Kakao's stock price rose significantly in early trading, buoyed by strong third-quarter earnings and news of a large share buyback and cancellation. The combination of improved performance and expectations for increased shareholder returns has revitalized investor sentiment.
According to the Korea Exchange, as of 10:59 a.m. on November 5, Kakao shares were trading at 31,550 won, up 2,450 won (8.42%) from the previous trading day. The stock opened at 30,200 won and briefly reached 32,200 won during the session.
Kakao announced before the market opened that its consolidated revenue and operating profit for the third quarter were provisionally recorded at 2.0867 trillion won and 240.3 billion won, respectively, marking increases of 6.3% and 7.4% compared to the same period last year.
Notably, the growth in the platform sector was pronounced. Revenue from the platform segment rose by 16.5% to 1.235 trillion won, while revenue from TalkBiz, which includes KakaoTalk advertising and commerce, increased by 12.7% to 632.9 billion won. TalkBiz advertising and subscription revenue also saw an 11% rise, totaling 391.5 billion won.
Kakao also announced its shareholder return policy. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Kakao plans to buy back and cancel 5,154,639 common shares from November 6 to February 5 of next year. The buyback is estimated to be worth about 150 billion won based on the previous closing price of 29,100 won.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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