[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] Meritz Securities announced on the 12th that it is maintaining its “Buy” investment rating and target price of 330,000 won for NCsoftCorporation(036570)(NC).

Lee Hyo-jin, an analyst at Meritz Securities, stated, “NC’s second-quarter consolidated revenue and operating profit were 770.5 billion won (+101.5% year-over-year) and 173.9 billion
won (+1,053%) respectively. Excluding the effect of the early recognition of the remaining contract payment for ‘Blade & Soul 2’ in China (a one-time gain of approximately 40 billion won), these figures were in line with expectations,” she analyzed.
She continued, “As expected, the strong performance of ‘Lineage Classic’ offset the decline in ‘Aion 2.’ In the mobile sector, while ‘Lineage W’ launched in Southeast Asia and ‘Lineage 2M’ launched in China during the second quarter, they did not achieve remarkable results. Instead, ‘Lineage M’ and ‘Lineage 2M’ held their ground well in existing markets.”
In the second quarter, the reward-based platform “JustPlay” began to be consolidated into the company’s financials. He noted, “As iOS policies are set to change starting in late 2025, the pool of reward-based customers—which had previously been limited to Android—has expanded. JustPlay, which recorded a 76% growth rate in the first quarter, achieved 100% growth in the second quarter, with quarterly revenue reaching 130 billion won,” he emphasized.
However, he added, “Since aggressive marketing strategies are being employed to rapidly expand the customer base, the operating profit margin is estimated at 14%. Collaboration with NC’s casual game subsidiaries will begin in the second half of the year,” noting, “Once synergies materialize, revenue growth and profit margins could increase. We project 2026 revenue and operating profit for the mobile casual segment, including JustPlay, to be 572.1 billion won and 96.5 billion won, respectively. “If iOS user acquisition continues at the current pace, not only will growth rates in 2028 and 2029 be sustained, but a strengthened position in the advertising market could also create new opportunities,” the report predicted.
However, “From an industry perspective, the market impact of Unity’s recent re-entry into the advertising market is a new variable that needs to be monitored. “The stock price reaction following AppLovin and Unity’s second-quarter earnings reports reflects investor fatigue regarding elevated growth rates and their response to unexpected growth,” he said, adding, “We need to observe whether this variable will amplify the positive impact on reward-based platforms through market expansion or have a more significant negative impact on market share for AI (artificial intelligence) advertising platforms.”
The analyst noted, “Following the summer update, ‘Aion 2’ metrics have rebounded, and the global launch of Aion 2 via Early Access is scheduled for September 30. Although the stock price remained flat due to a lack of events in June and July, the launch of a new title is approaching, and Q2 earnings confirmed growth in the mobile casual segment, including JustPlay,” he added. “In the long term, depending on the new title, it is expected to serve as a new growth engine that can provide stable growth for NC’s existing business, which is currently subject to high volatility.”