Earnings call transcript: Kakao Q3 2025 sees 9% revenue growth, AI focus

Kakao Corp reported a 9% year-over-year increase in consolidated revenue for Q3 2025, reaching ₩2.086 trillion. The company highlighted significant advancements in its AI ecosystem, including the launch of ChatGPT for Kakao. Operating profit stood at ₩208 billion, with an operating margin of 10%, marking the highest in four years. Kakao's strategic focus on AI and platform improvements appears to be driving growth, as indicated by increased user engagement metrics.

Key Takeaways

• Kakao's Q3 2025 revenue grew by 9% year-over-year.
• Operating margin reached 10%, the highest in four years.
• The company launched ChatGPT for Kakao, attracting 2 million users in 10 days.
• KakaoTalk's major revamp increased user time spent from 24 to 26 minutes daily.
• The domestic advertising market is recovering, aiding Kakao's growth.

Company Performance

Kakao demonstrated robust performance in Q3 2025, with consolidated revenue growing by 9% year-over-year and 3% sequentially. The company's platform revenue increased by 12% year-over-year, underscoring its strategic shift towards AI-driven services. Kakao's competitive position as a leading messenger platform in Korea, coupled with its innovative AI solutions, positions it well against domestic and international competitors.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: ₩2.086 trillion (+9% YoY, +3% QoQ)
• Platform Revenue: ₩1.598 trillion (+12% YoY)
• Operating Profit: ₩208 billion
• Operating Margin: 10%
• Net Income: ₩192.9 billion
• CAPEX: ₩178.4 billion

Outlook & Guidance

Kakao is targeting a 20% increase in KakaoTalk user time spent and anticipates double-digit growth in TalkBiz advertising in Q4. The company plans to expand its AI ecosystem through partnerships and is focusing on monetizing AI services. Continued investment in AI and core business segments remains a priority.

Executive Commentary

CEO Sheena Chang emphasized the strategic importance of AI, stating, "We expect a rapid shift to models where services are delivered and executed simply through conversations with agentic AI agents." She also noted the evolving nature of KakaoTalk, saying, "KakaoTalk is evolving beyond a simple messenger and is generating new usage experiences and traffic."

Risks and Challenges

• Potential market saturation in the domestic messaging app space.
• Macroeconomic pressures that could impact consumer spending.
• Intense competition in the AI services sector.
• Regulatory challenges in expanding AI capabilities.
• Dependence on user engagement for revenue growth.

Kakao's Q3 2025 results highlight its strategic focus on AI and platform innovation, with promising growth in user engagement and advertising recovery. The company's forward-looking guidance suggests a continued emphasis on expanding its AI ecosystem and enhancing user experiences.

Full transcript - Kakao Corp (035720) Q3 2025:

Jeffrey, IR Representative, Kakao: Good morning and good evening. Thank you all for joining today. We will now begin Kakao's Q3 2025 earnings conference call. This conference will start with a presentation followed by a divisional Q&A session. If you have a question, please press star one, that is star and one on your phone during the Q&A. I will now turn it over to Kakao.

Translator/Interpreter, Kakao: 시작해서 진행될 예정입니다. 그럼 지금부터 카카오 2025년 3분기 실적 발표를 시작하겠습니다.

