Naver Q2 Revenue Forecast Rises 15.58% YoY, But Operating Margin Compresses to 16.8%

According to forecasts from 13 major Korean securities firms, Naver's Q2 2026 consolidated revenue is expected to reach 3.37 trillion Korean won, up 15.58% year-over-year, with operating profit rising 8.43% to 565.5 billion Korean won. However, the operating margin is projected to compress to 16.8% from 17.9% in the same period last year.

The profit margin decline is attributed to accelerating costs including GPU depreciation expenses, e-commerce promotional spending, and World Cup broadcast rights fees. Analysts note that ad and commerce revenue growth may not offset rising infrastructure and marketing investments in the near term. Key variables for the second half include monetization of AI search ads and customer acquisition for Naver's 1-gigawatt data center project.