Kakao Corp Reports Record Q1 2026 Revenue of KRW 1.94 Trillion

SEOUL, South Korea — Kakao Corp reported first-quarter revenue of KRW 1.94 trillion (US$1.29 billion), an 11% increase year-over-year.

Operating profit rose 66% year-over-year to KRW 211 billion (US$140.4 million), for an operating profit margin of 10.9%.

Net profit increased 13% year-over-year to KRW 227 billion (US$151.0 million).

The Platform division, which accounts for 61% of total revenue, recorded KRW 1.18 trillion (US$784.9 million), a 16% year-over-year increase. Within the division, Talk Biz revenue grew 9% year over year to KRW 609 billion (US$405.1 million).

Talk Biz advertising revenue reached KRW 338 billion (US$224.8 million), supported by a 27% year-over-year increase in business messaging and a 10% rise in display advertisements.

Kakao attributed those gains to higher demand from financial and small- and medium-sized enterprise advertisers.

The commerce segment recorded a total gross merchandise volume of KRW 2.9 trillion (US$1.93 billion), up 10% year-over-year, generating KRW 270 billion (US$179.6 million) in revenue.

Platform-Others revenue, which encompasses mobility and financial payment services, grew 30% year over year to KRW 506 billion (US$336.6 million).

Kakao Pay recorded double-digit revenue growth across all segments.

Kakao Mobility sustained growth led by taxi, parking, and last-mile delivery services.

Portal Biz revenue declined 9% to KRW 68 billion (US$45.2 million), Kakao said, due to decreased user activity.

The Content division posted a 5% year-over-year revenue increase to KRW 759 billion (US$504.9 million).

Music and Media revenues grew to KRW 485 billion (US$322.6 million) and KRW 92 billion (US$61.2 million), respectively, driven by album sales, concert scale expansion, and an increase in revenue-recognizing titles.

Story revenue fell 14% to KRW 182 billion (US$121.1 million) amid a slowdown in the Japanese manga market.

Total operating expenses for the quarter increased 7% year-over-year to KRW 1.73 trillion (US$1.15 billion). 

Labor costs totaled KRW 445 billion (US$296.0 million), while costs for revenue, outsourcing, and infrastructure totaled KRW 909 billion (US$604.7 million).

KakaoTalk, the company's messaging application, had 49.57 million monthly active users in South Korea and 54.68 million globally.

Kakao announced plans to transition its core messaging operations into an agentic artificial intelligence platform.