Naver Earnings: Strong Profit; Valuation up Slightly to KRW 262,000 From KRW 255,000

Naver reported strong first-quarter 2024 revenue growth of 10.8%, with operating profit up 33% year on year, to another quarterly record of KRW 439 billion, slightly better than our expectations. The key drivers of first-quarter operating profit growth were the search and commerce businesses, which increased operating profit by KRW 43 billion or 9% year on year, and the content business, which reduced its operating loss by KRW 66 billion to KRW 10 billion. Reduced stock-based compensation resulting from the weaker share price performance year on year also helped.