NH Investment & Securities said on the 2nd that while strong fourth-quarter results are expected for NHN, performance in this year's games and technology (cloud) businesses is set to gain traction. The firm maintained its Buy rating and raised the target price to 40,000 won from 36,000 won. NHN's share price in the previous trading day was 29,050 won.
An Jae-min, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said, "Last year's results, which were hurt by the Tmon and WeMakePrice issue in 2024, have entered a normalization phase, and this year solid earnings growth is expected in the games and technology segments."
NH Investment & Securities estimated that NHN recorded revenue of 676.3 billion won and operating profit of 32.3 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year (October–December). These represent increases of 5% and 29%, respectively, from a year earlier, and operating profit exceeds the market consensus of 29.3 billion won.
An said, "With entry into the fourth-quarter peak season, revenue growth is expected in the payments business, the technology business, and NHN Link (performances and ticketing)," adding, "Profitability is improving as the company continues to wind down underperforming subsidiaries."
In the games segment, the effects of regulatory easing are expected to be reflected. An said, "The effect of raising the monthly purchase limit for web board games (700,000 won → 1 million won) is set to be reflected starting this year," and added, "Performance from the launches of the mobile titles using famous Japanese intellectual property, 'Puzzle Star ("Oshi no Ko")' and 'Dissidia Duel ("Final Fantasy")', is also worth watching."
In the technology segment, new revenue sources are also expected to ramp up. An said, "Through the government-led GPU buildout and operations support project, the company secured 7,656 GPUs and has completed deployment of 7,000 of them, with service to start in the first quarter of this year and revenue to begin in the second quarter," adding, "The company has guided for revenue contribution of about 300 billion won over five years."