NAVER (035420) shares remained weak during trading on the 17th. The stock is currently trading at 239,000 won, down 3,000 won (1.24%) from the previous day.

On this day, DS Investment Securities focused its analysis of NAVER on financing measures for large-scale AI (artificial intelligence) infrastructure investments. According to securities industry sources, NAVER is believed to be considering a structure that separates asset ownership from operations, similar to the approaches taken by global big tech companies. This is interpreted as a strategy to alleviate the financial burden that may arise in the process of securing GPUs and building AI data centers.

In particular, the likelihood of capital raising through methods that dilute shareholder value, such as large-scale paid-in capital increases—a concern held by some market participants—was assessed as limited. Accordingly, analyses suggest that concerns over the erosion of existing shareholders' equity value will not be significant, even as the company expands its AI business.

The cost of building AI infrastructure is cited as substantial. The industry estimates that securing a power capacity of around 200MW will require an investment in the billions of dollars, with figures near approximately 10 billion dollars being mentioned in the market. Furthermore, there are projections that the total investment for constructing a 1GW-class ultra-large AI data center could expand to between 30 billion and 50 billion dollars, depending on the timing and scope of the project.

The market views NAVER's large-scale infrastructure securing strategy as a key variable that will determine its mid- to long-term growth, as the company pursues a transition from a search- and commerce-oriented business structure to an AI platform company. However, in the short term, the stock is showing weakness as investment burdens overlap with profit-taking sell-offs across the broader domestic stock market.

Investors are closely watching as key points of interest whether future AI data center investment plans will be concretized, the financing methods, and the potential for improved profitability driven by the expansion of generative AI services.

[※ This article was written with the assistance of AI. Investment decisions are the responsibility of the investor, and the content contained in this article may change depending on market conditions.]