[Click eStock] "Com2uS, Rising Expectations Ahead of 'Pro Baseball Rising' Launch"

Daishin Securities analyzed on the 14th that Com2uS is entering a period of rising expectations ahead of the launch of the Japanese professional baseball mobile game ‘Pro Baseball Rising’.

Lee Ji-eun, a researcher at Daishin Securities, stated in a report on the same day, "The company will begin full-scale marketing for Pro Baseball Rising from mid-February," adding, "They plan to carry out UA and TVC marketing campaigns." Although marketing was expected to proceed rapidly following the start of pre-registration on October 30 last year, the actual marketing schedule was somewhat delayed. Regarding this, the researcher explained, "This is believed to be a consideration of marketing efficiency," and added, "Expectations for the new release of Pro Baseball Rising remain unchanged."

Even during the off-season, Com2uS's baseball games recorded steady traffic and performance. In the fourth quarter of last year, Com2uS's revenue reached 189.1 billion KRW, an 18% increase year-over-year and a 9% increase quarter-over-quarter. Operating profit was 2.6 billion KRW, marking a turnaround to profit compared to the same period last year and an 81% growth compared to the previous quarter, exceeding market expectations. The researcher analyzed, "Fourth-quarter standalone game revenue was 141.8 billion KRW, up 16% year-over-year and 6% quarter-over-quarter, while operating profit was 1.9 billion KRW, down 26% year-over-year and 72% quarter-over-quarter."

In particular, the revenue from RPG genres, including the flagship RPG game ‘Summoners War: Sky Arena,’ recorded around 80 billion KRW, showing a similar trend to the previous quarter. However, the global launch effect of the new title ‘Starseed: Asnia’ was evaluated as minimal. On the other hand, the baseball game lineup's revenue exceeded the previous estimate of 53.4 billion KRW by 9%.

The researcher explained, "Traffic actually increased during the baseball postseason, resulting in solid performance," and added, "Since fourth-quarter traffic tends to be maintained into the following year, we have raised the 2025 baseball game revenue forecast by 12% compared to the previous estimate."

Meanwhile, consolidated subsidiaries recorded a turnaround to profit in the fourth quarter. He analyzed, "The game subsidiary TikiTaka Studio achieved solid performance, resulting in a quarterly profit turnaround." However, considering the natural revenue decline of TikiTaka Studio's games, the overall consolidated subsidiary operating profit for 2025 is conservatively expected to remain in deficit. He added, "There is a possibility that the loss margin will improve."

On the cost side, royalty expenses increased by 46% quarter-over-quarter to 22.8 billion KRW, and marketing expenses rose by 24% quarter-over-quarter to 17.4 billion KRW. This was analyzed as an effect of new publishing releases. In 2025, with the release of multiple new titles including baseball games, marketing expenses are expected to increase by 55% year-over-year.

First-quarter performance is expected to show a decrease in operating profit compared to the previous quarter due to insufficient reflection of the baseball new release effect and advance marketing expenses. However, from the second quarter, significant profit growth is anticipated as baseball new release sales are fully reflected. He stated, "In the second half of the year, entering the baseball peak season and the release of multiple new titles are expected to sustain quarterly profit growth," and evaluated, "The stock price is expected to show a positive trend even after the baseball new release." Daishin Securities maintained Com2uS as the top-pick among small and mid-sized game stocks.