[Edaily Reporter Kim Yoon-jung] Hana Securities maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on #NAVER and raised its target price to 400,000 won, noting that the company has secured growth potential by entering the Neo Cloud business based on its collaboration with NVIDIA. It also maintained its ‘Top Pick’ rating for the internet sector.

On the 9th, Lee Jun-ho, an analyst at Hana Securities, stated, “The most important point of this announcement is that NAVER has secured the growth potential that had been cited as a factor in its sluggish stock price,” adding, “With the entry into the Neo Cloud business through the partnership with NVIDIA, expectations for new revenue targeting both domestic and global markets have emerged, which will transform the company’s fundamentals.”
On the 8th, NAVER announced that it would pursue a joint project with NVIDIA to build a global artificial intelligence (AI) factory. The company plans to position itself as the “Asian version of CoreWeave” and, after securing data centers, expand its business-to-business (B2B) operations to meet AI data center demand in Korea, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Ultimately, the company aims to secure data centers with a total capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW) and plans to expand its facilities in phases over the next 5 to 6 years.
In the first phase, the company will secure 200 megawatts (MW) by 2028 through data center leasing in South Korea, Malaysia, and Japan. The targets are to secure 55 MW by the first half of 2027, a cumulative 100 MW by the end of 2027, and a cumulative 200 MW by the end of 2028. Subsequently, the company plans to secure an additional 200–300 MW through the expansion of the Sejong data center between 2029 and 2030, and to secure another 200–300 MW through the leasing of domestic and international data centers. After 2030, the company also plans to proceed with the construction of a new 300 MW data center.
The researcher stated, “To secure the initial 200MW data center, NAVER and a strategic partner plan to each invest $1 billion (approximately 1.5 trillion won) to establish a special purpose vehicle (SPV),” adding, “The strategic partner is likely to be NVIDIA or a client company.”
The analyst continued, “The investment required for the initial 200MW build-out is estimated to exceed 8 trillion won,” explaining, “Since we believe there are potential clients capable of securing the 200MW demand, we expect the project to contribute significantly to earnings through high utilization rates following the initial service launch.”
Hana Securities estimated revenue for the first phase of the AI Factory project at 715.4 billion won in 2027 and 1.8234 trillion won in 2028. Operating profit is projected at 107.3 billion won and 273.5 billion won, respectively. The analysis applied an operating margin of 15%; if a 20% margin were applied, operating profit could increase to 143.1 billion won and 364.7 billion won, respectively.
However, the firm took a conservative approach to the company’s guidance of 20 trillion won in revenue and an operating profit margin of over 20% within five years. The analyst noted, “Considering the revenue per MW of CoreWeave, a similar business operator, these targets appear somewhat high,” but added, “It seems to reflect the potential for rising graphics processing unit (GPU) costs and the expansion of ancillary services such as managed services (MSP).”
He projected, “The AI Factory business is expected to contribute to earnings starting in 2027, and global expansion will be possible thereafter,” adding, “As the disclosure of client companies, secured orders, and the financing structure become more concrete, a revaluation of the company’s enterprise value will be possible.”
He further analyzed, “Neocloud companies such as CoreWeave and Nebius are currently valued at approximately 20 trillion won per 1 GW of contracted power capacity,” adding, “NAVER could also generate significant investor interest if demand-driven investments materialize and its global business expands.”
Furthermore, he added, “The merger between NAVER Financial and Dunamu is also scheduled for the second half of the year,” noting that “the AI Factory and new digital asset businesses could serve as definitive re-rating catalysts, complementing the stable performance of the advertising and commerce businesses.”