[Click eStock] "Com2uS, Stock Direction Depends on Hundred Years' War Success"

Daishin Securities Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Daishin Securities maintained a buy rating and a target price of 220,000 KRW for Com2uS on the 20th. Although the first-quarter earnings are expected to be weak, the future stock price direction will be determined based on the performance of new game releases.

'Summoners War: Hundred Years' War' is scheduled for a global simultaneous release on the 29th. Pre-registrations began on January 28 and surpassed 5 million within two months. Hundred Years' War is a real-time strategy battle game based on the Summoners War universe. It offers a PVP (player vs player) battle system where players summon and train various monsters to form teams and compete against users worldwide.

Ahead of the release, the company plans to hold a pre-event starting on the 24th, collaborating with well-known domestic and international influencers and former professional gamers on DIA TV channels with over 3,000 subscribers to livestream the game to global fans.

Researcher Mina Lee of Daishin Securities explained, "Looking at past performance, we cannot be certain of Hundred Years' War's success, but it is worth raising expectations as the first major follow-up title utilizing the Summoners War IP, which has over 100 million global cumulative downloads."

Recently, the company has been actively diversifying its business. It has been engaging in various mergers and acquisitions, including acquiring the German game company OOTP, obtaining a 57% stake in Allm, the developer of the game 'Kritika,' and acquiring a 15% stake in Devsisters. Additionally, it is expanding investments in various companies such as MStoryHub, a webtoon and web novel production company, and Wizwick Studio, a visual effects specialist.

First-quarter sales are expected to reach 120.1 billion KRW, with operating profit at 21.3 billion KRW, down 10% and 14% respectively from the previous quarter. Operating profit is forecasted to fall short of the market estimate of 25.6 billion KRW. Researcher Mina Lee stated, "Due to the off-season effect, Summoners War sales likely declined compared to the previous quarter," adding, "Personnel and marketing expenses increased by 23% and 163% year-on-year, respectively, due to salary raises and pre-promotion for Hundred Years' War."

She advised, "The stock price direction will depend more on the success of new releases than past performance, so it is important to closely monitor the initial results after the release of Hundred Years' War."