On the 7th, Krafton shares were down more than 4% intraday. The pullback appears to reflect weaker investor sentiment after the securities industry suggested that 4th-quarter 2025 results would fall short of market expectations.
As of 9:54 a.m. that day, Krafton was trading at 238,000 won on the Korea Exchange, down 10,000 won (4.03%) from the previous session.
Brokerages projected that Krafton's 4th-quarter revenue growth would slow. Daishin Securities Co. estimated Krafton's 4th-quarter revenue at 921.2 billion won and operating profit at 83.8 billion won. That would be a 49% increase in revenue from a year earlier but a 61% decline in operating profit. Daishin Securities Co. also cut its target price by 10% to 370,000 won from 410,000 won.
Lee Ji-eun, an analyst at Daishin Securities Co., said, "PUBG Steam traffic fell by about 36,000 quarter over quarter, and the average revenue ranking in the 4th quarter was 14th, the lowest level in the past two years," and noted, "Accordingly, this year's PC segment revenue will total 221.4 billion won, down 5% from a year earlier."
She added, "Due to the off-season and competing titles, mobile revenue in China declined, and a sales slowdown in the global market will also be unavoidable due to the off-season."
Expenses are also expected to weigh on earnings. The analyst explained, "Among 4th-quarter operating expenses, labor costs will come to 235.5 billion won, up 77% from a year earlier," adding, "This appears to reflect 81.6 billion won in employee welfare support payments."