EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES said on the 19th that Netmarble saw back-to-back hits from this year's new titles, is expected to post strong results in the fourth quarter, and holds highly anticipated new titles for next year. It explained that the recent share price has fallen somewhat, easing the burden of buying. The firm maintained its investment opinion of "Buy" and raised its target price to 80,000 won from 70,000 won. Netmarble's previous closing price was 52,500 won.
EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES forecast Netmarble's fourth-quarter results at 752.7 billion won in revenue and 120.5 billion won in operating profit. It expected operating profit to beat the consensus (market average estimate).
Jeong Ui-hun, an analyst at EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, said, "The current fourth-quarter operating profit estimate is higher than in the second and third quarters (1,011 won and 909 billion won, respectively)," and analyzed, "It is also higher than in the second quarter of last year (1,112 won), when the hit of 'Solo Leveling: Global' was reflected."
The explanation was that while there is no new-release effect in the coming fourth quarter, the effects of global regional expansion of existing titles and the peak season for the game MCOC and game company SpinX are reflected.
It was also estimated that incentives and marketing expenses, which are typically recognized heavily in the fourth quarter, would be limited, and that the payout fee rate would decline further from the previous quarter as the trend of expanding first-party payments continues.
EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES projected Netmarble's 2026 revenue at 3.03 trillion won and operating profit at 448.5 billion won. Those figures are up 9% and 24%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Jeong said, "There are a total of eight new titles scheduled for release next year, and among them, the performance of 'The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin,' 'Monster Taming: Star Dive,' and 'Sol: Enchant' is expected to drive overall results."
Among the scheduled new titles, The Seven Deadly Sins and Monster Taming are legacy intellectual properties (IP) with highly loyal user bases, and they were exhibited at G-Star 2025, where they were said to have drawn a positive response from users.
It also analyzed that although the market's view of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) has recently been skeptical, Netmarble delivered good results with new releases, making it reasonable to have expectations for Sol: Enchant.
Jeong said, "Meaningful margin improvement is also expected from the overall expense control stance and the effect of a lower payout fee rate as the share of first-party payment revenue expands," adding, "Despite the consecutive hits of new titles this year, the expectation of strong fourth-quarter results, and the possession of anticipated new titles for next year, the share price has fallen somewhat recently, so the burden of buying is low."