Jeffrey, IR Representative, Kakao: Hello, I'm Jeffrey from Kakao IR. Let's begin with the third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Today I am joined by Sheena Chang, the CEO, and Jaden Shin, the CFO. Please be reminded that the earning results are consolidated estimates under the KIFRS basis and are subject to change upon the auditor's review. Also, forward-looking estimates are based on assumptions, so actual results may differ from figures included in today's presentation. Now we will have a presentation from CEO Sheena Chang. Good morning, this is Sheena, CEO of Kakao. Before going into the details of our third quarter results, let me first briefly touch on the KakaoTalk revamp that took place in September. As this was the largest revamp since KakaoTalk's launch 15 years ago, users have shared a wide range of feedback. Kakao is carefully listening to those voices and will continue to make ongoing improvements, including the Friends tab revamp scheduled for the fourth quarter. At the same time, since Kakao's roots lie in messaging, we will also actively enhance the core messaging experience by gradually introducing many of the customized convenience features that users have long requested. First, we plan to further strengthen the custom folder feature, which allows users to organize numerous chat rooms within the chat tab according to purpose and view different types of conversations at a glance. Similar to the unread folder that has already been introduced, users will soon be able to categorize their chat rooms into various folders such as family or work according to their own needs. Within those folders, favorite rooms will be automatically sorted for easier access, providing a more comfortable and organized user experience. Also, we applied the AI summary service to the unread folder and are currently monitoring user reactions. Once its utility is verified, we plan to gradually expand it to additional areas. This service allows AI to summarize the vast number of messages exchanged across multiple chat rooms so that users can easily grasp the flow and key points of conversation across different chats without having to open each one individually, creating a far more efficient messaging environment. Through the remainder of this year and into 2026, Kakao will continue to humbly listen to user feedback, striving to find the right balance between preserving the stability of the existing service experience and driving platform innovation that fuels sustainable business growth. Next, I'd like to talk about AI, another key pillar driving Kakao's growth. Last quarter, Kakao announced its vision of AI for everyone with the goal of enabling all users in Korea to experience AI seamlessly within KakaoTalk. As a result of these efforts, we are proud to introduce two significant milestones in October: the on-device AI service, Kanana in Talk, and ChatGPT for Kakao, jointly developed with OpenAI. Over the past year, Kakao has transformed its organizational work structure into an AI studio designed to encourage diverse experimentation. Small, agile teams now build MVPs, rapidly validate user feedback and market potential, and continuously experiment with new AI services. Last week, we launched ChatGPT for Kakao, a powerful integration between Korea's most dominant messenger platform and the world's most widely used AI service. Located directly within KakaoTalk's chat tab, where millions of users engage multiple times a day, ChatGPT for Kakao offers unmatched accessibility, allowing anyone to use it quickly and easily. This service is powered by the GPT-4 model, and as ChatGPT models are updated in the future, those upgrades will be applied simultaneously, ensuring that users can always experience the latest version of ChatGPT within KakaoTalk. ChatGPT for Kakao is deeply integrated into the chat experience. Whenever a user has a question during a conversation, they can instantly ask ChatGPT and share its response directly within the chat room. In addition, through Kakao's proprietary agent, Kakao Tools, users can connect seamlessly to a wide range of Kakao services and perform desired actions immediately without complex menu navigations or switching between apps, offering a truly integrated agent experience. Although still in its early stage, ChatGPT for Kakao has already shown strong momentum, with cumulative user numbers rising rapidly. The average number of messages sent per active user and overall time spent within the service are also clearly trending upwards. As Kakao Tools becomes connected to more services, we expect AI experience in users' daily lives to expand further, leading to greater user engagement and longer time spent within KakaoTalk. Kakao's ultimate goal for its AI services is to realize agentic AI: an autonomous and proactive intelligence that can set its own goals, plan ahead, and act flexibly based on context and circumstances. While conventional AI is a unit-type artificial intelligence designed to precisely carry out a single goal or task, agentic AI can precisely understand users' intent within context, combine multiple agents to determine the best path towards achieving higher-level objectives, and make its own decisions to act accordingly. This year, Kakao took its first important step towards realizing this vision of agentic AI. To begin with, Kakao has established two key service touchpoints, Kanana in Talk and ChatGPT for Kakao, that enable accurate understanding of user intent within conversational contexts. KakaoTalk already holds a uniquely rich conversational dataset that no other platform can replicate. Kanana in Talk, powered by Kakao's on-device AI model, can proactively understand users' needs in the safest possible way and suggest relevant information or actions even before being explicitly asked. Meanwhile, through ChatGPT for Kakao, users can directly request information or actions from the AI agent whenever they need to. Next year, Kakao will continue expanding those touchpoints between users and agents, introducing additional services such as Kanana Search, which will further enhance our ability to understand user intent and context. As explained earlier, once user intent is identified across various service touchpoints, numerous specialized agents, each with its own area of expertise, communicate and collaborate to perform the necessary actions to fulfill users' needs. For this reason, the active participation of agents specialized in different verticals within the ecosystem represents another key pillar in building agentic AI. The Kakao Tools introduced alongside last week's launch of ChatGPT for Kakao represents an early form of Kakao's AI agent. Currently, agents from Kakao Map, Kakao Gift, and Melon are already integrated, and we plan to expand connections to key B2C verticals within the group, such as finance and mobility, in the near future. Furthermore, through Play MCP and Agent Builder, Kakao is establishing an open platform for AI agents and a technological foundation that allows anyone, regardless of size or capability, to participate in the agentic AI ecosystem under Kakao's trusted authentication and security framework. Building on this foundation, starting next year, we plan to rapidly expand the AI ecosystem by connecting a diverse range of external tools and agents beyond the Kakao group. We take great pride in being ahead of anyone else in realizing agentic AI. As mentioned last quarter, we are moving beyond a time when users had to search for apps and navigate complex menus. We expect a rapid shift to models where services are delivered and executed simply through conversations with agentic AI agents. Starting this quarter, Kakao will connect more users with a broader range of services, building agentic AI that enables users to accomplish tasks and complete actions through conversations alone. Once users experience this level of convenience, it will become an irreversible way of interacting with services. Though we are still in the early stages, we will advance step by step and firmly establish Kakao as Korea's leading growth company in the AI era.

Translator/Interpreter, Kakao: 이제는 이제 플랫폼이 시작이고 본인들의 인생의 주제를 쌓이며 여러 버티컬의 디지털 서비스들을 생태계 내에 보유하고 있었기에 국가 수익 비율 측면에서 자본시장의 긍정적인 평가를 받아왔다고 생각합니다. 올해는 플랫폼 기타 부분의 주요 자회사들에서 매출의 성장이 가능한 이 계정이 본격화되지 않은 한 지역 부분에서는 성장과 이익을 전형적으로 추종하고 있습니다. 뿐만 아니라 지난해까지 방탄소년단에게 큰 영향을 주었던 콘텐츠 부분의 영업권 자산 마무리되었습니다. 이와 동시에 카카오의.

