Summary of Kakao’s Q2 2026 earnings. Photo courtesy of Kakao
Kakao (035720.KS) posted its best-ever second-quarter results, driven by growth in its platform business.
Kakao said on the 6th that it recorded consolidated revenue of 2.0985 trillion won and operating profit of 277 billion won in the second quarter. Revenue rose 9% and operating profit climbed 36% from a year earlier, with both marking record quarterly highs.
Balanced growth in the platform and content businesses drove the results. Platform revenue reached 1.2303 trillion won, up 17% from the same period last year.
Talk Biz advertising and subscription revenue, which accounts for the largest share of platform revenue, totaled 399.9 billion won, up 14% year-on-year. Business message revenue rose 20% from a year earlier on demand from financial-sector advertisers, while display advertising using KakaoTalk space grew 28%.
Kakao’s Q2 revenue breakdown. Photo courtesy of Kakao
Talk Biz commerce, including Gift and Talk Deal, continued its growth as purchases of items for oneself rose sharply. Combined transaction value in the second quarter reached 2.7 trillion won, up 9% year-on-year. Transaction value from self-purchases within the Gift service increased 39% from a year earlier. As a result, Talk Biz commerce revenue rose 10% year-on-year to 243.2 billion won.
Other platform revenue, including mobility and Pay, totaled 587 billion won, up 22% year-on-year. Mobility saw strong performance in its existing business and last-mile logistics business. Pay achieved record quarterly revenue and operating profit, with double-digit growth not only in financial revenue but also in payments and platform services.
Content revenue in the second quarter reached 868.2 billion won, up 1% year-on-year. Music revenue rose 8% to 558.4 billion won on the expansion of major intellectual property (IP) performances. Media revenue rose 5% to 99.1 billion won as the number of productions in progress increased. Story revenue was 210.7 billion won.
Kakao plans to develop an agentic AI experience within KakaoTalk that completes everyday actions such as ordering, booking, and payment, positioning it as a new axis of growth and monetization. To this end, the company will pursue collaboration with partners in high-frequency areas such as commerce, reservations, travel, and payments, and actively use its MCP-based open platform “PlayMCP” to rapidly expand its ecosystem.
“Competitiveness in the agentic AI era lies not simply in building superior models, but in understanding the user’s context and intent and connecting them to actual actions,” CEO Chung Shina said. “Based on KakaoTalk as a point of contact with users in daily life and the technology and service ecosystem we have accumulated over the years, Kakao will hasten an era in which the entire nation naturally uses their own AI agents.”