[Click e-Stock] "Krafton Has Nothing to Worry About in the Second Half"

On June 23, Hana Securities projected that Krafton would maintain solid performance in the second half of the year. The firm maintained its "Buy" investment rating and a target price of 530,000 won.

Hana Securities forecasted that Krafton's consolidated sales for the first half of the year would reach 1.5428 trillion won, with operating profit at 688.9 billion won. These figures represent increases of 12.4% and 7.2%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Excluding royalty revenue in the second quarter, sales and operating profit grew by more than 20% and 30%, respectively.

Krafton is expected to continue its solid performance in the second half of the year, backed by plans for multiple updates.

Lee Junho, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated, "In the second half, a total of five collaboration updates are scheduled, including two vehicle collaborations, one artist collaboration, one celebrity collaboration, and one fashion brand collaboration." He added, "We expect to see a reaffirmation of high growth in both traffic and performance. As for 'Subnautica 2,' which is scheduled for release in the second half, cumulative sales of previous titles have reached 18 million units, so we are raising our sales forecast for this year to 2.5 million units, up from the previous estimate of 2 million units."

Reflecting these projections, Krafton's annual sales for this year are estimated at 3.1622 trillion won, with operating profit at 1.3434 trillion won. These represent increases of 16.7% and 13.6%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Lee emphasized, "If the stock price declines due to second-quarter performance, we strongly recommend increasing your position," adding, "From 2026 onward, Krafton is expected to become the game company with the most releases, as its flagship title 'Battlegrounds' continues to grow."

He also noted, "With the introduction of generative AI, all users can become creators, and Krafton stands to benefit from this environment. Like 'Fortnite,' 'Roblox,' and 'Minecraft,' we can expect an upward trajectory driven by UGC activation based on traffic."