Jeffrey, IR Representative, Kakao: Next, Jaden as CFO will present the third quarter 2025 financial highlights.

Translator/Interpreter, Kakao: In the third quarter, Kakao recorded its highest-ever quarterly revenue for two consecutive quarters, driven by continued solid growth in the platform segment and better-than-expected performance in the content segment. Furthermore, we are delivering on our commitment to achieve growth worthy of a true growth stock, with consolidated revenue growth to around 9% for the first time in six quarters. In line with this momentum, operating profits surpassed ₩200 billion for the first time ever, driven by group-wide efforts to enhance operational efficiency and accelerated top-line growth, bringing our operating margin to 10%, the highest level in four years. Now, moving on to our revenue for this quarter. Consolidated revenue for the third quarter was ₩2.086 trillion, up 9% year-over-year and 3% quarter-over-quarter. Platform revenue for the third quarter was ₩1.598 trillion, growing 12% year-over-year and remaining at a similar level quarter-over-quarter. First, Kakao's core business, TalkBiz, recorded ₩534 billion, up 7% year-over-year but down 1% quarter-over-quarter. Under TalkBiz advertising, business messaging continued its strong momentum, while display ads, which had been sluggish, rebounded, resulting in revenue of ₩325.4 billion, up 11% year-over-year and 1% quarter-over-quarter. Business messaging revenue grew 22% year-over-year, achieving another record-high quarterly revenue following last quarter as we continued to expand the range of message formats available for advertisers, particularly in the financial sector. KakaoTalk was widely utilized as a major marketing channel for local incentive programs led by the government, which drove a notable increase in message volume. We believe business messaging has now entered a virtuous growth cycle, as not only the number of advertisers is increasing meaningfully, but existing advertisers having experienced the efficiency of message ads are also significantly expanding their message volumes. Accordingly, we expect the strong growth trend of business messaging to continue into next year rather than being a one-off in the third quarter. Meanwhile, display ad revenue posted a meaningful turnaround, returning to growth for the first time in five quarters, despite the third quarter being a seasonally weak period. This was driven by enhancements to the competitiveness of existing ad inventory and diversification of ad products within KakaoTalk. Next, Total Commerce GMV reached ₩2.5 trillion, up 4% year-over-year and 1% quarter-over-quarter. Revenue came in at ₩208.7 billion, remaining similar year-over-year but decreasing 6% quarter-over-quarter. TalkGift GMV increased 1% year-over-year despite the Chuseok holidays, a seasonal peak happening in October this year, shifting the seasonal effect from the third quarter to the fourth. Additionally, as some orders placed at the end of September were delivered and recognized in October, revenue recognition was also affected. In the fourth quarter, we expect both GMV and revenue growth to accelerate again, reflecting deferred transactions from the third quarter and the additional boost from year-end seasonality. Meanwhile, self-purchases, the new growth driver of TalkGift, maintained solid growth. In the third quarter, we strengthened promotions by introducing exclusive product lineups and new items from popular brands for the first time. As a result, the number of self-purchase users increased 19% year-over-year, and self-purchase GMV rose 40% year-over-year. As the share of self-purchase GMV continues to rise meaningfully within TalkGift, we will continue to drive growth in commerce centered on the two growth pillars of stable gifting demand and expanding self-purchases. Moving on, portal revenue was ₩72.7 billion, down 5% year-over-year and 7% quarter-over-quarter. The portal business plans to complete the transfer of operations to the newly established subsidiary AXZ by year-end without delay, after which we will share more detailed strategic directions. Next, revenue for platform other was ₩452.7 billion, up 24% year-over-year and 4% quarter-over-quarter, mainly driven by solid performances from Kakao Mobility and Kakao Pay. In the third quarter, Kakao Mobility continued its model of growth of providing its platform and operational know-how to regional taxi operators, enabling them to operate