The former chief technology officer (CTO) of Kakao Bank, who sparked controversy by exercising stock options worth some 7 billion won (US$5.25 million) immediately after Kakao Bank’s listing, has been nominated as the new CTO of Kakao.According to the IT industry on March 4, it has been reported tha
Koreans spent more than 104.4 billion minutes on YouTube in October, according to a survey.WiseApp-Retail Goods, a company that analyzes mobile applications and retail, announced on Nov. 15 that it surveyed Korean smartphone users on their YouTube usage time. The survey was conducted among 51.2 mill
The Chinese government has decided to virtually fully permit overseas group travel for its citizens for the first time in over three years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, Chinese group tourism to South Korea will resume after more than six years, unlocking the travel restrict
The author is an analyst for NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.We anticipate the unveiling of specifics regarding Kakao’s AI business model from October. The expansion of advertising in open chat and the Friends Tab should be a key point in the firm’s earning
The author is an analyst for Shinhan Securities. He can be reached at heeyeon.lim@shinhan.com -- Ed.2Q operating loss of KRW12.6bn in line with expectationsKakaopay posted decent 2Q23 preliminary results with consolidated operating loss of KRW12.6bn (continued loss QoQ) on sales of KRW148.9bn (+5.2%
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com -- Ed.While sluggish economic conditions were inescapable in 1Q23, we note that KakaoTalk is to be reorganized in 1H23. This initiative, along with anticipated ad market recovery, should spur sales growt
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Although concerns linger toward Kakao’s ad and commerce domains amid an ongoing economic slowdown, we expect an earnings recovery from 2Q23 in line with a strengthening in its business model for
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. She can be reached at leesunhwa@kbfg.com. -- Ed. From real-time communication service to all-around interest-oriented service— On Dec 7, Kakao added an emoji sticker function to the KakaoTalk profile board. We believe this will increase user traffic.— Among
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. She can be reached at leesunhwa@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY but cut target price by 40.9% (KRW110,000→KRW65,000) We cut our TP by 40.9% (KRW110,000→KRW65,000) for Kakao. 2022E/2023E OP were revised down 6.8%/6.1% given:(1) damage caused by a fire at its d
As a national telecommunication disaster broke out with the shutdown of the KakaoTalk messenger service, much attention is focused on the in-house messenger programs used by major Korean business groups such as Samsung for internal communications.Major Korean business groups have been using their ow
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. She can be reached at leesunhwa@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Fire at SK C&C’s Pangyo data center shuts down KakaoTalk, other key platforms— On Oct 15, a fire broke out at 3:33 p.m. at SK C&C’s Pangyo data center (building A’s electrical room, sublevel three).— The data
The unprecedented shutdown of KakaoTalk messenger app that occurred on Oct. 15 clearly exposed the problems of a platform monopoly. The shutdown of the widely used mobile messenger app did not end with the suspension of about 20 related Kakao services. Other companies and government agencies that us
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Kakao’s share price correction is being prolonged by a variety of factors, including economic slowdown, stock market volatility, and share price decline at listed subsidiaries. We expect earnings
Yeonsu-gu, Incheon City announced on Sept. 14 that the 10th Yeonsu Neungheodae Culture Festival would take place offline on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. In 2019 to 2021, the event could not take place due to African swine flu and COVID-19. The event venues are the Songdo Moonlight and Neungheodae Parks.This
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. She can be reached at leesunhwa@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Initiating coverage with BUY and TP of KRW110,000 We initiate coverage of Kakao with a BUY rating and target price of KRW110,000 (52.4% upside). We forecast 2022E-2024E OP CAGR of 36.2%. Derived using the DCF
Kakao has decided to take a step back in its conflict with Google over forced in-app payment by giving up its outlink payment method. As a result, a prolonged suspension of Kakao Talk updates or the deletion of Kakao Talk application in the app market is unlikely to take place.Kakao officials met wi
The author is an analyst of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at sh.kim@shinhan.com. -- Ed. Full banking services launched by the most perfect platform operatorMost people in Korea would likely choose KakaoTalk if they could keep only one app on their smartphones, with social connection pla
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. - Internet and game company shares, which led the 2020 stock market on the theme of ‘contactless’, have now entered a period of price correction. While the number of Covid-19 cases has yet to mea
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at drlee@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY; Revise up TP by 4.7% to KRW135,000 We maintain BUY on Kakao as we lift our TP by 4.7% to KRW135,000. While our revenue and OP forecasts have been left largely unchanged, we have revised up 2021E and
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at jaemin.ahn@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Benefiting from the massive influence of the KakaoTalk platform, Kakao’s subsidiaries are reporting sound business results.Tangible results appearing across the board (eg, ads, commerce, content,