SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Kakao reported its strongest quarterly earnings ever in the third quarter, with operating profit surpassing 200 billion won ($138 million) for the first time since its founding and expects the rollout of ChatGPT-powered services to offer meaningful boost to the chat platform most Koreans use starting fourth quarter.
According to its regulatory filing Friday, Kakao’s consolidated revenue reached 2.087 trillion won in the July–September period, up 9 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit jumped 59 percent on year and 12 percent on quarter to 208 billion won — the highest in company history.
As of 11:20 a.m., shares of Kakao were trading at 62,900 won, up 3.46 percent.
The platform division generated 1.06 trillion won in revenue, up 12 percent on year. Advertising led the gains with an 11 percent rise to 325 billion won. Within ads, business-message services climbed 22 percent, while display advertising returned to growth — up 0.5 percent after five consecutive quarters of decline.
Platform subsidiaries also delivered solid results, with combined revenue rising 24 percent on year to 453 billion won. Kakao Pay reported record operating profit, while Kakao Mobility posted steady gains.
The commerce unit underperformed, recording 209 billion won in sales — down 0.1 percent on year and 6 percent on quarter. Still, Kakao said total transaction volume increased 4 percent to 2.5 trillion won as self-purchases rose. Some sales delayed by Chuseok-related logistics will be reflected in fourth-quarter results, it added.
Revenue from Kakao’s portal business, led by Daum, fell 5 percent. To improve efficiency, Kakao plans to spin off Daum into a company-in-company (CIC).
The content division posted 1.03 trillion won in revenue, up 5 percent on year. The games segment remained weak, with revenue tumbling 34 percent to 154 billion won due to delayed and canceled releases — a trend the company expects to continue for at least the next six months until new titles launch.
In contrast, the music business grew 20 percent to 565 billion won, driven by new album launches and concert activity.
The entertainment unit booked 84 billion won in revenue, down 11 percent on year due to postponed intellectual property releases. Meanwhile, the media division surged 75 percent to 96 billion won thanks to a robust slate of new film releases.
Piccoma, the Japanese distribution arm of Kakao Webtoon, generated 127 billion won in revenue, up 2 percent on year. It remained Japan’s top-grossing app in 2025, and its operating profit doubled from a year earlier.
Responding to questions about user engagement, a Kakao official said:
“Average daily time spent on KakaoTalk has rebounded from 24 minutes to 26 minutes after the update, meeting our initial targets.”
The redesign increased both session duration and advertising efficiency, the company added.
Kakao expects double-digit growth in Talk Biz ad revenue, boosted by its new services Kanana, on-device AI – and ChatGPT deployment.
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