their own franchise businesses. Also, Kakao Pay achieved its highest-ever quarterly operating profit, driven by accelerated revenue growth from financial subsidiaries, including securities and insurance, as well as strong performance from data-driven platform services. Now, moving on to the content segment, the consolidated revenue was ₩1.267 trillion, up 5% year-over-year and 6% quarter-over-quarter. The overall story business revenue of Kakao Entertainment and PICOMA recorded ₩211.4 billion, down 3% both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. For Kakao Entertainment, they remain focused on maintaining its profitability-oriented management approach. Second, amid intensified competition in Japan's comic market since last year, PICOMA has been leveraging its unique platform competitiveness to build a foundation for sustainable growth. This quarter, PICOMA strategically refrained from excessive marketing and instead focused on selective campaigns aimed during the summer vacation period, enhancing user engagement and spending within the platform. As a result, PICOMA achieved its highest-ever quarterly revenue in yen, maintained its position as the number one grossing app in Japan's app market year-to-date, and nearly doubled its operating profit year-over-year. Secondly, the music revenue within the content division was ₩565.2 billion, up 20% year-over-year and 9% quarter-over-quarter. Solid performances by major artists, coupled with growth from newer artists, helped smooth quarterly activity fluctuations and drive consistent results. In addition, our music division strengthened project-based merchandise and offline pop-ups to expand fan experiences, thereby establishing a virtuous cycle in our IP business. Lastly, media revenue was ₩95.8 billion, up 75% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter. This growth was driven by the recognition of deferred works and higher production progress, resulting in a significant year-over-year increase from a low base while remaining at a similar level quarter-over-quarter. Wrapping up on our revenue, operating expenses for the third quarter were ₩1.8785 trillion, up 5% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter. Labor cost was ₩477.4 billion, up 4% year-over-year but down 2% quarter-over-quarter. The year-over-year increase was due to higher bonuses reflecting subsidiaries' first-half performance and higher employee-related costs, including social insurance, while the quarter-over-quarter decline reflects our continued conservative hiring stance across the group. Marketing expense was ₩101.8 billion, down 3% year-over-year but up 16% quarter-over-quarter as marketing activities expanded across subsidiaries. Marketing accounted for 5% of consolidated revenue both in the quarter and cumulatively year-to-date, in line with our initial annual guidance within the 6% range. Revenue-linked costs were ₩747.7 billion, similar year-over-year but up 4% quarter-over-quarter, reflecting higher settlement expenses linked to increased content revenue. The ratio of revenue-linked costs to consolidated revenue stood at 36%. Outsourcing and infrastructure costs totaled ₩260.7 billion, up 34% year-over-year and 12% quarter-over-quarter due to subsidiary account reclassifications from last year and higher infrastructure spending related to the launch of AI services. Depreciation and amortization expenses were ₩208.3 billion, down 1% year-over-year and 6% quarter-over-quarter. The year-over-year decline reflects partial reversal of bad debt expenses, while the quarter-over-quarter decrease is due to the high base from content license amortization at Kakao Entertainment in the previous quarter. Overall, consolidated operating profit for the third quarter was ₩208 billion, with an operating margin of 10%, improving by 3 percentage points year-over-year. Going forward, we will continue to pursue structural improvement in profitability based on an optimized cost structure. Non-operating income for the third quarter was ₩46.6 billion, up ₩41.4 billion year-over-year and ₩37.6 billion quarter-over-quarter. The year-over-year improvement was mainly due to the base effect from one-off bad debt expenses at Kakao Pay last year and reduced interest expenses following the repayment of exchangeable bonds. Equity method gains were ₩19.6 billion, similar to both the previous quarter and the same period last year. Corporate income tax for the third quarter was ₩61.8 billion, and consolidated net income was ₩192.9 billion. Lastly, CAPEX totaled ₩178.4 billion, including ₩144.1 billion for tangible assets and ₩34.3 billion for intangible assets. CAPEX increased ₩89.8 billion year-over-year and ₩78.9 billion quarter-over-quarter, mainly due to new asset purchases by subsidiaries and expanded server investments required for KakaoTalk service operations. This ends the presentation on Q3 2024 earnings. We will now move on to Q&A. Because we have limited time, please be asked that you refrain from asking more than two questions. 지금부터 질의응답을 시작하겠습니다. 질문을 하실 분은 전화기 버튼의 와 1번을 누르시기 바랍니다. 질문을 취소하시려면 와 2번을 누르시면 됩니다. Now Q&A session will begin. Please press 1, that is star and one, if you have any questions. Questions will be taken according to the order you have pressed the number star one. For cancellation, please press star two, that is star and two on your phone. 처음으로 질문해 주실 분은 미래에셋증권의 이미성 님입니다. The first question will be provided by Hizik Lim from Mirae Asset Securities. Please go ahead with your question. 질문해 주셔서 감사합니다. 두 가지 질문이 있습니다. 첫 번째는 9월에 한 카카오톡 개편 이후 유저 인게이지먼트가 어떻게 변화했는지 궁금하고요. 두 번째는 3분기에 광고 가이던스 year-over-year 10% 조기 달성을 했는데, 4분기에도 기존 가이던스대로 10% 이상 달성이 가능할지 말씀해 주시면 감사하겠습니다. Yes, thank you very much for the opportunity. I do have two questions. Number one, since the September KakaoTalk renewal, I would like to ask what the user engagement was like. Also moving on to the second question, as in the third quarter, is double-digit growth in the advertising business achievable in the fourth quarter in line with the initial guidance? 네, 첫 번째 질문부터 답드리겠습니다. 카카오톡 개편 이후에 주요 이용자 인게이지먼트 변화를 보면, 과거 코로나 팬데믹이라는 특수한 상황에서도 카카오톡 이용자 당 일간 평균 체류 시간이 약 10초의 제한적인 증가에 그쳤던 사례가 있었기 때문에 메신저 성격의 플랫폼에서 이용자 체류 시간이 다시 늘어난다는 것은 난이도가 상당히 높다고 내부적으로 판단하고 있습니다. Yes, I would like to take your first question. Let me briefly update you on the key changes in user engagement following the KakaoTalk revamp. Even during the exceptional period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the average daily time spent on KakaoTalk per user increased by only about 10 seconds. Based on that experience, we internally assessed that it would be quite challenging for a messenger-type platform to increase user time spent. 다만 이번 개편 이후로 주요 KPI인 이용자 체류 시간이 반등했음을 확인했습니다. 개편 전에 3분기 평균 대비 개편 이후 일평균 체류 시간이 24분대에서 26분에 근접한 수준까지 증가했습니다. 그동안 하향 안정화되고 있던 체류 시간이 처음으로 반등하기 시작했다는 점은 유의미하다고 판단하고 있습니다. However, after the update, we confirmed a rebound in user time spent, a key KPI. Compared with the pre-revamped third quarter average, the average daily time spent has increased from the 24-minute range to a level nearing 26 minutes. We consider it meaningful that time spent, which had been steadily stabilizing downward, has begun to turn upward for the first time. 채팅 탭의 트래픽은 여전히 건조한 가운데 콘텐츠를 탐색하고 발견하는 성격의 트래픽이 대부분인 친구 탭과 지금 탭에서 개편 이후의 체류 시간이 3분기 평균 체류 시간 대비 10% 이상 증가했습니다. 그동안 대화방 내에 편중되어 있던 플랫폼 트래픽의 구성이 채팅이 아닌 다른 탭으로도 확장되면서 카카오톡 플랫폼 전반에서 트래픽의 질이 한층 더 향상된 점은 긍정적이라고 생각합니다. While traffic in the chatting tab remains robust, time spent in the friends tab and the now tab, which largely consists of content exploration and discovery traffic, has increased by more than 10% compared with the third quarter average after the revamp. We view it as particularly positive that platform traffic, which had previously been heavily concentrated within chat rooms, is now expanding into non-chat tabs, thereby improving the overall quality of traffic across the KakaoTalk platform. 앞서 모두 발언에서 언급드린 바와 같이 앞으로 카카오톡의 핵심 기능인 채팅에서는 이용자 여러분들에게 더 많은 편의성을 제공하는 동시에 다양한 피드백을 수렴해 나가면서 플랫폼을 지속적으로 개선해 나가고, 그 결과 전 국민이 카카오톡에 더 오래 체류할 수 있는 다양한 맥락을 강화하도록 하겠습니다. As noted in my opening remarks, we will continue to enhance KakaoTalk's core chat functionality by providing greater convenience to users and by incorporating diverse feedback to continuously improve the platform. Through these efforts, we aim to reinforce various usage contexts that encourage users across the country to spend more time on KakaoTalk. 마지막으로 현재 개편 직후의 체류 시간 증가는 시작에 불과하다고 생각합니다. 연초 말씀드렸던 카카오톡 체류 시간의 20% 증가를 달성하기 위해서 최선을 다하겠습니다. Last but not least, we believe that the post-revamp increase in time spent is now just starting. We will do our utmost to achieve the 20% increase in KakaoTalk time spent that we communicated at the beginning of the year. 네, 이어서 4분기 광고 가이던스 달성 가능 여부에 대해서는 제가 답변드리겠습니다. 