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0001997859false00019978592025-05-132025-05-13

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 13, 2025
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Delaware 001-42144 81-3830533
(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation)
(Commission File Number) (IRS Employer
Identification No.)
5700 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 220
Los Angeles, California
90036
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (323) 424-3795
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
☐    Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐    Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading
Symbol(s)
Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share WBTN Nasdaq Global Select Market
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐



Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.
On May 13, 2025, WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (the "Company") issued a press release and a letter to shareholders (the "Shareholder Letter") announcing its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025. Copies of the press release and Shareholder Letter are furnished as Exhibit 99.1 and Exhibit 99.2, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated herein by reference.
The information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.2 attached hereto, is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any other filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d)The following exhibits are being filed herewith:
Exhibit No. Description
99.1
99.2
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the inline XBRL document)



SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.
Date: May 13, 2025 By: /s/ David J. Lee
Name: David J. Lee
Title: Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer

EX-99.1 2 wbtn-20250513xexx991.htm EX-99.1 Document

WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. Reports First Quarter 2025 Financial Results
Delivered Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA in the top end of Guidance Range
First Quarter Revenue Growth Roughly Flat Year-Over-Year; Revenue Growth on a Constant Currency Basis of 5.3%
Net Loss of $22.0 Million; Adjusted EBITDA of $4.1 Million
Strong Balance Sheet With Cash and Cash Equivalents of Approximately $550.1 Million and No Debt
LOS ANGELES, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq: WBTN) (“WEBTOON Entertainment” or “the Company”), a leading global entertainment company and home to some of the world’s largest storytelling platforms, today announced results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2025. More information about these results can be found in the Company’s shareholder letter on the investor relations section of its website.
First Quarter 2025 Highlights (vs. First Quarter 2024)
•Total revenue of $325.7 million declined 0.3%, driven by decline in Paid Content, partially offset by growth in Advertising and IP Adaptations.
•Revenue on a constant currency basis was $343.8 million, growing 5.3%, driven by growth in all three revenue streams.
•Net Loss was $22.0 million, compared to Net Income of $6.2 million in the prior year, driven by higher general & administrative expenses due to costs associated with being a public company, and higher marketing expense.
•Adjusted EBITDA was $4.1 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $22.2 million in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 1.3%, compared to 6.8% in the prior year.
•Diluted loss per share was $0.17, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.06 in the prior year.
•Adjusted earnings per share was $0.03, compared to Adjusted EPS of $0.20 in the prior year.
•Cash and cash equivalents of approximately $550.1 million plus another $28.1 million of short-term deposits included in Other current assets.

Junkoo Kim, Founder and CEO, said, “We are pleased to report both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA above the midpoint of our guidance. Total revenue was up 5.3% on a constant currency basis, with all three revenue streams – Paid Content, Advertising, and IP Adaptations – contributing to growth.”
Kim continued, “In Q1, we started to implement a number of important product enhancements to our English-language platform, including improved, AI-powered discovery features, allowing users to spend more time enjoying a story and less time searching for one. We were also thrilled to bring major global franchises like ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ to our platform. We look forward to continuing to expand our diverse content library and connecting more fans with the stories they love in a whole new way.”
Second Quarter 2025 Outlook
For the second quarter 2025, the Company expects:
•Revenue growth on a constant currency basis in the range of 2.2%-5.2%. This represents revenue in the range of $335-$345 million, based on current FX rates.
•Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $0.5-$5.5 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA Margin in the range of 0.1%-1.6%.
Conference Call & Webcast Details
As previously disclosed, the Company will host a webcast and conference call on May 13, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss the Company’s financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

A live webcast of the conference call will be available online at https://ir.webtoon.com/.




For those unable to listen to the live webcast, an archived version will be available at the same location for up to one year.  
About WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.

WEBTOON Entertainment is a leading global entertainment company and home to some of the world's largest storytelling platforms. As the global leader and pioneer of the mobile webcomic format, WEBTOON Entertainment has transformed comics and visual storytelling for fans and creators.

