Kakao (035720.KS) posted its highest-ever first-quarter results as most of its business segments showed growth.
Kakao reported that consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2026 rose 11% year-on-year to 1.94 trillion won ($1.4 billion), while operating profit jumped 66% to 211.4 billion won ($156 million), the company said Wednesday. Both revenue and operating profit marked record highs for a first quarter.
By business segment, first-quarter platform revenue climbed 16% year-on-year to 1.18 trillion won.
Within the platform segment, Talk Biz revenue rose 9% year-on-year to 608.6 billion won. Talk Biz advertising revenue reached 338.4 billion won, up 16% from a year earlier. Total message volume increased on expanded demand led by financial advertisers, and business message revenue grew 27% year-on-year as the diversification of message products broadened the scope of advertiser use. Display advertising also posted revenue growth of 10% year-on-year.
Combined first-quarter transaction volume for Talk Biz commerce, including Gift and Talk Deal, totaled 2.9 trillion won, up 10% year-on-year. The growth reflects strengthened product offerings centered on fresh food and home appliance categories with strong user demand, along with enhanced personalized benefits for users. In particular, driven by the "Kakao Shopping Festa" held in March, Talk Store transaction volume grew 18% year-on-year, while self-purchase transaction volume within Gift surged 53%. First-quarter commerce revenue came in at 270 billion won, up 1% year-on-year.
Other platform revenue, which includes Mobility and Pay, rose 30% year-on-year to 506.5 billion won. Mobility posted double-digit revenue growth year-on-year for a third consecutive quarter, driven by taxi, parking, last-mile logistics, and advertising. Pay exceeded 300 billion won in quarterly revenue for the first time, driven by growth across services including payments, finance, and platform services.
First-quarter content revenue reached 759.4 billion won, up 5% year-on-year. Music revenue rose 11% to 484.6 billion won, while media revenue climbed 23% to 92.4 billion won. Story revenue was 182.4 billion won.
Meanwhile, first-quarter operating expenses rose 7% year-on-year to 1.73 trillion won. As a result, operating profit grew 66% to 211.4 billion won, with an operating margin of 11%. While the first quarter typically sees relatively weaker profitability due to seasonal factors, this quarter's profitability improved significantly as efficiency efforts focused on core businesses were reflected in earnings.
Kakao plans to accelerate its transition to an agentic AI platform this year. "It is encouraging that the first quarter achieved qualitative growth through the strengthening of fundamental competitiveness," said Chung Shina, CEO of Kakao. "Building on the structural growth momentum of our existing businesses, Kakao will now begin its transition beyond a messenger into an agentic artificial intelligence (AI) platform used by 50 million users."