우선 결론부터 말씀드리자면 연초부터 시장에 약속드렸던 가이던스인 4분기 톡비즈 광고 매출의 전년 동기 대비 두 자릿수 성장은 여유 있게 달성 가능할 것으로 보입니다. 3분기 실적에서도 확인하실 수 있듯이 그동안 플랫폼 내 광고 사업의 기초 체력을 단단하게 다진 결과 광고 성장이 재가속되고 있습니다. I will address the question regarding the achievability of our Q4 advertising guidance. To state the conclusion upfront, we expect to comfortably deliver the double-digit year-over-year growth in TalkBiz advertising revenue for the fourth quarter that we committed to at the beginning of the year. As evidenced in our Q3 results, advertising growth has re-accelerated as a result of the solid fundamentals we have steadily built within the platform. 먼저 비즈니스 메시지의 경우 앞서 모두 발언에서 언급드린 바와 같이 현재의 고성장세는 지속 가능하다고 판단됩니다. 이에 더해 3분기에는 국내 광고 시장 둔화가 장기간 이어졌음에도 불구하고 디스플레이 광고가 5개 분기 만에 역성장 기조에서 벗어나 반등세를 보였다는 점이 유의미하다고 생각합니다. 이는 그동안 톡내 광고의 상품성을 개선하기 위한 노력에서 기인합니다. 뿐만 아니라 3분기에는 일부 광고주들이 경쟁 플랫폼에 배정했던 예산을 카카오로 옮겨오는 움직임이 포착되기도 했습니다. First, with respect to business messages, as mentioned in my opening remarks, we believe the current high-growth trajectory is sustainable. In addition, despite the prolonged slowdown in the domestic advertising market during Q3, it is meaningful that display advertising exited its five-quarter trend of negative growth and returned to an upward trajectory. This stems from our continued efforts to enhance the competitiveness of advertising products within Talk. In addition, during Q3, we observed some advertisers reallocating budgets previously assigned to competing platforms to Kakao. 9월 말 카카오톡 개편 이후 이용자 업데이트가 일주일에 걸쳐 점진적으로 진행되었기 때문에 카카오톡 내 새로운 지면에 최적화된 신규 상품 라인업의 효과는 3분기에는 거의 반영되지 않았습니다. 그럼에도 불구하고 3분기 카카오 광고 사업은 역대 분기 최대 매출 실적을 달성했고, 특히 이번 9월에 월 최대 매출을 기록하기도 한 만큼 4분기부터는 카카오 광고 사업이 구조적인 성장 구간에 진입했다는 것을 성장률에서 확인하실 수 있을 것으로 기대합니다. Since the KakaoTalk revamp at the end of September was rolled out to users progressively over the course of a week, the impact of the new product lineup optimized for the newly created inventory for KakaoTalk was barely reflected in Q3. Nonetheless, Kakao's advertising business achieved a record-high quarterly revenue in the third quarter, and September recorded the highest monthly revenue on record. Based on this momentum, we expect that starting in the fourth quarter, our growth rates will demonstrate that Kakao's advertising business has entered a structural growth phase. 다음 질문 받겠습니다. Next question, please. 다음으로 질문해 주실 분은 신한투자증권의 강석우 님입니다. The following question will be presented by Sako King from Shinhan Investment and Securities. Please go ahead with your question. 안녕하세요, 신한투자증권 강석우입니다. 첫 번째 질문은 지난달에 챗GPT for Kakao와 카나나인 카카오톡이 런칭이 됐는데 두 서비스의 초기 지표 공유해 주시면 감사하겠습니다. 두 번째로는 향후에 AI 사업 기회가 에이전트에서 좀 클 거라고 전망을 하고 있는데 외부 파트너들과 생태계를 어떻게 확대할지 그러한 전략에 대해서 구체적인 공유 부탁드리겠습니다. Thank you for the opportunity to ask questions. I also have two questions. First of all, last month, 챗GPT for Kakao and Kanaan in KakaoTalk were launched. Could you share the initial metrics for these two AI services? My second question is, I believe that there is a lot of opportunities in terms of business in the area of AI. So what are Kakao's plans for external partners to participate in the agentic ecosystem? What are your detailed strategies? Thank you. 네, 답드리겠습니다. 먼저 카나나인 카카오톡의 경우에는 주요 이용자들의 긍정적인 피드백이 오고 가고 있습니다. 그래서 저희가 온디바이스 AI 모델에 대한 수용도를 확인해 나가고 있는 중입니다. 다만 아직 소규모 이용자를 대상으로 제한된 기능만을 제공하는 CBT를 운영 중이기 때문에 정량적인 성과들을 말씀드리기에는 이른 단계입니다. 내년 1분기에는 해당 서비스를 이용할 수 있는 기기를 보유한 모든 이용자를 대상으로 서비스를 정식 오픈할 예정이어서 이후보다 구체적인 지표에 대해 공유해 드리도록 하겠습니다. First, with respect to Kanaan in KakaoTalk, we are gauging user acceptance and receptiveness to our on-device AI model based on positive feedback from core users. However, as we are currently operating a CBT with limited features for a small user group, we believe it is too early to share quantitative performance metrics. We plan to officially open the service in the first quarter of next year to all users with compatible devices, and we will provide more detailed metrics once the service is fully rolled out. 챗GPT for Kakao는 앞서 모두 발언에서 말씀드린 것처럼 아직 출시 초기이고 그리고 본격적인 마케팅 활동을 시작하기 전입니다만 출시 10일 차인 어제 기준으로 이용 약관에 동의를 하고 서비스 이용을 시작한 이용자가 200만 명을 돌파했습니다. 초기 서비스 안정성과 뛰어난 접근성을 바탕으로 활성 이용자 인당 발신 메시지 수와 체류 시간도 뚜렷한 상승 흐름을 나타내고 있어서 현재까지 긍정적으로 평가하고 있습니다. 