[Edaily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun ] On the 13th, Hana Securities lowered its target price for NAVER(035420)(Naver) by 15%, from 400,000 won to 340,000 won, reflecting a slowdown in the growth of its advertising and e-commerce businesses and rising costs. However, the firm maintained its “Buy” rating and its status as the top pick in the internet sector, noting that the company’s Agent AI and AI data center businesses are expected to gain momentum starting next year.

Lee Jun-ho, an analyst at Hana Securities, stated in a report released today, “While we have revised our estimates for the core business conservatively, our positive outlook on new businesses remains unchanged.”

Naver’s third-quarter consolidated revenue rose 10.7% year-over-year to 3.4724 trillion won, while operating profit fell 20.9% to 451.3 billion won. Operating profit fell 8.5% short of market expectations of 493.0 billion won. The operating profit margin also declined from 18.2% in the same period last year to 13.0%.

Weak performance in core businesses such as advertising and e-commerce impacted the results. Third-quarter advertising revenue totaled 1.4748 trillion won, rising by only 5.5% year-over-year. The growth rate of Smart Store transaction volume also remained at 6.0%, leading to the assessment that the results of expanded marketing efforts fell short of expectations.

Cost pressures also intensified. Third-quarter operating expenses totaled 3.0211 trillion won, a 17.7% increase from the same period last year. In particular, infrastructure costs rose 29.1% to 282.3 billion won, driven by the introduction of internal computing assets and the opening of new data center space. Marketing expenses also increased by 32.3% to 663.9 billion won.

Hana Securities projected that Naver’s annual operating profit this year will total 1.9738 trillion won, a 10.6% decrease from the previous year. Conversely, it expects earnings to improve significantly next year, rising 28.6% to 2.5376 trillion won.

The firm cited AI agents and the AI data center business as key growth drivers. Naver plans to launch an action-oriented Agent AI app within the year that integrates search, shopping, maps, and payment functions. Its ability to combine existing services with AI to facilitate actual user transactions is seen as a competitive advantage.

In the business-to-business (B2B) sector, revenue generation from the AI Factory business is expected to gain momentum. Naver has signed a long-term contract worth approximately 2 trillion won over the next 4 to 5 years with a North American AI inference company. The contract corresponds to a power supply capacity of 20 megawatts (MW), and the company plans to provide related services sequentially.

Hana Securities estimates that if Naver builds a 200-megawatt (MW) AI data center, it would generate consolidated revenue of 4.53 trillion won and operating profit of 1.53 trillion won. Analysts note that since the company has already secured more than 200 MW of data center space, it is expected to benefit from future growth in AI demand and rising graphics processing unit (GPU) rental prices.

The Full Commission meeting of the Fair Trade Commission scheduled for the 18th was also cited as a key variable to watch. With the review of the business combination between Naver Financial and Namuga Co.,Ltd. scheduled, analysts believe that if related uncertainties are resolved and the company’s entry into the digital asset business becomes more concrete, this could serve as an additional catalyst for a rise in the stock price.

The analyst emphasized, “Even as global concerns over AI data center supply grow, AI demand indicators remain robust,” adding, “This actually presents an opportunity for operators with stable supply structures. If there are no doubts about AI demand, now is the time to buy.”