Latest news with #WebtoonEntertainment
Korea Herald
14-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Webtoon Entertainment reports Q1 net loss despite meeting revenue projections
Digital comics platform posts mixed results as profitability concerns persist amid currency pressures Webtoon Entertainment, the global arm of South Korea's Naver Webtoon, reported a net loss of $22 million in the first quarter, despite slightly exceeding revenue forecasts. The Los Angeles-based webcomics platform, which went public in June 2024, recorded revenue of $325.7 million, narrowly surpassing the $324 million estimate from analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. While the figure remained largely unchanged from the $326.7 million reported a year earlier, revenue increased 5.3 percent on a constant currency basis, suggesting stable underlying performance despite ongoing currency headwinds with the US dollar trading above 1,400 Korean won since late 2024. Japan continued to serve as Webtoon's strongest market, contributing over half of the company's total revenue for the quarter. The region posted 9.4 percent revenue growth on a constant currency basis, supported by the performance of Line Manga, which maintained its status as Japan's top-grossing non-gaming app. 'We have grown our presence in Japan, which represented over 50 percent of our revenue in Q1,' said founder and CEO Kim Jun-Koo during the earnings call. 'Japan grew all three businesses in this quarter: paid content, advertising and IP adaptations.' The company has been pivoting from exporting Korean content to developing local creator ecosystems in overseas markets. This model has shown particular traction in Japan, where the platform now serves as a channel for distributing Japanese content to other regions. English-language markets also reported year-over-year engagement gains, with monthly active users of the webcomic app rising 19 percent. The company said this preceded upcoming platform enhancements in May, including new content discovery tools to improve user experience. Despite growth in several key areas, Webtoon reported a net loss of $22 million, a reversal from the $6.2 million in net income during the same quarter last year. The decline was attributed to increased general and administrative expenses associated with going public, as well as higher marketing spending. Adjusted EBITDA dropped to $4.1 million from $22.2 million year over year. Since its initial public offering, Webtoon's stock has underperformed, falling nearly 30 percent since the start of 2025, compared to the S&P 500's 0.6 percent gain during the same period. Shares rose 3.35 percent in after-hours trading following Tuesday's earnings release. For the second quarter, the company forecasts revenue between $335 million and $345 million, representing 2.2 to 5.2 percent growth on a constant currency basis. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to fall between $500,000 and $5.5 million. Addressing potential concerns over proposed US tariffs on foreign-produced films, company executives said they do not expect a material impact on core operations. 'We do not see any impact by any announcements, particularly tariffs on our core business -- with the exception of swings in reported FX rates on our results, but not on the core health of our business,' said CFO and COO David Lee.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Webtoon Entertainment (WBTN) Surpasses Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
Webtoon Entertainment (WBTN) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.03 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.02 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.73 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 50%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this online storytelling platform for comics and cartoons would post a loss of $0.08 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.03, delivering a surprise of 62.50%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Webtoon , which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Software industry, posted revenues of $325.71 million for the quarter ended March 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.53%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $326.74 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Webtoon shares have lost about 29.7% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of -0.6%. While Webtoon has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Webtoon: mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.06 on $337.87 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.31 on $1.43 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Internet - Software is currently in the top 36% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the same industry, eGain (EGAN), is yet to report results for the quarter ended March 2025. The results are expected to be released on May 14. This maker of customer engagement software is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.01 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -87.5%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. eGain's revenues are expected to be $21.23 million, down 5% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (WBTN) : Free Stock Analysis Report eGain Corporation (EGAN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research 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
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Webtoon Taps Priya Girishankar as Head of Marketing for Company's Global English Platform (Exclusive)
Webtoon Entertainment, the media company that spearheaded the mainstream embrace of webcomics, has tapped Priya Girishanker as the head of marketing for the company's global English-language platform. The executive will be based in the company's global headquarters in Los Angeles and report to chief strategy officer and head of global Webtoon Yongsoo Kim. She is being tasked with leading marketing strategy and initiatives to accelerate the platform's next phase of growth. More from The Hollywood Reporter Webtoon is already popular among the Gen Z and Gen Alpha crowd thanks to titles such as Lore Olympus, Heartstopper, and Tower of God, titles that have generated billions of view and engaged fans with the stories' creators. The company has made deals with publishers such as DC and IDW to adapt the latter's comic for the platform while Netflix, Prime Video, Crunchyroll, among others have made screen translations of Webtoon's works. The company says it has over 160 million active users. Considered a seasoned marketing leader with deep expertise in direct-to-consumer strategy and consumer relations marketing, Girishankar brings over two decades of experience at top-tier media and entertainment brands. Girishankar spent nearly 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, where she established and scaled Disney Rewards, the enterprise-wide program that built brand love and fan engagement across business units. As svp, enterprise CRM and GM consumer financial services, Girishankar spearheaded the drive of significant growth, hundreds of millions in annual operating income, and expanding the program to over five million of Disney's most engaged Guests. Most recently, she served as executive vp, subscription growth, advertising operations and customer service at the Los Angeles Times, where she established subscription growth strategies to drive profitability and revenue. 'We're thrilled to welcome Priya to Webtoon,' said Kim in a statement. 'Her ability to build and scale meaningful relationships between brands and consumers is matched by her strategic discipline and passion for storytelling. As we continue to grow our business and connect fans with the stories they love, Priya's leadership will play a critical role in shaping the next chapter of Webtoon's growth.'
