Kakao posted its best-ever first-quarter results.
Kakao said on the 7th that it logged first-quarter revenue of 1.9421 trillion won and operating profit of 211.4 billion won. Revenue rose 11% and operating profit climbed 66% from a year earlier. Both revenue and operating profit were the highest for any first quarter.
Advertising led the results. Among platform categories, Talk Biz revenue rose 9% on-year to 608.6 billion won, with advertising revenue within Talk Biz in particular up 16% to 338.4 billion won. Kakao said, "Overall message volume increased as demand expanded mainly among financial advertisers, and as advertisers broadened their use with diversified message products, business message revenue grew 27% on-year," adding, "Display advertising revenue also rose 10% on-year."
Talk Biz commerce (Gifts, Talk Deal) saw total transaction value of 2.9 trillion won in the first quarter, up 10% from a year earlier. Kakao said, "We strengthened our product lineup mainly in categories with strong user demand, such as fresh food and home appliances, and enhanced personalized benefits by user," adding, "In particular, thanks to the effect of the 'Kakao Shopping Festa' held in March, Talk Store transaction value increased 18% on-year, and self-purchase transaction value within Gifts rose 53%." First-quarter revenue for Talk Biz commerce was 270 billion won, up 1% on-year.
Other platform revenue, which includes mobility, Pay, and enterprise, rose 30% on-year to 506.5 billion won. Mobility posted double-digit revenue growth for three straight quarters on a base of taxis, parking, last-mile logistics, and advertising. Pay, in particular, surpassed quarterly revenue of 300 billion won for the first time ever on growth across services including payments, finance, and platform services.
Revenue in the content institutional sector was 759.4 billion won in the first quarter, up 5% from a year earlier. Music revenue rose 11% to 484.6 billion won, and media revenue increased 23% to 92.4 billion won. Story revenue was 182.4 billion won.
First-quarter operating expenses were 1.7307 trillion won, up 7% on-year. As a result, operating profit rose 66% to 211.4 billion won, and the operating margin was 11%. Kakao said, "The first quarter is typically a seasonal off-peak period with relatively weaker profitability, but this quarter profitability improved significantly as efficiency measures centered on core businesses were reflected in the results."
Kakao plans to accelerate its transition to an agentic artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a said, "It is encouraging that in the first quarter we achieved qualitative growth by strengthening our fundamental competitiveness," adding, "Building on the structural growth trajectory of our existing businesses, Kakao will now move beyond a messenger and begin its transition to an agentic AI platform used by 50 million users."