DAISHIN Securities evaluated KRAFTON as having the highest valuation appeal among large game companies and strong momentum for new releases, identifying it as the top pick in the industry on the 24th. The investment opinion remains 'buy' with a target price of 480,000 won. KRAFTON's closing price on the previous trading day was 308,500 won.
DAISHIN Securities projected that KRAFTON could achieve over 1 trillion won in operating profit solely from its PUBG intellectual property (IP) by 2025. Research Institute member Lee Ji-eun noted about KRAFTON's flagship title, Battlegrounds, that 'growth is still ongoing across all platforms,' adding that 'traffic on PC is maintaining over 700,000 users, an increase of about 200,000 compared to the beginning of the year.' She assessed that with stable traffic secured, KRAFTON has strengthened its negotiating power in collaborations with global IP, allowing for potential monetization at any time.
DAISHIN Securities estimated that KRAFTON could release six new titles by 2025. The researcher stated, 'In order to enhance the marketability of new titles, we have strengthened monitoring from headquarters while granting independence and expertise to each studio,' noting that 'this is similar to the operational methods of overseas game companies.'
The research institute positively assessed KRAFTON's active publishing business in India. The researcher noted, 'KRAFTON released the shooting game Bullet Echo and the running action game Cookie Run in India this year,' and added that 'while Cookie Run's average revenue per user (ARPU) is low, contributing less to performance, it is seen positively as part of the accumulation of experience, know-how, and references for expanding the publishing business in India in the medium to long term.'
According to DAISHIN Securities, unlike the saturated global market, the Indian market still has high growth potential, and local corporations lack competitiveness in technology and capital, making it an attractive market for global game companies. However, due to cultural peculiarities, payment methods, and preferred game business models (BM) differing from the global market, it is expected that global game companies will have to go through firms with extensive publishing experience. The researcher stated, 'KRAFTON is expected to become a major player in the Indian market, having built many successful cases like BGMI and Cookie Run.'