[Click eStock] Summoners War's Rebound in North America and Baseball's Rising Popularity... Com2uS's Turnaround Signal

2Q Operating Profit Expected at 40 Billion KRW, Up 22.6% YoY
4Q New Releases Also Positive... "Expecting Strong Performance from Summoners War IP"

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Com2uS, which showed a slight slowdown in the first quarter, is expected to achieve performance levels comparable to those of 2018 in the second quarter. This is due to the renewed popularity of its hit title, "Summoners War: Sky Arena," along with positive factors such as the baseball season opening and new game releases.

On the 29th, Kiwoom Securities forecasted that Com2uS would record sales of 146.2 billion KRW and an operating profit of 39.6 billion KRW in the second quarter of this year. Compared to the same period last year, sales are expected to increase by 17.7% and operating profit by 22.6%. The operating profit is projected to significantly exceed the market expectation of 33.5 billion KRW, signaling a recovery to the performance level of 2018.

The strong performance is attributed mainly to the recovery of "Summoners War," which accounts for the majority of sales. Since its release in 2014, the game has achieved over 100 million downloads worldwide and has been launched in more than 100 countries, but recently showed somewhat sluggish results. However, the recent 6th-anniversary package sales have helped stabilize the monthly daily active users (DAU) at around 900,000 to 1,000,000. Kiwoom Securities analyst Hakjun Kim explained, "Especially in 2018, the North American region accounted for 33% of total sales, but this dropped to 29% in the first quarter of this year. The expansion of sales in North America had a positive impact. Additionally, with the opening of the domestic professional baseball season, the sales of baseball games, which were sluggish in the first quarter, are also expected to have recovered."

The outlook remains bright. The next title, "Summoners War: Chronicle," is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of this year. It is a real-time strategy game popular in North America and Europe, and plans to target local markets by combining the well-known Summoners War intellectual property (IP). Additionally, the MMORPG "Summoners War: Chronicle" is also set for release in the fourth quarter. Analyst Kim said, "The recent recovery of Summoners War could lead to the success of new titles. Depending on the performance of 'Summoners War: Chronicle,' the release schedule of 'Summoners War: Chronicle' may change, but considering that MMORPG release delays rarely exceed six months, expectations for the momentum of these two major new titles will likely be reflected in the stock price in the second half of the year."

Against this backdrop, Kiwoom Securities maintained a 'Buy' investment rating on Com2uS with a target price of 173,000 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.