Kakao Corp (XKRX:035720) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges with AI Innovations
Annual Revenue 2024: CNY 7.87 trillion, up 4% YoY.
Platform Revenue Q4: CNY 1.05 trillion, up 10% YoY, 11% QoQ.
Talk Biz Revenue Q4: CNY 562.7 billion, up 5% YoY, 11% QoQ.
Q4 Advertising Revenue: CNY 321.2 billion, up 5% YoY, 10% QoQ.
Commerce GMV Q4: CNY 2.7 trillion, up 3% YoY, 8% QoQ.
Annual Commerce GMV 2024: CNY 10.1 trillion, up 5% YoY.
Portal Revenue Q4: CNY 83.2 billion, down 6% YoY, up 9% QoQ.
Content Revenue Q4: CNY 910.1 billion, down 13% YoY, 7% QoQ.
Operating Profit Q4: CNY 106.7 billion, OP margin 5.4%.
Adjusted Operating Profit Q4: CNY 138.2 billion, OP margin 7.1%.
Annual Operating Profit 2024: CNY 491.5 billion, up 6.6% YoY, OP margin 6.2%.
Net Loss Q4: CNY 276.9 billion.
Annual Net Loss 2024: CNY 43.6 billion.
CapEx Q4: CNY 100.7 billion.
Annual CapEx 2024: CNY 499.4 billion.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with XKRX:035720.
Release Date: February 13, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Kakao Corp (XKRX:035720) plans to introduce new AI-powered features and services to enhance user engagement and create new business opportunities.
The company is collaborating with OpenAI to integrate advanced AI models, aiming to improve user experiences across its platform.
Kakao's business messaging service posted an 18% year-over-year revenue growth, indicating strong demand and increasing advertiser interest.
The company is focusing on expanding its commerce offerings, with plans to enhance personalized shopping experiences using AI.
Kakao Corp's mobility business showed robust growth, with improvements in taxi services and other mobility offerings contributing to increased revenue.
Kakao Corp's growth has been slowing due to structural limitations in its messaging platform, impacting user engagement and new business opportunities.
The company reported a decline in display ad revenue due to delayed economic recovery, highlighting challenges in the advertising sector.
Content revenue decreased by 13% year-over-year, with specific declines in the story and media businesses, indicating challenges in maintaining content profitability.
Kakao Corp faced a net loss in Q4 2024, partly due to goodwill impairments in its content business, affecting overall financial performance.
The company anticipates a challenging first quarter in 2025, with expected revenue deterioration due to slow seasonality and increased fixed costs.
Q: What is Kakao's growth strategy for its core businesses, particularly in advertising and commerce? A: Shina Chung, CEO, explained that the advertising market in Korea is facing challenges due to conservative GDP growth and economic confidence. Despite this, Kakao aims for double-digit growth in business messaging and plans to revamp Kakao Talk to increase traffic and business opportunities. For commerce, Kakao plans to optimize services to respond to changing consumer spending patterns, aiming for revenue and GMV growth similar to last year.
Q: Can you provide guidance for Kakao's revenue, cost, and profit for the first quarter and the year? A: Jaden Shin, CFO, noted that Q1 revenue might decline due to slow seasonality and a bottoming IP cycle. However, starting Q2, key revenue streams like business messaging and Talk gift are expected to grow, with a positive ad market seasonality. For the year, Kakao expects moderate growth in the first half and stronger financial results in the second half, driven by new services and AI-driven initiatives.
Q: What are Kakao's plans for AI-related new businesses, and how does it plan to enhance AI competitiveness? A: Shina Chung, CEO, stated that Kakao plans to launch a public CBT for its AI service, Kanana, in the first half of the year. The service will offer a differentiated experience by enabling interaction between multiple users and AI in group chat rooms. Kakao plans to invest in GPUs at a similar level to last year and will focus on smaller language models and model orchestration for cost efficiency.
Q: How does Kakao view the trend of open-source AI models, and will it incorporate such technologies? A: Shina Chung, CEO, mentioned that while open-source model enhancements are positive, they do not immediately lead to widespread consumer-facing AI services. Kakao has been using and tuning global open-source models and has developed a model orchestration strategy to efficiently apply these to its B2C AI services.
Q: What is Kakao's CapEx plan for AI and data centers, and how does it align with its strategic priorities? A: Jaden Shin, CFO, indicated that Kakao will continue to invest in AI and data centers to ensure long-term competitiveness and innovation. The company plans to maintain a conservative stance on spending while focusing on strategic investments in AI as a critical growth driver.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
HELLA GmbH & Co KGaA (HLLGY) (H1 2025) Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges with ...
