Naver's Q3 Operating Profit Soars 38% to 525.3 Billion KRW... Record High Driven by Search and Advertising Growth

Naver recorded its highest-ever operating profit in the third quarter of this year, driven by strong performance in its search and advertising businesses.

Naver announced on the 8th that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year was preliminarily estimated at 525.3 billion KRW, a 38.2% surge compared to the same period last year. During the same period, revenue increased by 11.1% to 2.7156 trillion KRW, and net profit rose 48.8% to 530.1 billion KRW.

By business segment, the Search Platform recorded revenue of 997.7 billion KRW, up 11% year-on-year, supported by increased user engagement and expansion of new service spaces through short-form videos and feed services that recommend optimized content tailored to user preferences, as well as improvements in advertising products and advanced targeting. This marked a return to double-digit growth after 10 quarters.

Commerce revenue grew 12% year-on-year to 725.4 billion KRW. The increase in transaction volume was driven by collaborations with brands, enhanced membership benefits, and improved delivery quality, while growth was supported by increased usage rates of brand solution packages and delivery guarantee services. The company plans to continue strengthening its competitiveness by providing users with hyper-personalized shopping experiences and customized benefits tailored to individuals.

During the same period, the Fintech segment’s revenue grew 13% to 385.1 billion KRW. Naver Pay’s payment volume reached 18.6 trillion KRW, up 22.1% year-on-year, as its external ecosystem continued to expand. Offline payment volume surged 78%, fueled by growth in on-site payments as well as order and reservation payments.

Content segment revenue increased 6.4% to 462.8 billion KRW, with Japan’s LINE Manga achieving record-high monthly active users (MAU) and paid user numbers, driving growth in paid content revenue. The Cloud segment continued its growth centered on Naver’s generative AI 'HyperCLOVA X'-powered enterprise hybrid cloud Neuro Cloud and collaboration solution LINE WORKS, recording 144.6 billion KRW, a 17% increase year-on-year.

Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver, stated, "Naver is enhancing search based on AI and data, expanding hyper-personalized services tailored to user interests, and continuing to advance its platform." She added, "By applying generative AI to on- and offline experiences such as Places, Maps, Real Estate, and Digital Twin, we will discover future growth engines and create new business opportunities."