With its CANVAS UGC platform empowering anyone to become a creator, and a growing roster of superstar WEBTOON Originals creators and series, WEBTOON Entertainment’s passionate fandoms are the new face of pop culture. WEBTOON Entertainment's adaptations are available on Netflix, Prime Video, Crunchyroll and other screens around the world, and the company’s content partners include Discord, HYBE and DC Comics, among many others.

With approximately 150 million monthly active users, WEBTOON Entertainment’s IP & Creator Ecosystem of aligned brands and platforms include WEBTOON, Wattpad – the world’s leading webnovel platform – Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, Studio N, Studio LICO, WEBTOON Unscrolled, LINE Manga and eBookJapan, among others.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements cover all matters which are not historical facts and include, without limitation, statements or guidance regarding or relating to our future financial position, results of operations and growth, plans and objectives for future capabilities, ability to attract users in both our core and underpenetrated geographies, ability to grow our Paid Content, Advertising and IP Adaptations businesses, our financial condition and liquidity, and other statements concerning the success of our business and strategies. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. They are not assurances of future performance and are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: weakness in the economy, market trends, uncertainty and other conditions in the markets in which we operate, and other geopolitical or macroeconomic factors beyond our control; inability to attract, empower, properly support or incentivize our creators; inability to retain, attract and engage with our users; inability to anticipate, understand and appropriately respond to market trends and changing user preferences; failure to retain or increase our paying users; failure to effectively operate in highly competitive markets; inability to innovate and expand our Advertising business; inability to continue to diversify our monetization strategy or to increase revenues from IP Adaptations; failure to control our content-related costs; exposure to significant legal proceedings and regulatory investigations which may result in significant expenses, fines and reputational damage; failure to provide a safe online environment for children; exposure to claims that we violated third parties’ intellectual property rights; failure to obtain, maintain, protect or enforce our proprietary and intellectual property rights; rise of conflicts of interests with NAVER Corporation, our majority stockholder; and other risks and uncertainties set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed by the Company with the SEC on March 11, 2025, and in other filings we make with the SEC in the future.
Additionally, forward-looking statements regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. Other than in accordance with our legal or regulatory obligations, we undertake no obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.






Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions
This release contains certain financial information that is not presented in conformity with U.S. GAAP. These non-GAAP measures include Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Earnings Per Share (Adjusted EPS), revenue on a constant currency basis and revenue growth on a constant currency basis.
We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide users of the Company’s financial information with additional meaningful information to assist in understanding financial results and assessing the Company’s performance from period to period. Management believes these measures are important indicators of operations because they exclude items that may not be indicative of our core operating results and provide a better baseline for analyzing trends in our underlying businesses, and they are consistent with how business performance is planned, reported and assessed internally by management and the board of directors of the Company. Our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation, or as substitutes for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP measures have limitations as they do not reflect all the amounts associated with our results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP, and should only be used to evaluate our results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding or most directly comparable GAAP measures. We strongly encourage investors and shareholders to review our financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure.
A reconciliation is provided at the end of this release for each historical non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We encourage investors and shareholders to review the related U.S. GAAP financial measures and the reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business. We do not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis because we are unable to predict with reasonable certainty or without unreasonable effort non-recurring items that may arise in the future.
Adjusted EBITDA: We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), adjusted to remove the impact of interest income, interest expense, income tax expense (credit) and depreciation and amortization, with further adjustments to eliminate the effects of loss on equity method investments, effect of applying the valuation method of fair value through profit or loss, impairment of goodwill, non-cash stock-based compensation and certain other non-recurring costs.
Adjusted EBITDA Margin: We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue.
Adjusted Earnings Per Share (Adjusted EPS): We define Adjusted Earnings Per Share as Earnings Per Share before interest expense, interest income, income tax expense and depreciation and amortization with further adjustments to eliminate the effects of loss on equity method investments, effect of applying the valuation method of fair value through profit or loss, impairment of goodwill, non-cash stock-based compensation and certain other non-recurring costs. We calculate Adjusted Earnings Per Share by making the adjustments described herein from Net Income (Loss) and dividing by basic and diluted weighted average shares of common stock outstanding, respectively, for the applicable period.
Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis: We define revenue on a constant currency basis as revenue adjusted to remove the impact of foreign currency rate fluctuations and the impact of deconsolidated and transferred operations. We calculate revenue on a constant currency basis in a given period by applying the average currency exchange rates in the comparable period of the prior year to the local currency revenue in the current period. We calculate revenue on a constant currency basis in each of our revenue streams – Paid Content, Advertising and IP Adaptations – using the same method as laid out herein.
Revenue Growth on a Constant Currency Basis: We define revenue growth on a constant currency basis as period-over-period growth rates of revenue, adjusted to remove the impact of foreign currency rate fluctuations and the impact of deconsolidated and transferred operations. We calculate revenue growth (as a percentage) on a constant currency basis by determining the increase in current period revenue over prior period revenue, where current period foreign currency revenue is translated using prior period average currency exchange rates.






