'Untact' Firms Outperform Traditional Businesses
The market capitalization of Kakao topped that of Hyundai Motor Co. and ranked 10th in the KOSPI market on May 22.
That day, Kakao gained 4 percent to close at 247,000 won per share and its market cap increased to 21.5 trillion won. On the other hand, Hyundai Motor fell 2.78 percent to close at 94,500 won per share and its market cap decreased to 20.19 trillion won.
For reference, the total consolidated asset of Hyundai Motor amounted to 194 trillion won at the end of last year, second only to Samsung. Kakao’s total consolidated asset was eight trillion won.
In the first quarter of this year, Kakao’s quarterly operating profit hit an all-time high of 88.2 billion won, up 219 percent from a year ago. The company is increasing its presence in the financial sector with KakaoPay and its mobility business is showing performance improvements these days.