Shinhan Investment Securities said on the 10th that Kakao's share price is expected to rise on the back of earnings growth and the launch of an AI agent. It kept its target price at 87,000 won and its investment opinion at "buy."
Kakao plans to unveil the user interface (UI) of its AI agent inside KakaoTalk through "if-kakao 2025" on the 23rd. The feature is expected to allow users to share AI search and content including short-form videos within KakaoTalk. With the introduction of this AI agent, users are expected to share search results and spend more time on the platform.
Kang Seok-o, senior researcher at Shinhan Investment Securities, said, "With an indispensable platform that people use every day and a high-performance LLM, it will be able to gain a first-mover advantage in AI agents," and noted, "Once the contours of agent market share and competition emerge, individual apps such as external shopping, reservations, and delivery are expected to connect to agents through MCP to secure potential customers."
Competition with Google is also expected to intensify with the introduction of the AI agent. Kakao is seen as a company with a strong chance of defending against Google's entry into the Korean market. As it absorbs transactions and advertising across various fields, its subsidiaries' profitability is also expected to improve.
Kang said, "Subsidiaries' profitability improvement is in its early stages, and we expect an earnings surprise in the second half," adding, "We maintain the internet sector top pick."