Webtoon Entertainment Partners Even with Warner Bros.; Q3 Revenue Up 8.7%...Solid Growth in IP Business (Comprehensive)

[Financial News] WEBTOON continued to expand its market share in the webtoon industry during the third and fourth quarters. Although the company did not generate profits this quarter while expanding its Intellectual Property Business (IP Business), ongoing content exports and collaborations with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. are expected to drive long-term growth.
According to Webtoon Entertainment Inc., the U.S. headquarters of WEBTOON, third quarter revenue increased by 8.7% year-on-year. The company maintained solid growth through paid content and IP Business expansion, with the IP Business—especially in film and animation—driving overall revenue. However, losses widened due to continued investment in personnel and marketing.
Webtoon Entertainment Inc. reported third quarter revenue of $378.04 million (approximately KRW 523.6 billion), up 8.7% from $347.90 million in the same period last year. Operating losses increased to $14.88 million (about KRW 20.6 billion), while net losses stood at $11.05 million (KRW 15.3 billion), and adjusted EBITDA was $5.12 million (KRW 7.1 billion).
The explosive growth in paid content and IP Business revenue is noteworthy. Paid content revenue grew 0.6% year-on-year, while IP Business revenue surged by 168.7%. Webtoon Entertainment Inc. is expanding its IP Business beyond Over-the-top media service (OTT) platforms into films. Its subsidiary Studio N produced the film 'My Daughter Is a Zombie,' which recorded the highest audience numbers among Korean films released this year. Another subsidiary, STUDIO LICO, produced the feature-length animation 'Your Letter,' based on a webtoon, which achieved pre-sales in 166 countries including Japan and the UK. Studio N's webtoon-based Netflix series 'Chicken Nugget' was nominated for the International Emmy Awards in the comedy category this year.
Notably, WEBTOON has proven its IP competitiveness by signing a partnership with Warner Bros. Animation following its collaboration with The Walt Disney Company.
WEBTOON aims to co-produce and globally distribute animations with Warner Bros. Animation based on ten original Korean and English webtoons. Warner Bros. Animation, a studio within Warner Bros. Discovery that produces and distributes animation, will significantly expand Webtoon Entertainment Inc.'s animation pipeline through this partnership. Currently, two Korean originals—'The Stellar Swordmaster' and 'Down to Earth'—and two English originals—'Elf & Warrior' among them—have been selected for the project, with additional titles to be announced in the future. Junkoo Kim, CEO of Webtoon Entertainment Inc. and WEBTOON, stated, “This quarter, in addition to our collaboration with Disney, we continued to innovate our platform by offering new storytelling formats and viewing experiences, and successfully launched IP Businesses that have attracted global attention. Based on the achievements and experience WEBTOON has built over the past 20 years, we will continue to pursue sustainable growth.”

yjjoe@fnnews.com Jo Yoon-joo Reporter