Kakao lifts nine-month revenue on platform gains
Consolidated continuing-operations revenue reached 6.13 trillion won in the nine months through September.
Kakao reported higher consolidated continuing-operations revenue for the nine months through September 2026, led by its platform business, and earned 422.5 billion won in net income including discontinued operations. The messaging and internet-services company had recorded 5.63 trillion won in continuing-operations revenue a year earlier.
Platform revenue rose to 3.62 trillion won from 3.11 trillion won a year earlier, accounting for 59.1% of continuing-operations sales, up from 55.2%. Content revenue fell to 2.51 trillion won from 2.52 trillion won, and its share of sales declined to 40.9% from 44.8%.
The platform business includes advertising and commerce services built around KakaoTalk, as well as payments and mobility subsidiaries. Kakao said business-message revenue had grown as advertisers increased across industries including finance, commerce and fashion. It also attributed rising advertising revenue to growth in the number of KakaoTalk channel connections. In commerce, the company said a broader premium brand lineup had helped lift spending per transaction and the value of purchases by users for themselves.
Among the individual reporting units, Kakao Pay recorded net revenue of 813 billion won, up from 573 billion won in the comparable prior period. Kakao Mobility net revenue rose to 578 billion won from 525 billion won. Their services include payment, loan comparison and investment products, as well as transport and vehicle-related services. These units are included in the broader platform category but are also reported separately.
Kakao reported 661 billion won in consolidated net income from continuing operations and a 238 billion won loss from discontinued operations for the nine-month period. The discontinued result related to the games business. Pretax income from continuing operations was 920 billion won.
Cash generation presented a different measure of the period. Consolidated cash flow from operating activities fell to 541 billion won from 937 billion won a year earlier. Income taxes paid rose to 918 billion won from 198 billion won, while cash generated from operations before those payments increased.
The company also spent more on capital investment. Consolidated capital expenditure across manufacturing, services and finance rose to 490 billion won for the nine months from 422 billion won a year earlier. Third-quarter spending was 188 billion won, compared with 183 billion won in the prior-year quarter.
Kakao said it plans to invest about 425 billion won from 2021 through 2029 in a data center and server and network equipment. The Ansan data center has operated since January 2024 and can accommodate at least 100,000 servers. The company expects investment in artificial intelligence to continue as it works toward the formal launch of Kanana in KakaoTalk and expands its AI agent ecosystem.
KakaoBank reports higher nine-month profit
NAVER reports higher nine-month revenue
POSCO Holdings Reports Higher Nine-Month Revenue
NH Investment lifts operating profit to 1.84 trillion won