 4,087 million yen (7%) / 7,874 million yen (14%) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation |
| COVER Merchandising, FY2026.3 | 23,747 million yen (+15.6%, 48.1% of revenue) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| COVER Streaming/Content | 9,137 million yen (-2.0%) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| COVER Concerts/Events | 9,247 million yen (+18.7%) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| COVER Licensing/Collaborations | 7,198 million yen (+25.3%) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| COVER trading card game shipments | Approx. 21 million pieces (approx. 10 million prior year, +110%) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
Context note: COVER’s presentation does not itemize what Streaming/Content contains, so it should not be read as a pure Super Chat figure. ANYCOLOR’s category does name Super Chat but bundles it with memberships and AdSense, and neither company discloses Super Chat on its own.
4. Audience Reach: Subscribers, Views and Awareness
Demand is broad, and it is not just a Japanese niche. 57% of US online 14 to 44 year olds surveyed in May 2024 said they had watched a VTuber in the past 12 months, and over the past three years VTuber-related videos averaged 50 billion views annually on YouTube (Google/SmithGeiger and YouTube Data, in YouTube Culture and Trends, Virtual Creators report). The same report counts over 15 billion views for a sample of just 300 virtual creators in a year, 1 billion of them from the US, and over 5.5 billion views of Hatsune Miku-related videos in 2024, an all-time high.
Agency-level numbers show how concentrated that attention is. hololive’s channels had 95.02 million total YouTube subscribers, 6.4 billion annual views and 700 million hours of annual watch time as of March 31, 2026, with 27.5% of viewers overseas (COVER, Growth Opportunities and Strategies, May 2026). NIJISANJI’s YouTube views reached 6.2 billion in FY2026.4, up 17.3%. In Japan, a Yano Research Institute consumer survey found at least 90% of VTuber fans were aware of both NIJISANJI and hololive production (Yano Research Institute, VTuber fan survey, June 2026).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US online 14-44 year olds who watched a VTuber in past 12 months | 57% (May 2024) | Google/SmithGeiger via YouTube Culture and Trends 2025 |
| Average annual views of VTuber-related videos, past three years | 50 billion | YouTube Data, 2017-2024, via YouTube Culture and Trends |
| Views earned by a sample of 300 virtual creators in a year | Over 15 billion (1 billion from the US) | YouTube Data, Global, 2024 |
| hololive total YouTube subscribers, March 31, 2026 | 95.02 million (95.25 million at June 30, 2026) | COVER Growth Strategies; COVER FY2027.3 Q1 presentation |
| hololive annual views / watch time | 6.4 billion / 700 million hours | COVER Growth Strategies, May 2026 |
| hololive average monthly unique users / overseas viewer ratio | 27.59 million / 27.5% | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| NIJISANJI YouTube views, FY2026.4 | 6.2 billion (+17.3%) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation |
| Japanese VTuber fans aware of NIJISANJI and hololive | At least 90% | Yano Research Institute, June 2026 |
Context note: the 57% figure comes from a US survey of people the footnotes describe as online 14 to 44 year olds (with a separate Gen Z sample of N=312), so it is not a general-population rate. Yano screened 25,277 people and analyzed 1,200 Japanese fans aged 15 to 44 (600 men, 600 women) in November 2025; Vspo! and Aogiri High School both exceeded 70% awareness in the same survey. Most recent available US survey data: Google/SmithGeiger, 2024.
5. Talent Rosters and the 2026 Reset
The first quarter of the new fiscal year showed how much revenue rides on individual talents. COVER’s revenue for April to June 2026 fell 8.3% to 8,825 million yen, with merchandising down 22.1% and operating profit down 33.0% to 651 million yen (COVER, FY2027.3 Q1 presentation). The company attributed the streaming and e-commerce weakness to a “short-term adjustment phase” after the lapse of revenue from talents who graduated; its roster went from 84 VTubers at March 31 to 79 at the end of Q1, even as the number with over 1 million subscribers rose from 43 to 45.
