On the 3rd, NAVER showed strength during intraday trading in the domestic stock market, drawing investors' attention. With expectations for AI business expansion and commerce growth converging, securities firms project that second-half momentum related to AI and digital assets could lead to a revaluation of the company's worth.

Q2 Earnings Forecast: Solid Trends Continue Across All Business Divisions

According to securities firms, NAVER's consolidated revenue for the second quarter of this year is expected to reach 3.3576 trillion won, up 15.2% year-on-year, while operating profit is projected to rise 9.0% to 568.6 billion won. Existing earnings estimates have been maintained, and the performance trends across all business divisions are expected to continue at levels similar to the first quarter.

In particular, the commerce business is evaluated to have driven earnings improvement in June. Users who signed up for memberships to watch the Chizik Olympics flowed into shopping, contributing to an increase in transaction volume. Commerce transaction value also expanded as the company proactively secured inventory ahead of the Samsung Electronics感恩祭 (appreciation event). While some service sectors, such as travel, experienced sluggishness due to the impact of war and exchange rate fluctuations, the increase in product transaction volume largely offset this.

The financial division is expected to maintain its solid trend, with shopping-related earnings improvement adding to the existing growth momentum of offline businesses.

Second-Half Momentum: Expanding AI Visibility and Digital Asset Legislation

The market is also paying attention to the expected improvement in visibility regarding AI businesses in the second half. There is discussion that major partners and clients of the AI Factory may be specified through fair disclosure. Furthermore, if the second phase of digital asset legislation and a subsequent merger with Dunamu materialize, NAVER's growth blueprint for 2027 and beyond is projected to become much clearer. Accordingly, analyses suggest that this momentum could begin to be fully reflected in the stock price.

Investors are closely watching future variables, including the pace of AI business expansion, commerce growth trends, changes in digital asset policies, and the trajectory of global tech stocks.

[This article was written with the assistance of AI. This article is not intended to solicit investment, and the judgment and responsibility for investments lie with the investor.]