[Click eStock] "Com2uS, Uncertainty Grows"…Target Price Down

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Korea Investment & Securities lowered the target price for Com2uS from 130,000 KRW to 95,000 KRW on the 15th, citing macroeconomic factors and recent uncertainties surrounding the popularity of P2E (Play-to-Earn) games, which led to a downward revision of the applied valuation and earnings estimates. However, the buy rating was maintained.

Com2uS's sales for the second quarter of this year are expected to increase by 18.6% year-on-year to 181.2 billion KRW, and operating profit is forecasted to rise by 26.3% to 13.9 billion KRW. The operating profit is anticipated to exceed the consensus estimate of 7.2 billion KRW. The 8th anniversary event in the second quarter is expected to significantly boost the sales of Summoners War. Additionally, the newly acquired MyMusicTaste's sales of approximately 10 billion KRW will be newly consolidated, leading to an increase in sales compared to the previous quarter. Total operating expenses are expected to reach 167.4 billion KRW, up 18% year-on-year, mainly due to increased marketing costs for Summoners War and the inclusion of MyMusicTaste's expenses.

The domestic release date for the highly anticipated new title, Summoners War: Chronicle, has been confirmed as August 16. Researcher Jung Ho-yoon of Korea Investment & Securities stated, "Given the macroeconomic uncertainties, investors have become sensitive to changes in game release schedules, so the confirmation of the new title's release date is positive. However, since the influence of the Summoners War intellectual property (IP) is greater overseas than domestically, significant performance improvements are expected to begin with the overseas release of Chronicle."

Researcher Jung added, "Due to increased uncertainty surrounding the recent popularity of P2E games, the initial daily sales estimate for Chronicle has been revised down from 700 million KRW to 500 million KRW. Accordingly, the operating profit estimates for this year and 2023 have been lowered by 28.8% and 21.8%, respectively. While there remains a possibility that Chronicle could exceed market expectations, it is necessary to remain cautious about uncertainties for the time being."

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