특히 일 활성 이용자 인당 평균 체류 시간의 경우에는 어제 기준 약 4분까지 증가했는데 현재 활성 이용자 1인당 평균 체류 시간이 4분까지 증가했다는 것은 챗GPT for Kakao와 같은 AI 서비스의 출시를 기점으로 카카오톡의 사용성이 단순한 메시징을 넘어서 탐색과 검색 중심으로 확장되고 있다는 것을 의미합니다. With respect to 챗GPT for Kakao, as mentioned in my opening remarks, the service is still in its early days and full-scale marketing has not yet begun. Nevertheless, as of yesterday, 10 days after launch, the number of users who agreed to the terms and began using the service exceeded 2 million. Supported by initial service stability and strong accessibility, both outbound messages per active user and time spent are showing a pronounced upward trend, which we consider quite encouraging. In particular, the average daily time spent per active user reached approximately 4 minutes as of yesterday. The fact that average time spent per active user has increased to this level indicates that with the launch of AI services such as 챗GPT for Kakao, KakaoTalk's usage is beginning to extend beyond simple messaging toward more exploration and search-driven behaviors. 이러한 변화는 이제 막 시작 단계에 불과합니다. 카카오톡 전체의 체류 시간이 크게 늘어날 수 있는 가능성을 보여주는 신호라고 볼 수 있습니다. 또한 이번 주부터 서비스에 대한 이용자 인지도를 확대하기 위한 마케팅 활동이 시작되는데요. 관련 지표들은 본격적인 상승 흐름을 이 마케팅 활동을 통해 나타날 것이라고 생각하고 있습니다. Although these changes are still at a very early stage, we believe that they signal the potential for a substantial increase in overall time spent on KakaoTalk. In addition, as marketing activities and increasing user awareness of the service begin this week, we expect the related metrics to show a more pronounced upward trajectory. 아직 서비스 출시 초기 단계인 만큼 우선적으로는 더 많은 이용자들이 카카오톡을 통해 AI를 자연스럽게 일상 속에서 경험하고 익숙해지도록 만드는 데 집중할 예정입니다. 이용자 기반이 잘 만들어진 이후에는 연말부터 본격적으로 유료 구독자 확대와 프로덕트 고도화를 추진할 계획입니다. 또한 단기적으로 모든 이용자가 유료로 전환되지는 않더라도 내부적으로는 이용자들이 톡 안에서 검색을 자연스럽게 일상화하고 더 오래 머문다는 것 자체가 유의미한 변화라고 보고 있습니다. Given that the service is still in its initial phase, our immediate priority is to ensure that more users can naturally experience and become familiar with AI in their daily lives through KakaoTalk. Once a solid user base is established, we plan to begin expanding paid subscriptions and accelerating product enhancement toward the end of the year. Even if not all users convert to paid plans in the near term, we believe it is meaningful that users are beginning to normalize search within Talk and are spending more time on the platform itself. 이는 카카오톡이 단순한 메신저를 넘어서 새로운 사용 경험과 트래픽을 만들어내고 있다는 신호라고 볼 수 있고 이러한 변화가 장기적으로 카카오 AI 서비스의 확장성과 수익화 가능성으로 이어질 것이라고 생각합니다. This signals that KakaoTalk is evolving beyond a simple messenger and is generating new usage experiences and traffic. We believe these shifts will ultimately translate into greater scalability and monetization potential for Kakao's AI services over the long term. 이어서 카카오의 에이전틱 AI 생태계 외부 확장에 대해서 말씀드리겠습니다. 이용자와 AI 에이전트와의 접점을 카카오톡 안에 마련하기 시작한 만큼 이제부터는 에이전틱 AI 생태계를 본격적으로 확장해서 이용자가 카카오 AI를 통해 느끼는 일상의 편리함을 늘려가는 것이 CEO로서 제게 가장 중요한 아젠다 중 하나입니다. Now, moving on, let me briefly address Kakao's external expansion plans for the agentic AI ecosystem. Now that we have begun establishing touchpoints between users and AI agents within KakaoTalk, one of my highest priority agendas as CEO is to fully expand the agentic AI ecosystem and enhance the everyday convenience that users experience through Kakao's AI. 카카오는 기존 카카오 그룹사가 보유한 강력한 B2C 서비스 포트폴리오를 기반으로 에이전틱 AI 생태계를 카카오 외부로 확장하고자 합니다. 내년부터는 카카오가 자체적으로 보유하고 있지는 않지만 이용자들이 매일 그리고 자주 이용하는 버티컬 서비스에서 쇼트헤드 파트너와는 직접 생태계 참여를 논의하고 롱테일 영역은 에이전트 마켓플레이스를 통해서 동시에 공략할 계획입니다. Kakao intends to expand the agentic AI ecosystem beyond Kakao by leveraging the strong B2C service portfolio held by Kakao Group Companies. Starting next year for vertical services that Kakao does not directly operate but that users rely on daily and frequently, we plan to engage directly with short-head partners regarding participation in the ecosystem while addressing the long-tail segment through an agent marketplace. 모두 발언에서 잠시 말씀드린 것처럼 플레이 NCP와 에이전트 빌더를 중심으로 하여 개방형 에이전트 생태계를 적극 확장하면서 다양한 규모의 파트너 참여를 빠르게 확장할 예정입니다. 이를 기반으로 이용자들이 활용하고 싶어하는 서비스들과 이용자들을 만나고 싶어하는 다양한 서비스들 사이의 간격을 좁혀가면서 AI 시대에서 나타나는 새로운 이용자 행태와 니즈를 충족시켜 나갈 수 있는 생태계가 만들어지길 기대하고 있습니다. As briefly mentioned in my opening remarks, we plan to actively expand an open agent ecosystem centered on Play NCP and the agent builder to rapidly broaden the participation from partners of various sizes. Based on this foundation, we aim to narrow the gap between services that users want to engage with and the many services that seek to reach users, thereby building an ecosystem that can meet emerging user behaviors and needs in the AI era. 쇼트헤드의 경우 아직 초기 단계로 구체적인 내용에 대해 말씀드리기는 어렵지만 이미 커머스와 금융, 여행을 포함해 이용자들이 매일 자주 이용하는 주요 버티컬의 여러 핵심 파트너들로부터 관심과 협업 문의가 유입되고 있습니다. 