Toss is expected to achieve its first annual profit after 10 years since its founding. The strong performance of Toss Bank, along with the growth of Toss Securities and commerce services, contributed to its financial results. Based on this, Toss plans to go public on the U.S. stock market this year.
According to the fintech industry on the 9th, Viva Republica, the operator of Toss, has recently confirmed its first annual profit last year. This is the first record since the company was founded in 2013. After recording a net loss of 216.6 billion won in 2023, Viva Republica reduced its first-quarter net loss from 18.3 billion won to 1.9 billion won in the second quarter, and it is expected to achieve its first quarterly profit in the third quarter and an annual profit in the fourth quarter.
Toss's strong performance is attributed to the growth of Toss Commerce Services, advertising revenue, and Toss Securities. Toss's commerce service has functionalities such as live shopping and group buying within the Toss application (app), leading customers flowing into commerce to use Toss Pay, Toss's easy payment service. Toss app users have increased their dwell time through commerce, allowing online sellers to advertise through commerce, which contributed to increased Toss revenue and improved profitability.
Toss Securities has grown primarily among MZ generation investors who are familiar with non-face-to-face transactions and seek convenient investment environments for trading overseas stocks. Utilizing its mobile-focused fintech brokerage advantage, Toss Securities has enhanced its mobile trading system (MTS) and expanded services not offered by traditional brokerages, such as stock gathering, attracting more users. Additionally, the profitability shift of affiliated companies, such as Toss Insurance, along with growth in services like advertising, easy payment, and loan brokerage, has also been noted.
Last year, Toss Bank also had an impact. Under the separation of banking and commerce regulations, Toss's equity in Toss Bank is 28.42%, which is less than 30%. Although Toss Bank's performance is not reflected in its revenue, it is included in Toss's profit and loss calculations under the equity method.
As of last year, Toss's monthly active users (MAU) exceeded 19 million. This figure significantly surpasses Kakao Bank (17.3 million) and other financial holding company platforms. Major financial holding companies (KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup) reported a combined MAU of 7.39 million, with KB Financial's KB Star Banking leading at around 12.6 million.
This year, Toss is challenging the U.S. stock market IPO, focusing on products currently being serviced. The underwriters have not yet been decided, but global investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which have led domestic corporations like Coupang and Webtoon Entertainment (Naver Webtoon) to go public in the U.S., are being mentioned as candidates. To this end, Toss is currently conducting large-scale recruitment across all job categories.
With this performance, Toss's corporate value has risen, increasing the possibility of a successful IPO. According to Securities Plus Unlisted, the current corporate value of Viva Republica is estimated to be between 12 trillion and 20 trillion won.