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WEBTOON Entertainment Inc
(NASDAQ:WBTN)
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Rating:53Neutral
Price Target:
$11.50
▼(-5.74% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:06/05/26
The score is held back mainly by weak financial performance (losses and a steep TTM revenue drop) and a soft technical setup (trading below key moving averages). Offsetting factors include a strong, low-debt balance sheet and an earnings call that highlighted improving margins/adjusted EBITDA with guidance pointing to a gradual revenue re-acceleration, though user and Japan/IP volatility remain notable risks.
Positive Factors
Strong balance sheet and low leverage
Very low leverage and a cash-rich position (~$595M) provide durable financial flexibility to fund content, creator investments and international expansion without immediate refinancing risk. This supports multi-quarter reinvestment cycles and cushions against revenue volatility while enabling strategic partnerships and M&A optionality.
Negative Factors
Material revenue decline and persistent negative margins
A steep TTM revenue drop and sustained negative net margins reduce operating leverage and constrain the company's ability to self-fund growth. Persisting losses mean equity capital must absorb operating shortfalls and the company needs durable top-line recovery to justify continued creator and product investments without eroding returns.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Strong balance sheet and low leverage
Very low leverage and a cash-rich position (~$595M) provide durable financial flexibility to fund content, creator investments and international expansion without immediate refinancing risk. This supports multi-quarter reinvestment cycles and cushions against revenue volatility while enabling strategic partnerships and M&A optionality.
Read all positive factors
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc (WBTN) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$1.54B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)399.51K
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)1.55
Revenue Growth2.26%
EPS Growth-89.16%
CountryUS
Employees1,800
SectorTechnology
Sector Strength88
IndustrySoftware - Application
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-2.55
Shares Outstanding135,234,730
10 Day Avg. Volume426,872
30 Day Avg. Volume399,512
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.04
Price to Book (P/B)1.45
Price to Sales (P/S)1.23
P/FCF Ratio-253.36
Enterprise Value/Market Cap0.64
Enterprise Value/Revenue0.72
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit2.96
Enterprise Value/Ebitda-2.90
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$12.25Price Target Upside0.41% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering4
EPS Forecast (FY)-0.11
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.41B
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. manages a global digital platform dedicated to narratives. This platform cultivates an active community, empowering both content creators and readers to find, develop, and distribute original stories. Its primary offerin...
How the Company Makes Money
WEBTOON Entertainment monetizes its platforms primarily through a mix of paid digital content and advertising. A key revenue stream is consumer spending on premium access to episodes (e.g., paying to unlock chapters early or access certain paid ep...
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:May 11, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Aug 06, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presented a mix of encouraging profitability and product/strategy progress alongside short-term user and revenue headwinds. Positives include meaningful gross margin expansion (+390 bps), strong adjusted EBITDA improvement (+132%), narrowed net loss, robust paid-content momentum in Korea (paid content +13.9% constant currency), progress on CANVAS globalization and AI translation, five Disney title launches and a healthy cash position (~$595M). Offsetting these gains are declines in MAU (-5.9%), continued volatility in IP adaptations (revenue -22.2% YoY), Japan user and MPU weakness, and modest near-term EBITDA guidance for Q2. Management is investing in creators, product (AI and CANVAS), and Japan infrastructure with the stated objective of returning to double-digit revenue growth by year-end, which supports an overall constructive outlook despite near-term execution risks.Positive Updates
Revenue and Constant Currency Performance
Reported Q1 revenue of $320.9 million, a 1.5% decline year-over-year but a 0.2% increase on a constant currency basis (within prior guidance range), driven by paid content and advertising growth offset by IP adaptation timing.
