[Edaily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] Kakao(035720)posted its highest-ever quarterly revenue and operating profit in the second quarter of this year. The company’s platform businesses—including KakaoTalk advertising and commerce, as well as mobility and payment services—saw balanced growth, driving the improvement in earnings.

Kakao announced on the 6th that it recorded revenue of 2.0985 trillion won and operating profit of 277 billion won on a consolidated basis for the second quarter of 2026.

Compared to the same period last year, revenue increased by 9% and operating profit by 36%. Both revenue and operating profit reached all-time highs on a quarterly basis. The operating profit margin stood at approximately 13%, an improvement of about 3 percentage points from the same period last year.

Operating expenses for the second quarter totaled 1.8214 trillion won, a 6% increase compared to the same period last year.

By business segment, the Platform division showed particularly strong growth. Second-quarter revenue for the Platform division reached 1.2303 trillion won, a 17% increase compared to the same period last year. Key platform businesses—including KakaoTalk-based advertising, commerce, mobility, and kakaopay—underpinned these results.

TalkBiz revenue reached 643.2 billion won, a 12% increase year-over-year. Within this, TalkBiz advertising and subscription revenue totaled 399.9 billion won, up 14% year-over-year. Business messaging revenue rose 20%, driven by robust demand from advertisers in the financial sector.

Display advertising utilizing KakaoTalk’s ad spaces also grew by 28%, driven by increased user engagement and the success of new advertising products.

The commerce segment also continued its growth trend. Second-quarter consolidated transaction volume, including Gift and TalkDeal, reached 2.7 trillion won, a 9% increase year-over-year. In particular, self-purchase transaction volume within Gift rose 39%, driving this growth. Consequently, TalkBiz commerce revenue reached 243.2 billion won, a 10% increase year-over-year.

Revenue from “Other Platform” segments—which include Mobility and Pay—reached 587 billion won, a 22% increase year-over-year. In Mobility, both existing businesses and the last-mile logistics business performed well. kakaopay achieved its highest-ever quarterly revenue and operating profit, as financial revenue surged significantly while payment and platform services continued to post double-digit growth rates.

Revenue in the Content segment rose 1% year-over-year to 868.2 billion won. Music revenue increased 8% to 558.4 billion won, driven by the expansion of performances featuring major intellectual property (IP). Media revenue rose 5% to 99.1 billion won due to an increase in the number of productions in progress. Story revenue totaled 210.7 billion won.

Kakao states that this improvement in performance has established a financial foundation that will allow it to continue making efficient investments in artificial intelligence (AI).

Kakao plans to sequentially introduce agentic AI experiences within KakaoTalk that allow users to complete everyday tasks—such as ordering, booking, and payment—all in one place. The company intends to establish this as a new pillar of growth and monetization, leading to sustainable growth and enhanced corporate value.

To this end, Kakao intends to collaborate with partners in high-frequency usage areas such as commerce, reservations, travel, and payments, and expand its ecosystem by leveraging “PlayMCP,” its own MCP-based open platform.

Jeong Shin-ah, CEO of Kakao, stated, “Competitive advantage in the era of agentic AI lies not merely in creating outstanding models, but in understanding users’ context and intent and connecting them to actual actions.” She added, “Based on KakaoTalk—our daily touchpoint with users—and the technology and service ecosystem we have built over the years, Kakao will accelerate the arrival of an era where all Koreans can naturally utilize their own AI agents.”