Organic Sales: EUR4 billion, down 2.4% year on year. Reported Sales: Decreased by 1.3%. Lighting Sales: Down 7.4% in the first half. Electronics Sales: Grew by 6.6% to EUR1.6 billion. Life Cycle Solutions Sales: Down 6.6% year on year. Operating Income Margin: Stable at 6%. Net Cash Flow: Positive EUR114 million, up 34% from last year. Headcount Reduction: Reduced by 3.4% in the first six months. R&D Expenses: Reduced to below 10% of sales. Guidance for Full Year Sales: EUR7.6 billion to EUR8 billion. Guidance for Operating Income Margin: 5.3% to 6%. Guidance for Net Cash Flow: At least EUR200 million by year-end. CapEx Reduction: Reduced by 15% compared to last year. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with HLLGY. Release Date: July 25, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Positive Points HELLA GmbH & Co KGaA (HLLGY) reported a positive net cash flow of EUR114 million in the first half of 2025, marking a 34% increase compared to the previous year. The company's electronics division showed strong growth with a 6.6% increase, driven by the radar business and energy management division. HELLA GmbH & Co KGaA (HLLGY) has successfully implemented cost reduction measures, including a 3.4% reduction in headcount, contributing to improved cost efficiency. The company confirmed its guidance for the year, expecting sales between EUR7.6 billion and EUR8 billion, and operating income margins between 5.3% and 6%. HELLA GmbH & Co KGaA (HLLGY) achieved significant order wins in its lighting and electronics businesses, particularly in North America and China, supporting future growth. Negative Points Organic sales for the first half of 2025 were down by 2.4% year-on-year, with reported sales declining by 1.3%. The lighting business experienced a 7.4% decrease in sales, attributed to the end of larger volume projects and challenges in Asia, particularly with the Tesla model transition. The life cycle solutions division faced a 6.6% decline due to weak demand in the commercial vehicle sector. Gross profit margins decreased to 23.1% from 24.1% last year, impacted by write-offs and lower volumes in certain programs. The Asia Pacific region saw a 7.6% decrease in sales, underperforming the market due to challenges in the lighting business and the Tesla model transition. Q & A Highlights Q: How does HELLA view its financial guidance for the second half of the year, considering the positive sales trend? A: Bernard Schaferbarthold, CEO, indicated that historically, the second half of the year is comparable to the first half, suggesting they are on track to reach the upper end of their guidance range for both sales and operating income margins. However, he noted uncertainties in market demand and tariff issues, which make them cautious. Q: Can you provide more details on the gross margin decline in the electronics segment? A: Bernard Schaferbarthold explained that the decline was partly due to a EUR17 million gain from a business sale last year that was not repeated this year. Additionally, a significant write-off of EUR10 million occurred due to lower volumes in one program, impacting the first-quarter results. Q: Are there any expectations for Q3 margins compared to Q2? A: Bernard Schaferbarthold mentioned that Q3 typically has lower sales due to the summer break, making it one of the weaker quarters. However, they do not anticipate significant deviations from last year's performance, suggesting margins should remain stable. Q: Is HELLA experiencing any benefits from electronic cost deflation? A: Bernard Schaferbarthold stated that they are targeting a 4% reduction in material costs and are on track to achieve this, which should continue into the second half of the year. Q: How is the electronics segment performing in terms of sales growth? A: Philippe Vienney, CFO, reported that the electronics segment saw an organic growth of 7.2%, driven by strong performance in the radar business, particularly in America, and growth in Asia due to battery management systems and car access products. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bitcoin Just Flashed a $5 Million Warning--Here's What Traders Are Betting on Next
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) lost momentum on Friday, dropping to $114,762its lowest since July 11as investor appetite for risk assets softened. The pullback followed stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data, which dented hopes for near-term Fed rate cuts. After hitting a record high of $123,205 earlier this month, fueled by optimism around U.S. regulation and institutional inflows, Bitcoin's rally has taken a breather. Ether traded flat, and XRP slipped roughly 3% in early New York hours. Rachael Lucas, crypto analyst at BTC Markets, noted that while the broader uptrend could still be intact, momentum has cooled and traders are cautious. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Signs with TSN. Some market watchers see the retreat as part of a broader consolidation phase rather than a breakdown. According to FxPro's Alex Kuptsikevich, the correction is healthy and necessary after recent highs. Even if the total crypto market cap falls back to $3.4 trilliondown from the $4 trillion peakit would still likely be viewed as profit-taking, not panic selling. That level remains a key threshold to watch for longer-term trend direction. The jobs data also ended a seven-day Asian equities rally, underscoring just how sensitive risk assets have become to shifting macro signals. Meanwhile, the derivatives market is flashing signs of rising caution. Prime broker FalconX reported a $5 million put option trade on Deribit, betting on Bitcoin falling to $110,000 by August 8. It's a notable hedge that reflects growing two-way risk. We expect to see further consolidation while Bitcoin remains below monthly trendline resistance, currently at around $125,000, said Tony Sycamore of IG Australia. That same level capped Bitcoin's last breakout attemptadding to the technical ceiling traders are watching as the next test of market conviction. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Strategy Stock Issues $2.8?billion 9% 'Stretch' Shares
Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) just priced $2.8 billion of its new 9% Stretch preferred stock at $90 a share to fund more Bitcoin (BTC-USD) purchases after strong demand upsized the deal from $500 million. Michael Saylor's firm has regularly tapped markets with shares, debt and previous prefs like Stride, which sold 2.5 million shares at $100 for $1 billion at a 10% yield in June. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 9 Warning Signs with MSTR. Stretch adds to MSTR's roughly 600,000 BTC hoard valued near $70 billion while offering flexible monthly dividends that can rise or fall to keep the stock near para tool that gives MSTR more price control but leaves investors guessing on yield. Why it matters: These creative capital raises fuel MSTR's Bitcoin buildup but hinge on appetite for variable?income securities and clear deployment plans. From the chart above, we can see that MSTR is still trading 21% behind its consensus estimates, with highs of $680, and lows of $200. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. 擷取數據時發生錯誤 登入存取你的投資組合 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤
