Naver Opens New Era with Annual Sales of 10 Trillion Won...Driving Growth in Search and Commerce (Comprehensive)

Sales Reached 10.7377 Trillion KRW Last Year... Operating Profit Up 32.9%
Double-Digit Growth in Search Platform, Commerce, Fintech, and Cloud
Growth Expected Across All Business Divisions This Year
AI-Focused New Services to Launch, Including Store and AI Briefing

NAVER became the first domestic platform company to enter the era of annual sales exceeding 10 trillion KRW. In addition to its existing core revenue source, the search advertising business, the significant increase in commerce business sales drove the strong performance. As NAVER has announced plans to launch new AI-integrated services in the search and commerce sectors this year, this growth trend is expected to continue.

NAVER announced on the 7th that its consolidated annual sales for last year were preliminarily estimated at 10.7377 trillion KRW, an 11.0% increase compared to the previous year. Annual operating profit rose 32.9% year-on-year to 1.9793 trillion KRW, and annual adjusted EBITDA increased 24.9% year-on-year to 2.6644 trillion KRW.

In the fourth quarter of last year, consolidated sales grew 13.7% year-on-year to 2.8856 trillion KRW, and operating profit increased 33.7% year-on-year to 542 billion KRW. The fourth-quarter performance was driven by growth in key business sectors such as the search platform and commerce. The operating profit margin improved by 2.8 percentage points year-on-year to 18.8%. During this period, adjusted EBITDA rose 28.6% year-on-year to 745.9 billion KRW.

Breaking down last year's sales by sector, the figures were ▲Search Platform 3.9462 trillion KRW ▲Commerce 2.9230 trillion KRW ▲Fintech (Finance + Technology) 1.5084 trillion KRW ▲Content 1.7964 trillion KRW ▲Cloud 563.7 billion KRW. While all major business sectors continued their sales growth, Search Platform, Commerce, and Fintech posted double-digit sales growth rates.

The Search Platform, previously NAVER's main revenue source, continued its growth as advertising revenue increased due to targeted personalized ads and the introduction of Home Feed. The annual sales of the Search Platform sector were 3.9462 trillion KRW, a 9.9% increase compared to the previous year. In the fourth quarter, Search Platform sales reached 1.0746 trillion KRW, a 14.7% growth year-on-year.

Commerce showed the largest growth among all business sectors, thanks to the launch of 'NAVER Plus Store' and strengthened partnerships with NAVER Plus Membership. The efficiency and profitability of commerce advertising also increased. In October last year, NAVER launched the NAVER Plus Store, which emphasizes 'hyper-personalization.' This service analyzes individual preferences and interests through AI, recommending not only products but also benefits, promotions, and shopping-related content.

Commerce's annual sales last year grew 14.8% year-on-year to 2.9230 trillion KRW. Quarterly sales increased 17.4% year-on-year to 775.1 billion KRW. The total transaction amount in the fourth quarter was 13.2 trillion KRW.

The Fintech sector recorded annual sales of 1.5084 trillion KRW, an 11.3% increase year-on-year, driven by the growth of Smart Store and increased external payment volume. Fourth-quarter sales rose 12.6% year-on-year to 400.9 billion KRW, and the payment volume in the fourth quarter increased 18.3% year-on-year to 19.3 trillion KRW.

The Content sector showed slight growth despite NAVER Z being excluded from consolidated subsidiaries, supported by the expansion of paid subscribers to camera applications linked to webtoon AI content. Annual sales in the Content sector grew 3.7% year-on-year to 1.7964 trillion KRW, and fourth-quarter sales increased 0.2% year-on-year to 467.3 billion KRW.

The Cloud sector grew due to the expansion of paid IDs for NeuroCloud and Line Works, as well as revenue from the digital twin project in Saudi Arabia. Annual sales in the Cloud sector rose 26.1% year-on-year to 563.7 billion KRW, and fourth-quarter sales increased 41.1% year-on-year to 177.6 billion KRW.

NAVER aims to continue its growth across all business areas this year, focusing on advertising and commerce. In the Search Platform business, it plans to enhance platform competitiveness by improving advertising efficiency and expanding external media. In the growing commerce sector, new services are also planned for launch. First, in the first half of this year, the personalized shopping service 'NAVER Plus Store' will be introduced as a separate app.

The new services NAVER plans to launch will focus on AI. NAVER Plus Store will not only analyze the reasons for product recommendations for each user through AI but also personalize tailored benefits and trend information. An AI-specialized advertising platform for online mall operators called 'AD Boost' is also scheduled for release. This platform will provide personalized advertising services using AI. Additionally, in the first half of this year, 'AI Briefing,' which acts as a personal assistant for users, will be newly added to the search service.

It is also expected that NAVER will continue to advance its proprietary AI large language model (LLM), 'HyperCLOVA X.' NAVER has emphasized the importance of 'Sovereign AI,' reflecting the characteristics of the Korean web environment, and has accelerated the development of its own LLM. Seong-yeon Seo, a researcher at Shin Young Securities, stated in a report published on the 6th, "(NAVER) is the company that has invested the most in AI in Korea and possesses vast data suitable for developing Korean-style AI models," adding, "It is continuously developing and advancing its own AI models and aims to monetize not only by strengthening core business profitability through commercialization but also through B2B sales."

Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of NAVER, said, "This year is an important period to fully implement the On-service AI strategy across all NAVER services. We will enhance the platform based on AI technology to create new value and business opportunities, ultimately strengthening NAVER's unique competitive edge." She added, "In commerce, through the newly launched NAVER Plus Store app in the first half of the year, we will expand the shopping experience from search-centered to personalized exploration-centered, providing a more intuitive and powerful shopping experience."

Meanwhile, along with the earnings announcement, NAVER officially confirmed the return of its founder and Global Investment Officer (GIO), Lee Hae-jin, through a resolution to convene a shareholders' meeting. If the agenda to appoint Lee as an inside director passes at the shareholders' meeting scheduled for the 26th of next month, he will return as chairman of the board. This marks Lee's return to the chairman position after more than seven years since his resignation in 2017.