Kakao
035720, KOSPI, Tech & Internet
- Prev. close
- ₩36,051
- Volume
- 1.5M
- Market cap
- ₩16.1T
- Near 52-week low
- -48% from high
Why a candidate
Exp 73/100Lending balance
Little change15,297,186 sh
KRW 0.56T
New 382,093 sh, Returned 245,857 sh
Shares borrowed through securities lending that have not yet been returned. Borrowed shares are often sold afterwards, so the balance is used as a reference for pending sell pressure.
As of 2026-08-26, FSC stock lending data
Company profile
Unqualified opinion(주)카카오
- CEO
- 정신아
- Employees
- 3,922
- Average tenure
- 6.3 years
- Average pay per employee
- ₩109M
- Listed
- 2017-07-10
- Founded
- 1995-02-16
- Auditor
- 삼정회계법인
As filed 2026-08-26
Company siteCompany research
Researched 2026-08-20 18:10 KSTOperating margin climbed from 7.3 to 13.2 percent across six quarters, and in the latest one net profit came to a tenth of the year-earlier figure.
Kakao posted revenue of KRW 2,098.5bn and operating profit of KRW 277.0bn for the second quarter of 2026, so a 9.4 percent rise in revenue met a 35.9 percent rise in operating profit and pushed the operating margin from 10.6 to 13.2 percent. Consolidated net profit went the other way, KRW 18.0bn against KRW 171.8bn a year earlier, after a KRW 180.7bn loss from discontinued operations and a tax charge that grew from KRW 23.2bn to KRW 165.1bn. Read only the operating line or only the bottom line for this quarter and half the company goes missing.
Key figures
- Q2 revenue
- KRW 2,098.5bn
- 2026-06-30
- Operating profit
- KRW 277.0bn
- 2026-06-30
- Operating margin
- 13.2%
- 2026-06-30
- Consolidated net profit
- KRW 18.0bn
- 2026-06-30
- Discontinued operations
- KRW -180.7bn
- 2026-06-30
- Platform revenue
- KRW 1,230.3bn
- 2026-06-30
Revenue up 9 percent, operating profit up 36
Kakao's second quarter revenue was KRW 2,098.5bn, 9.4 percent above the same quarter a year earlier. Operating profit over the same span went from KRW 203.9bn to KRW 277.0bn, a 35.9 percent gain, close to four times the pace of revenue. That moved the operating margin from 10.6 to 13.2 percent, and against the 7.3 percent of the first quarter of 2025 it has almost doubled in six quarters.
Quarterly operating margin
%The growth came from platform other, not from Talk Biz
Revenue splits into a platform arm and a content arm. Platform brought in KRW 1,230.3bn in the second quarter, up 16.6 percent year over year, while content managed KRW 868.2bn, up 0.7 percent. Inside platform the two lines move at different speeds. Talk Biz grew 12.3 percent to KRW 643.2bn while platform other grew 21.7 percent to KRW 587.0bn, narrowing the gap between them to KRW 56.2bn. On the content side music rose 7.8 percent to KRW 558.4bn and made up 64 percent of that arm, while story fell 15.8 percent to KRW 210.7bn.
Q2 2026 revenue by business (KRW bn)
- Talk Biz643.2
- Platform other587.0
- Music558.4
- Story210.7
- Media99.1
Operating profit rose while net profit fell 89 percent
Consolidated net profit for the quarter was KRW 18.0bn, a tenth of the KRW 171.8bn booked a year earlier. Two items below the operating line account for the drop. Discontinued operations cost KRW 180.7bn, and the tax charge went from KRW 23.2bn to KRW 165.1bn. Stop at pre-tax profit from continuing operations and the picture inverts: KRW 363.8bn, up 51.7 percent from KRW 239.9bn.
Q2 2026 profit lines (KRW bn)
- Operating profit277.0
- Pre-tax, continuing363.8
- Net, continuing198.7
- Consolidated net18.0
Operating costs grew more slowly than revenue
Operating costs came to KRW 1,821.4bn, up 6.3 percent from KRW 1,713.6bn a year earlier. That is slower than the 9.4 percent revenue growth, and the gap is what lifted the margin. The largest line, costs that scale with revenue, rose 9.9 percent from KRW 678.5bn to KRW 745.9bn. Personnel costs barely moved, KRW 438.9bn to KRW 448.0bn or 2.1 percent, and depreciation and amortisation fell 8.4 percent from KRW 209.0bn to KRW 191.5bn. Marketing went the other way, up 22.4 percent from KRW 78.9bn to KRW 96.6bn. Financial operating costs rose 49.4 percent from KRW 30.6bn to KRW 45.7bn, small in absolute terms but the steepest increase on the list.
Common questions
- Why did Kakao's net profit fall so far?
- Discontinued operations and tax. Consolidated net profit for the second quarter of 2026 was KRW 18.0bn, 89.5 percent below the KRW 171.8bn of a year earlier, even though operating profit in the same quarter rose 35.9 percent to KRW 277.0bn. Below the operating line, a KRW 180.7bn loss from discontinued operations and a KRW 165.1bn tax charge opened the gap.
- Which business grew fastest?
- Platform other. It brought in KRW 587.0bn in the second quarter of 2026, up 21.7 percent year over year. Talk Biz grew 12.3 percent to KRW 643.2bn and music 7.8 percent to KRW 558.4bn, while story fell 15.8 percent to KRW 210.7bn.
- Did the margin improvement come from costs?
- Costs grew more slowly than revenue. Operating costs rose 6.3 percent to KRW 1,821.4bn against 9.4 percent revenue growth. Personnel costs went up only 2.1 percent, from KRW 438.9bn to KRW 448.0bn, and depreciation and amortisation fell from KRW 209.0bn to KRW 191.5bn.
Sources
- 1.Kakao Q2 2026 Fact Sheet (Excel file) Kakao IR
- 2.Kakao investor relations, earnings announcements Kakao IR
Reference information compiled from public material. Not investment advice; decisions and their consequences rest with the investor.
See research on other stocks →Today's read
Kakao scores 73 out of 100 on today's InverseOne expectation ranking, 2 of 30 in the Korean large-cap universe. There is 92% of room left to its 52-week high. Today's move of +0.83% came with money flowing in, alongside the Tech & Internet sector. Scores are estimates built from price and volume, a starting point for research rather than a trading signal.
Data basis: 2026-08-28, For reference only, not advice
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