Negative Updates
Overall MAU Decline and Bot Traffic Adjustment
Global MAU declined 5.9% in Q1. Management detected a spike in automated web traffic (bots) in certain noncore markets and excluded such users from MAU starting this quarter, contributing to reported MAU declines and indicating underlying user-authenticity issues.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Revenue and Constant Currency Performance
Reported Q1 revenue of $320.9 million, a 1.5% decline year-over-year but a 0.2% increase on a constant currency basis (within prior guidance range), driven by paid content and advertising growth offset by IP adaptation timing.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
WEBTOON guided Q2 2026 revenue of $332–$342 million, implying constant‑currency growth of +1.7% to +4.6% year‑over‑year, and forecast adjusted EBITDA of $0–$5 million (an adjusted EBITDA margin of 0.0%–1.5%); management said it will continue investing in creators, content and users, expects advertising and Japan trends to improve through the year, and reiterated a goal to return to double‑digit revenue growth by Q4 2026. For context, Q1 results were revenue $320.9M (‑1.5% reported, +0.2% CC), gross margin 25.9% (up 390 bps), adjusted EBITDA $9.5M (up 132% YoY), adjusted EPS $0.07, net loss $8.8M, and cash of $595M (+ $11M short‑term deposits).WEBTOON Entertainment Inc Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
34
Negative
Balance Sheet
74
Positive
Cash Flow
56
Neutral
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 1.38B | 1.38B | 1.35B | 1.28B | 1.08B |
| Gross Profit | 333.62M | 322.18M | 339.07M | 295.49M | 273.01M |
| EBITDA | -341.05M | -353.92M | -113.09M | -96.81M | -82.58M |
| Net Income | -332.99M | -345.93M | -143.91M | -116.45M | -129.87M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 1.59B | 1.60B | 1.94B | 1.78B | 2.02B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 594.85M | 581.81M | 598.73M | 251.62M | 279.71M |
| Total Debt | 20.35M | 23.67M | 17.24M | 33.44M | 53.56M |
| Total Liabilities | 358.51M | 367.24M | 378.87M | 429.13M | 505.13M |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.18B | 1.17B | 1.47B | 1.25B | 1.38B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 7.79M | -6.70M | 4.73M | -7.54M | -161.80M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 18.02M | 11.22M | 17.88M | 14.80M | -140.61M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -6.21M | -7.50M | -17.28M | -51.98M | -50.70M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 34.07M | 1.47M | 353.87M | -6.50M | 350.34M |
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc Technical Analysis
Negative
12.20
Price Trends
12.05
Negative
11.20
Positive
13.27
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.18
Positive
50.04
Neutral
24.42
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For WBTN, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 12.2 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 11.57, above the 50-day MA of 12.05, and below the 200-day MA of 13.27, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.18 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 50.04 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 24.42 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for WBTN.
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc Risk Analysis
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc disclosed 74 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. WEBTOON Entertainment Inc reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
68 Neutral | $829.66M | 89.39 | 16.65% | ― | 18.15% | 331.16% | |
61 Neutral | $37.18B | 12.37 | -10.20% | 1.83% | 8.50% | -7.62% | |
54 Neutral | $417.38M | -0.50 | -110.37% | ― | -11.42% | -20.07% | |
53 Neutral | $1.54B | -4.51 | -24.91% | ― | 2.26% | -89.16% | |
52 Neutral | $229.48M | -9.15 | -10.61% | ― | -9.70% | 61.30% | |
51 Neutral | $13.05M | -0.33 | -106.67% | ― | -34.19% | 40.60% |
* Technology Sector Average
WBTN
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc
11.42
2.14
23.06%
SMRT
SmartRent
1.19
0.16
15.53%
DSP
Viant Technology
12.66
-0.65
-4.88%
CXAI
CXApp
0.19
-0.82
-81.58%
BMBL
Bumble
3.20
-3.61
-53.01%
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc Corporate Events
Executive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
WEBTOON Shareholders Approve Directors, Pay and Auditor
Positive
Jun 4, 2026
On June 3, 2026, WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, with approximately 95.2% of the company’s voting power represented in person or by proxy, constituting a quorum. Shareholders elected three nominees...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
WEBTOON Entertainment Announces Key Executive Leadership Changes
Neutral
Apr 13, 2026
On April 13, 2026, WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. reported a series of leadership changes, including the April 10, 2026 resignation of Chief Technology Officer Chankyu Park, who will stay through the end of May 2026 to support a transition before movi...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
WEBTOON CEO Relocates to U.S. with Housing Support
Positive
Mar 30, 2026
On March 26, 2026, WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.’s Board of Directors approved a housing assistance policy for the Chief Executive Officer tied to the relocation of the CEO’s primary residence from Korea to the United States for business ...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
WEBTOON Names Yongsoo Kim President to Drive Expansion
Positive
Mar 5, 2026
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. announced that on March 2, 2026, its board appointed Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global WEBTOON Yongsoo Kim as President and expanded the board to nine members, adding him as a Class I director with a term through...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.