Naver posted its best-ever first-quarter results, helped by the application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the expansion of its global consumer-to-consumer (C2C) ecosystem.

Naver said on Wednesday first-quarter consolidated revenue was 3.24 trillion won and operating profit was 541.8 billion won. That was up 16.3 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.

Naver changed its revenue breakdown from the first quarter to Naver Platform, Financial Platform and Global Challenges to clearly reflect core businesses and new business opportunities.

Naver Platform revenue rose 14.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.84 trillion won. Advertising revenue grew 9.3 percent, with AI contributing more than 50 percent, helped by upgraded targeting through AdVoost (ADVoost) and other tools. Service revenue rose 35.6 percent as the commerce ecosystem, including Naver Plus Store, memberships and N Delivery, led growth.

Financial Platform revenue rose 18.9 percent from a year earlier to 459.7 billion won. First-quarter Npay payment volume increased 23.4 percent to 24.2 trillion won on Smart Store growth and continued expansion of its external ecosystem. Naver plans to further strengthen links among data accumulated on its offline integrated device, Npay Connect, to expand offline competitiveness.

The Global Challenges segment posted revenue of 941.6 billion won, up 18.4 percent from a year earlier, as rapid growth in the C2C business drove results. C2C revenue rose 57.7 percent from a year earlier, supported by the completion of Wallapop's inclusion and growth at Poshmark, Kream and SODA. Enterprise business revenue increased 18.8 percent due to AI and digital twin-related businesses and growth at Line Works.

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon (최수연) said, "Naver is an unrivaled platform that holds in a single flow the search, commerce and payment infrastructure, which are core competitiveness in the era of AI agents." She added, "Centered on an action-based AI strategy, we will build a virtuous cycle that leads to improved user satisfaction and expanded monetisation, while continuously identifying opportunities in global challenge areas such as C2C and sovereign AI to accelerate overall revenue growth."