[Featured Stock] YLAB, Naver Webtoon Listed on US Stock Market... Vanguard of Naver Webtoon Growth

Published 04 Aug.2023 10:33(KST)

YLAB is showing strong performance. It appears to be influenced by Naver's announcement that Naver Webtoon will be listed on the U.S. stock market next year. Naver Webtoon holds a 9.67% stake in YLAB.

At 10:32 AM on the 4th, YLAB was trading at 10,320 KRW, up 21.27% from the previous day.

Aram Kim, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., said, "Webtoon studio YLAB is inevitably familiar to Naver Webtoon subscribers," introducing it as "a webtoon studio serializing many popular works on Naver Webtoon."

He continued, "Representative works include 'Island,' 'Resurrection Man,' 'Terror Man,' 'True Education,' 'Reality Quest,' and 'Study Group,'" explaining, "Like the Marvel Universe, the works share a common universe, allowing readers to enjoy the shared universe (characters, settings, storylines, etc.) across various works."

Researcher Kim emphasized, "By adopting a studio model, unlike general CP companies, YLAB directly employs its writers," adding, "Although there is a downside of high labor cost investment, the leverage is significant when a work becomes a hit, and the company can acquire most of the IP and business rights." He added, "There are many writers with extensive experience in producing hit works," and "It is expected to be advantageous in nurturing junior writers and expanding the lineup of works."

Naver revealed plans to list Naver Webtoon on the U.S. stock market next year. Namseon Kim, Naver's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), stated during the 'Q2 Earnings Conference Call,' "We are proceeding with the listing of Naver Webtoon as planned," and "The goal is to list next year."

Kim CFO added, "We believe there is considerable upside not only in per-episode purchase revenue but also in advertising revenue," noting, "Monetization is still being done cautiously, so there is significant traffic."