Kyobo Securities forecast on the 30th that Krafton (KOSPI: 259960) will surpass market consensus on both revenue and operating profit for the second quarter of 2026, reiterating a "Buy" rating and a target price of 390,000 won.
The brokerage estimates Krafton's second-quarter revenue at 1.254 trillion won, up 89.4% year on year, with operating profit of 420.5 billion won, a rise of 70.9%. Both figures comfortably exceed the market consensus of 1.12 trillion won in revenue and 320.8 billion won in operating profit.
PC revenue is projected at 494.7 billion won, up 125.2% year on year. The newly released title Subnautica 2, launched in the second quarter, sold four million copies within five days of release and is estimated to have contributed approximately 215 billion won in revenue. PUBG PC revenue is also expected to grow 31.8% year on year, driven by the impact of content updates including a collaboration with Stellar Blade and Harley-Davidson.
Mobile revenue is forecast at 459.6 billion won, up 7.5%, supported by steady traffic across Greater China, the Middle East and India, as well as the consolidation effect of Neptune — a Korean mobile game developer acquired by Krafton — which was brought onto the group's books in the third quarter of last year.
Looking further ahead, Kyobo Securities expects Krafton to enter a phase of broad-based expansion from 2027. Key growth drivers identified include the expansion of game genres built on PUBG's existing modes, the launch of new titles using the PUBG intellectual property in fresh genres, and a strengthening of both first- and second-party publishing.
At Gamescom in August, Krafton plans to unveil a total of five titles: one unannounced game based on the PUBG IP, NO LAW (developed by Neon Giant), and three second-party publishing titles. Approximately ten original titles and three second-party publishing games are now considered within launch range for the second half of 2026 through 2027.
For the full year 2026, Kyobo Securities projects revenue of 4.871 trillion won, up 46.4%, and operating profit of 1.479 trillion won, up 40.3%. Based on the current share price of 223,500 won, the target price implies an upside of 74.5%.