Kakao said 2025 annual revenue rose 3 percent from a year earlier to 8.01 trillion won on a consolidated financial statement basis. Annual operating profit rose 48 percent to 732 billion won. Both revenue and operating profit were the highest since the company was founded.

Fourth-quarter consolidated revenue was tallied at 2.13 trillion won, up 9 percent from a year earlier. Consolidated operating profit rose 136 percent to 203.4 billion won. Fourth-quarter revenue was the highest ever for any quarter, and operating profit posted more than 200 billion won for a second consecutive quarter.

By business segment, fourth-quarter platform revenue was tallied at 1.22 trillion won, up 17 percent from a year earlier.

Within the platform segment, Tokbiz revenue rose 13 percent from a year earlier to 627.1 billion won. Tokbiz advertising revenue was 373.4 billion won, up 16 percent. Business message revenue rose 19 percent, sustaining solid growth. Display advertising revenue also rose 18 percent.

Fourth-quarter Tokbiz commerce revenue, including gifting and Tok Deal, was 253.4 billion won, up 8 percent from a year earlier. Fourth-quarter combined gross merchandise value in commerce reached 3 trillion won for the first time in a quarter, up 12 percent. In particular, gifting GMV rose 14 percent as the peak-season effect was maximised, reflecting the Chuseok effect and expanded year-end promotions. Annual combined GMV in commerce rose 6 percent from a year earlier to 10.6 trillion won.

Other platform revenue, including mobility and pay, rose 30 percent from a year earlier to 523.9 billion won. Mobility posted a double-digit revenue growth rate from a year earlier as the stable taxi business was joined by expanding scale in parking and quick services. Pay grew evenly across all business segments, including payments, finance and platform services.

Fourth-quarter content revenue was 910.6 billion won, broadly similar to a year earlier. Music and media revenue rose 12 percent and 30 percent, respectively, to 525.1 billion won and 95.8 billion won. Story revenue was 191.8 billion won, down 5 percent.

Fourth-quarter operating costs rose 3 percent from a year earlier to 1.93 trillion won. Operating profit rose 136 percent to 203.4 billion won, and the operating margin was 10 percent.

This year, Kakao will shift strategic gears based on energy it has built up so far, driven by growth in its core businesses of AI and KakaoTalk. During the first quarter, it plans to officially launch on-device AI, "Kanana in KakaoTalk," on both Android and iOS to broaden user touchpoints, while continuing in-house development and advancement of language models essential to service implementation.

Kakao CEO Shina Chung (정신아) said, "The results of structural improvements that have focused the group's capabilities on the core have clearly appeared in financial indicators." She added, "While proving results through improved performance, we will also show expectations for Kakao's mid- to long-term growth through tangible outcomes."