ANYCOLOR, with a far larger roster, absorbed the quarter better: net sales rose 5.4% to 16,620 million yen, though operating profit fell 8.8% to 6,390 million yen and the margin slipped 6.0 points to 38.5% (ANYCOLOR, FY2027.4 Q1 presentation). It had 153 NIJISANJI and 28 NIJISANJI EN VTubers, 181 in total, with two new NIJISANJI debuts and no debuts or graduations at NIJISANJI EN during the quarter. Live events kept growing at both firms: COVER’s concerts and events revenue more than doubled (+109.6%), and its Expo and festival together drew more than 100,000 on-site attendees in FY2026.3.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| COVER revenue, Q1 FY2027.3 (April-June 2026) | 8,825 million yen (-8.3%; prior year 9,629) | COVER FY2027.3 Q1 financial results |
| COVER segment change, Q1 | Merchandising -22.1%, streaming/content -3.8%, concerts/events +109.6%, licensing +8.2% | COVER FY2027.3 Q1 presentation |
| hololive roster, March 31 vs June 30, 2026 | 84 to 79 VTubers (1M+ subscribers: 43 to 45) | COVER FY2026.3 and Q1 FY2027.3 presentations |
| ANYCOLOR net sales / operating profit, Q1 FY2027.4 (May-July 2026) | 16,620 million yen (+5.4%) / 6,390 million yen (-8.8%) | ANYCOLOR FY2027.4 Q1 financial results |
| ANYCOLOR Q1 segments | Commerce 11,413 (+9.8%), Promotion 2,052 (+10.0%), Event 1,707 (-19.4%) million yen | ANYCOLOR FY2027.4 Q1 presentation |
| NIJISANJI roster, end of Q1 FY2027.4 | 153 Japan + 28 EN = 181 VTubers | ANYCOLOR FY2027.4 Q1 presentation |
| ANYCOLOR event tickets sold, FY2026.4 | 632,000 (+38.6%) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation |
| COVER Expo and festival on-site attendance, FY2026.3 | More than 100,000 combined | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
Context note: COVER’s fiscal Q1 runs April to June and ANYCOLOR’s runs May to July, so the two quarters overlap by only two months. Many smaller and independent VTubers stream from the same OBS-based setups as other creators, where avatar tracking and voice changer tools for OBS sit alongside chat overlays.
6. Market Size, Overseas Growth and the Outlook
Japan remains the revenue base, and outside market forecasts are thin. COVER cites a Yano Research Institute forecast of 126 billion yen for the VTuber market in FY2026/3 (Yano Research Institute, Survey on the VTuber market, as cited in COVER’s Growth Opportunities and Strategies, May 2026). Overseas is growing but still small for NIJISANJI: NIJISANJI EN produced 1,946 million yen in FY2026.4, about 3.5% of ANYCOLOR revenue (1,946 / 55,682), while COVER’s overseas sales rose from 10,059 to 11,829 million yen, about 24.0% of its revenue (11,829 / 49,330).
Guidance points to slower growth and new formats. ANYCOLOR forecasts FY2027.4 net sales of 56,000 to 60,000 million yen (+0.6% to +7.8%) and operating profit of 18,000 to 20,000 million yen, and authorized a buyback of up to 7.0 billion yen through April 30, 2027. COVER forecasts FY2027.3 revenue of 51,350 million yen (+4.1%), and on September 24, 2026 raised its first-half operating profit forecast from 1,930 to 3,500 million yen (+81.3%) after its smartphone game hololive Dreams passed 2 million downloads (COVER, Revision of earnings forecast, September 2026). Overseas players account for roughly 30% of the game’s demand, according to the company’s earnings briefing (logmi Finance, COVER FY2027.3 Q1 briefing transcript).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| VTuber market, FY2026/3 forecast | 126 billion yen | Yano Research Institute, as cited by COVER, May 2026 |
| NIJISANJI EN revenue, FY2026.4 | 1,946 million yen (Japan 53,657 million yen) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation |
| COVER overseas sales, FY2026.3 | 11,829 million yen (prior year 10,059) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| ANYCOLOR FY2027.4 guidance | Net sales 56,000-60,000; operating profit 18,000-20,000 million yen | ANYCOLOR FY2027.4 Q1 financial results |
| COVER FY2027.3 forecast | Revenue 51,350 million yen (+4.1%); operating profit 7,000 million yen | COVER FY2027.3 Q1 financial results; FY2026.3 presentation |
| COVER first-half operating profit forecast, revised September 24, 2026 | 1,930 to 3,500 million yen (+81.3%), revenue unchanged at 22,270 | COVER notice, September 2026 |
| hololive Dreams downloads | Over 1 million on day one, over 2 million total (about 30% overseas demand) | COVER Q1 presentation; logmi transcript |
| COVER medium-term target, FY2030/3 | Net sales 100 billion yen, operating profit 25 billion yen or more | COVER Growth Opportunities and Strategies, May 2026 |
Context note: the combined revenue of COVER and ANYCOLOR (105,011 million yen) is close to Yano’s 126 billion yen market figure, but Yano’s market definition could not be read in the original release, so the two numbers should not be combined into a market-share estimate.