카카오가 만드는 AI 생태계에 각 산업을 대표하는 사업자들이 내년부터 하나씩 참여하는 모습을 보여드릴 수 있을 것으로 기대합니다. For the short-head segment, although we are still in the early stages and it is premature to provide specific details, we are already receiving interest and partnership inquiries from key partners in major verticals that users rely on daily and frequently, including commerce, finance, and travel. Beginning next year, we expect to demonstrate the participation of leading industry players in the AI ecosystem that Kakao is building. 시간 관계상 마지막 질문 받겠습니다. Because of time constraints, we will take one final question. 마지막으로 질문해 주실 분은 번스타인의 강민준 님입니다. The last question will be presented by Minju Kang from Bernstein. Please go ahead with your question. 안녕하세요. 번스타인의 강민준입니다. 좋은 실적 축하드립니다. 3분기에 기대 이상의 영업이익이 나왔는데 혹시 일회성 요인이 있었는지 궁금하고요. 그리고 이 3분기에 온기가 4분기까지 이어질지 4분기 실적 가이던스 부탁드립니다. Thank you for the opportunity to ask questions. First of all, congratulations on your performance. Now, I have two questions. First of all, the third-quarter operating profit was very strong. Were there any one-off gains reflected? Also, what is your guidance on your fourth-quarter outlook? Do you think that the achievements from the second quarter and third quarter will continue on into the fourth quarter? 네, 우선 3분기 실적에서 주목할 만한 일회성 요인은 발견되지 않았습니다. 2분기에 이어 3분기에도 계열사의 구조적인 수익성 개선이 3분기 호실적의 주된 배경으로 보시면 될 것 같습니다. 플랫폼 부문에서는 플랫폼 기타, 그리고 콘텐츠 부분에서는 피코마와 SM 엔터테인먼트 영업이익 기여도가 대폭 개선된 결과입니다. We did not identify any notable one-off items in the third-quarter results. As in the second quarter, structural profitability improvements across our affiliates were a key driver of the strong performance in the third quarter. In the platform segment, operating profit contributions from platform and others improved significantly. In the content segment, PICOMA and SM Entertainment also delivered substantially higher operating profit contributions. 네, 이어서 4분기 실적 전망에 대해서도 말씀드리겠습니다. 플랫폼 부문에서는 톡비즈의 광고와 커머스, 그리고 플랫폼 기타의 모빌리티와 페이 모두에서 긍정적인 실적을 기대하고 있습니다. 앞서 답변드린 대로 톡비즈 광고는 전년 동기 대비 10% 이상의 매출 성장을 추정하고 있습니다. 그리고 커머스에서는 전분기 이연된 명절 선물 수요가 반영되는 동시에 선물하기 내 자기 구매 거래액의 고성장이 유지되며 3분기보다 개선된 전년 동기 대비 매출 성장률이 예상됩니다. Let me also address the fourth-quarter outlook. In the platform segment, we expect positive results across TalkBiz advertising and commerce, as well as in mobility and pay within platform other. As mentioned earlier, we estimate that TalkBiz advertising will deliver year-over-year revenue growth of more than 10%. In commerce, we expect a higher year-over-year revenue growth rate than in the third quarter, supported by the recognition of deferred holiday gift demand from the previous quarter and the continued strong growth of self-purchase GMV within the TalkGift service. 모빌리티와 페이는 택배 서비스와 증권 사업이 신규 성장 동력으로 자리 잡으면서 매출의 성장을 견인하는 동시에 비용 측면에서도 효율화를 이어가며 플랫폼 기타 부분의 연결 영업이익에 대한 기여도 확장 기조가 이어질 것으로 전망합니다. 반면 3분기까지 연초 예상보다 선방했던 콘텐츠 부분은 전분기 대비로는 매출 역성장이 예상됩니다. 게임즈는 신작 성과 공백이 예상보다 길어지는 가운데 기존 게임 타이틀 매출이 하향 안정화되며 수익성 부담이 이어질 것으로 추정됩니다. 뮤직 부문 또한 계절적 비수기로 사업 전반의 성장세 둔화가 불가피할 것으로 예상되고 있습니다. In mobility and pay, we expect revenue growth to be driven by the quick parcel delivery service and the securities business emerging as new growth engines. At the same time, continued cost optimization should further expand their contribution to consolidated operating profit within the platform other segment. By contrast, in the content segment, which had performed better than initially expected through the third quarter, we expect a quarter-over-quarter revenue decline. In games, the gap in the new title contributions is extending longer than anticipated, and revenues from existing titles are stabilizing at lower levels, which is expected to continue placing pressure on profitability. In the music segment as well, we expect an overall slowdown in business momentum to be unavoidable due to seasonal softness. 비용 측면에서는 카카오의 지속 가능한 중장기 성장을 위해 필수적인 핵심 사업에 대한 투자가 지속적으로 확대되면서 수익성에 대한 부담이 늘어나고 있는 것은 사실입니다. 다만 이러한 투자는 이미 연초부터 예상된 범위 내에서 진행되고 있으며 전체 수익성이 훼손되지 않도록 효율적인 비용 집행 구조를 구축하기 위해 끊임없이 노력하고 있습니다. On the cost side, it is true that profitability pressures have increased as we continue to scale investments in core businesses essential for Kakao's sustainable mid-to-long-term growth. However, these investments are being executed within the range anticipated at the beginning of the year, and we are consistently working to establish an efficient cost execution framework to ensure that overall profitability remains intact. 이상으로 2024년 3분기 카카오 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜을 마치겠습니다. 참석해 주신 여러분, 감사합니다. This concludes the conference call of Kakao Corporation for Q3 2024. Thank you for your participation.

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