Leading Game Giant but... Krafton Struggles to Make an Impact

Also Below the Offering Price... Foreign Investors' Buying Pressure Concentrated

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Krafton, the game company with the largest market capitalization, is still trading below its IPO price. However, a solid performance is expected in the fourth quarter of this year, and with potential additional growth through content expansion, there are forecasts that the stock could rebound in the future.

As of 10:44 AM on the 21st, Krafton's stock price recorded 469,000 KRW, down 0.42% from the previous day. It remains below the IPO price of 498,000 KRW. Since hitting an all-time intraday high of 580,000 KRW on the 17th of last month, the stock has been sluggish. Based on the previous day's closing price, it has fallen 6.36% this month alone. This is a significantly poor return compared to the KOSPI's 4.37% rise during the same period.

Nevertheless, foreign buying interest continues to flow steadily. This month alone, foreigners have purchased shares worth 216.7 billion KRW, ranking fifth among all stocks in net foreign buying. Except for just seven trading days since last month, net buying has been continuous. Last month, Krafton also ranked third in net foreign buying with 601.4 billion KRW.

This steady accumulation is interpreted as investors expecting solid fourth-quarter results and future growth potential. According to financial information analysis firm FnGuide, Krafton's market consensus for consolidated fourth-quarter results this year is sales of 653 billion KRW and operating profit of 266.5 billion KRW. These figures represent increases of 85.2% and 187.9%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. This year, Krafton is expected to surpass 2 trillion KRW in sales for the first time in its history. The outlook for next year is also bright, with sales projected at 3.2341 trillion KRW and operating profit at 1.4957 trillion KRW, representing increases of 55.4% and 74.6% compared to this year's estimates. It is even expected to surpass the operating profit forecast of 1.066 trillion KRW for NCSoft, the previous leading game company.

Hwang Hyun-joon, a researcher at DB Financial Investment, explained, "The enduring strength of 'Battlegrounds Mobile,' which was released three years ago, continues, and the new title 'Battlegrounds: New State,' which has improved revenue structure through more diverse monetization models, independent development, and direct service, will contribute significantly to earnings." He added, "Another strength is the potential to expand the Battlegrounds intellectual property (IP) into various areas such as webtoons and movies."

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