Summary: VTuber Industry by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Top 20 all-time Super Chat channels that are VTubers | 16 (as of February 2025) | YouTube Culture and Trends 2025 |
| Creator share of Supers revenue | 70% | YouTube Help Center |
| Daily logged-in YouTube viewers watching live, Q2 2025 | Over 30% | YouTube Official Blog 2025 |
| ANYCOLOR net sales, FY2026.4 | 55,681 million yen (+29.9%) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 financial results |
| ANYCOLOR operating margin, FY2026.4 | 36.2% | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation |
| COVER revenue, FY2026.3 | 49,330 million yen (+13.7%) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| COVER operating profit, FY2026.3 | 7,056 million yen (-11.8%) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| COVER Holoearth impairment | 3,199 million yen | COVER notice, May 2026 |
| ANYCOLOR Livestreaming share of revenue | About 10% (5,602 million yen) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation |
| ANYCOLOR Commerce share of revenue | 68% (38,092 million yen) | ANYCOLOR FY2026.4 presentation |
| COVER Merchandising revenue | 23,747 million yen (48.1%) | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| US online 14-44 year olds who watched a VTuber | 57% (May 2024) | Google/SmithGeiger via YouTube |
| Annual views of VTuber-related videos | 50 billion average, past three years | YouTube Data via YouTube Culture and Trends |
| hololive total YouTube subscribers | 95.25 million (June 30, 2026) | COVER FY2027.3 Q1 presentation |
| hololive overseas viewer ratio | 27.5% | COVER FY2026.3 presentation |
| NIJISANJI roster | 181 VTubers (153 Japan, 28 EN) | ANYCOLOR FY2027.4 Q1 presentation |
| COVER Q1 FY2027.3 revenue | 8,825 million yen (-8.3%) | COVER FY2027.3 Q1 financial results |
| ANYCOLOR Q1 FY2027.4 net sales | 16,620 million yen (+5.4%) | ANYCOLOR FY2027.4 Q1 financial results |
| VTuber market forecast, FY2026/3 | 126 billion yen | Yano Research Institute via COVER |
| COVER first-half operating profit forecast (revised) | 3,500 million yen (+81.3%) | COVER notice, September 2026 |
Methodology and Sources
Every figure above was read during research for this article in a company securities disclosure, investor presentation, earnings-forecast notice, official platform report or help page, or a research firm’s own press release. Company figures are reported in Japanese yen as disclosed; derived ratios show their math in the text. Donation mechanics on another live platform are covered in our Twitch Bits and live streaming donation statistics.
- COVER Corporation (TSE 5253): FY2026.3 presentation materials (May 14, 2026), Growth Opportunities and Strategies (May 14, 2026), Notice of extraordinary loss and earnings forecast differences (May 14, 2026), FY2027.3 Q1 financial results (August 12, 2026), FY2027.3 Q1 presentation (August 12, 2026), Revision of earnings forecast (September 24, 2026), IR library
- ANYCOLOR Inc. (TSE 5032): FY2026.4 financial results (June 10, 2026), FY2026.4 presentation (June 10, 2026), FY2027.4 Q1 financial results (September 9, 2026), FY2027.4 Q1 presentation (September 9, 2026), IR site
- YouTube: Culture and Trends, Virtual Creators report (data as of February 2025; survey by Google/SmithGeiger, US, May 2024), Help Center, Super Chat and Super Stickers, Official Blog, Made on YouTube 2025
- Yano Research Institute: VTuber fan survey press release (June 12, 2026); market-size forecast as cited in COVER’s Growth Opportunities and Strategies
- logmi Finance: Transcript of COVER FY2027.3 Q1 financial results briefing
- Data watch: Super Chat is never disclosed on its own: ANYCOLOR bundles it with memberships and AdSense in Livestreaming, and COVER does not itemize Streaming/Content, so neither category equals tipping revenue. The YouTube claim that 16 of the top 20 Super Chat channels are VTubers is YouTube’s own statement; the dollar amounts behind such rankings exist only as third-party estimates (Playboard and similar trackers), and Playboard’s pages returned rate-limit errors during research, so no tracker figures are used. The Yano 126 billion yen market forecast is quoted through COVER’s presentation because Yano’s original market-size release could not be located on its site; no second firm’s estimate could be verified, so the market size is single-source. Minor rounding differences exist between filings and decks (ANYCOLOR net sales 55,681 vs 55,682 million yen; COVER impairment 3,199 million yen in the notice vs about 3.3 billion yen in the deck); the formal filings are used where they differ. COVER’s fiscal year ends in March and ANYCOLOR’s in April, so annual and quarterly comparisons cover offset windows. The 57% viewing figure is a US online survey from May 2024 and is the most recent available data of its kind. Newer data are expected with COVER’s FY2027.3 first-half results and ANYCOLOR’s FY2027.4 Q2 results.
Last updated: October 3, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next refresh is expected when COVER publishes its FY2027.3 first-half financial results and ANYCOLOR publishes its FY2027.4 Q2 results.