Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon" (Photo: Yonhap News)

 

[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] Korea Investment & Securities stated on the 8th that if Naver's profit growth continues, the likelihood of further stock price declines is low. The firm maintained its "Buy" rating and target price of 220,000 won.

The analysis predicts that Naver's Q3 revenue will increase by 9.1% year-on-year to 2.67 trillion won, with operating profit expected to rise by 32.2% to 502.7 billion won, slightly surpassing market expectations.

The firm noted growing market concerns regarding Naver's low growth, which is a common issue among other internet companies in Korea, China, and Japan, including Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba, and Line Yahoo, as they all operate limited domestic businesses while experiencing declining growth rates and poor stock performance.

However, Korea Investment & Securities believes that if Naver can maintain its current revenue growth rate, the potential for additional declines in its stock price is low. They highlighted that Naver's advertising revenue is expected to grow by 6-7% year-on-year, while commerce revenue is showing mid-10% growth due to the success of new paid products such as brand package solutions.

 

 

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