Financial Statements
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands of USD, except share and per share data)

As of
March 31, 2025 December 31, 2024
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 550,136  $ 572,402 
Receivables1, net of allowance for credit losses of $3,774 and $3,418 at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively
173,710  169,187 
Prepaid expenses and other current assets, net2
96,404  94,783 
Total current assets 820,250  836,372 
Property and equipment, net 3,826  3,782 
Operating lease right-of-use assets 26,973  16,649 
Debt and equity securities 73,124  70,178 
Intangible assets, net 177,575  180,912 
Goodwill, net 669,254  665,275 
Equity method investments 78,958  78,668 
Deferred tax assets 17,390  17,592 
Other non-current assets, net3
69,560  65,906 
Total assets $ 1,936,910  $ 1,935,334 
Liabilities and equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable4
$ 132,582  $ 127,306 
Accrued expenses5
58,937  62,209 
Current portion of operating lease liabilities6
8,007  6,053 
Contract liabilities 85,696  85,860 
Income tax payables - corporate tax 7,140  10,093 
Consumption taxes payables 5,014  8,339 
Provisions and defined pension benefits 11,954  11,133 
Other current liabilities 2,917  2,231 
Total current liabilities 312,247  313,224 
Non-current liabilities:
Long-term operating lease liabilities7
19,805  11,187 
Defined severance benefits 22,184  22,030 
Deferred tax liabilities 28,680  30,271 
Other non-current liabilities 1,442  2,161 
Total liabilities $ 384,358  $ 378,873 
Commitments and Contingencies
Redeemable non-controlling interest in subsidiary $ 36,784  $ 36,580 
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock, $0.0001 par value (2,000,000,000 authorized, 130,172,281 shares and 128,587,944 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively) $ 13  $ 13 
Additional paid-in capital 2,115,350  2,103,931 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (118,230) (124,620)



Accumulated deficit (529,586) (507,197)
Total stockholders' equity attributable to WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. 1,467,547  1,472,127 
Non-controlling interests in consolidated subsidiaries 48,221  47,754 
Total equity 1,515,768  1,519,881 
Total liabilities, redeemable non-controlling interest, and equity $ 1,936,910  $ 1,935,334 
1.Includes amounts due from related parties of $56,859 and $59,495 as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
2.Includes amounts due from related parties of $7,290 and $9,258 as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
3.Includes amounts due from related parties of $32,325 and $32,072 as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
4.Includes amounts due from related parties of $16,935 and $17,173 as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
5.Includes amounts due to related parties of $7,750 and $5,562 as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
6.Includes amounts due to related parties of $4,460 and as of $3,506 March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
7.Includes amounts due to related parties of $8,178 and $9,519 as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.



WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss
(unaudited)
(in thousands of USD, except share and per share data)
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2025 March 31, 2024
Revenue1
$ 325,707  $ 326,744 
Cost of revenue2
(254,096) (244,385)
Marketing3
(31,543) (19,478)
General and administrative expenses4
(66,702) (48,693)
Operating income (loss)
(26,634) 14,188 
Interest income 5,113  1,235 
Interest expense (2) (33)
Income (loss) on equity method investments, net (569) (1,052)
Other income (loss), net5
2,670  (1,437)
Income (loss) before income tax (19,422) 12,901 
Income tax benefit (expense) (2,547) (6,668)
Net income (loss) $ (21,969) $ 6,233 
Net income (loss) attributable to WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (22,389) 6,192 
Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests and redeemable non-controlling interests 420  41 
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax 6,572  (28,689)
Share of other comprehensive income (loss) of equity method investments, net of tax $ (143) $ (9)
Total other comprehensive loss, net of tax 6,429  (28,698)
Total comprehensive income (loss) $ (15,540) $ (22,465)
Total comprehensive income (loss) attributable to WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. $ (15,999) $ (22,506)
Total comprehensive income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests and redeemable non-controlling interests 459  41 
Weighted average shares outstanding
Basic 129,598,942 109,505,160
Diluted 129,598,942 109,564,500
Income (loss) per share attributable to WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.
Basic $ (0.17) $ 0.06 
Diluted $ (0.17) $ 0.06 
1.Includes amounts earned from related parties of $17,713 and $13,287 for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and March 31, 2024, respectively.
2.Includes amounts incurred from related parties of $28,131 and $8,954 for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024, respectively.
3.Includes amounts incurred from related parties of $(2,581) and $(1,905) for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024, respectively.
4.Includes amounts incurred from related parties of $6,913 and $6,428 for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024, respectively.
5.Includes amounts earned from related parties of $411 and $(206) for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024, respectively.



WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands of USD)
Three Months Ended March 31,
2025 2024
Operating activities:
Net Income (Loss) $ (21,969) $ 6,233 
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash used in operating activities:
Allowance for credit losses 443  660 
Depreciation and amortization 8,437  9,035 
Operating lease expense 1,985  2,794 
Loss (gain) on foreign currency, net (2,793) 2,601 
Deferred tax expense (1,143) (1,012)
Loss (Gain) on debt and equity securities, net 930  (3,371)
Loss on equity method investments, net 569  1,052 
Contingent consideration liability —  (849)
Stock-based compensation 18,253  1,311 
Other non-cash items (795) 1,540 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
Changes in receivables 750  (11,716)
Changes in other assets (2,250) (5,634)
Changes in accounts payable (2,801) 16,333 
Changes in accrued expenses (15,342) (13,466)
Changes in contract liabilities (1,450) 24,131 
Changes in other liabilities (700) (3,291)
Changes in operating lease liabilities (1,240) (2,503)
Transfer of severance benefits 464 
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $ (18,652) $ 23,856 
Investing activities:
Proceeds from maturities of short-term investments $ 3,446  $ 1,129 
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment 77  — 
Purchases of property and equipment (536) (472)
Purchases of debt and equity securities (3,789)
Payment made for short-term investments (4,824) (20,000)
Payment made for loan receivable (207) (98)
Purchases of intangible assets (2,444) (2,590)
Purchases of equity method investments —  (5,478)
Disposal of businesses, net of cash disposed —  (358)
Other investing activities 249  46 
Net cash used in investing activities $ (8,028) $ (27,816)
Financing activities:
Proceeds from stock option exercise $ 82  $ — 
Repayments of short-term borrowings —  (15)
Payment of contingent consideration related to business acquisition —  (842)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities $ 82  $ (857)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents $ 4,332  $ (8,258)
Cash and cash equivalents:
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $ (22,266) $ (13,075)



Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year 572,402  231,745 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year $ 550,136  $ 218,670 
Supplemental disclosure:
Income taxes paid $ 6,826  $ 11,785 
Reclassification of long-term advances to current (28,973) — 
Increase in right-of-use assets recognized from new lease agreements 12,007  — 



Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
In addition to adjustments for foreign exchange fluctuations, we have also further adjusted revenue to exclude the impacts of deconsolidated and transferred operations to show growth or loss exclusive of these changes ("Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis"). Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis is a Non-GAAP metric that management believes adds value but has its limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP.
The following table presents a reconciliation of revenue to revenue on a constant currency basis, and ARPPU to ARPPU on a constant currency basis, respectively, for each of the periods presented.
Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands of USD, except percentages) 2025 2024 Change
Total Revenue $ 325,707  $ 326,744  (0.3)%
Effect of deconsolidated and transferred operations (145) (100.0)%
Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 18,131  N/A
Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis $ 343,838  $ 326,599  5.3%
Paid Content Revenue 260,226  266,855  (2.5)%
Effect of deconsolidated and transferred operations (120) (100.0)%
Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 13,969  N/A
Paid Content Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis $ 274,195  $ 266,735  2.8%
Advertising Revenue 39,898  36,996  7.8%
Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 2,141  N/A
Advertising Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis $ 42,039  $ 36,996  13.6%
IP Adaptations Revenue 25,583  22,893  11.8%
Effect of deconsolidated and transferred operations (25) (100.0)%
Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 2,021  N/A
IP Adaptations Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis $ 27,604  $ 22,868  20.7%
Paid Content Average Revenue Per Paying User ("ARPPU")1
Korea paid content revenue $ 77,027  $ 90,943  (15.3)%
Korea ARPPU $ 7.5  $ 7.9  (5.3)%
Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 0.9  N/A
Korea ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis $ 8.4  $ 7.9  6.7%
Japan paid content revenue $ 150,401  $ 142,208  5.8%
Japan ARPPU $ 22.3  $ 22.2  0.6%
Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 0.6  N/A
Japan ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis $ 23.0  $ 22.2  3.5%
Rest of World paid content revenue $ 32,798  $ 33,704  (2.7)%
Rest of World ARPPU $ 6.5  $ 6.3  3.5%
Rest of World ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis $ 6.5  $ 6.3  3.5%
1ARPPU is calculated by taking Paid Content revenue and dividing it by the number of monthly paid users ("MPU") for such month, averaged over each month in the given period. ARPPU on a constant currency basis is calculated by dividing Paid Content revenue on a constant currency basis by the number of MPU for such month, averaged over each month in the given period. Where each metric is country specific, the numerator is Paid Content revenue on a constant currency basis by country and the denominator is users by country.
The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin for each of the periods presented.



Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands of USD, except percentages) 2025 2024
Net income (loss) $ (21,969) $ 6,233 
Plus (minus):
Interest income (5,113) (1,235)
Interest expense 33 
Income tax expense 2,547  6,668 
Depreciation and amortization 8,437  9,035 
EBITDA $ (16,096) $ 20,734 
Stock-based compensation expense(1)
17,035  2,226 
Restructuring and IPO-related costs(2)
1,642  1,516 
Loss (gain) on fair value instruments, net(3)
930  (3,371)
Loss on equity method investments, net(4)
569  1,052 
Adjusted EBITDA(5)
$ 4,080  $ 22,157 
Net income (loss) margin (6.7) % 1.9  %
Adjusted EBITDA Margin 1.3  % 6.8  %
Weighted average shares outstanding
Basic
129,598,942  109,505,160 
Diluted
129,598,942  109,564,500 
Earnings (loss) per share
Basic $ (0.17) $ 0.06 
Diluted $ (0.17) $ 0.06 
Adjusted EPS(6)
Basic $ 0.03  $ 0.20 
Diluted $ 0.03  $ 0.20 
(1)Represents stock-based compensation expense related to WEBTOON’s equity incentive plan and stock-based compensation plans of NAVER and Munpia, including amounts which are cash settled.
(2)Represents non-recurring expenses that we do not consider representative of the operating performance of the business. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, these amounts include legal fees and advisory fees. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, these amounts were comprised of financial advisory fees, consulting fees, severance fees, and office relocation fee.
(3)Represents unrealized net loss (gain) of financial assets measured at FVPL, which include the Company's equity investments.
(4)Represents our proportionate share of recognized losses associated with our investments accounted for using the equity method.
(5)Totals may not foot due to rounding.
(6)The numerator for Adjusted EPS is calculated by adjusting Net Income (Loss) by the same items in the Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation. The denominator for computing Adjusted EPS is the same as that used for Basic and Diluted EPS.




Contact Information
Investor Relations
Soohwan Kim, CFA
investor@webtoon.com
Edelman Smithfield for WEBTOON
Hunter Stenback & Ashley Firlan
webtoonIR@edelmansmithfield.com

Corporate Communications
Kiel Hume & Lauren Hopkinson
webtoonpress@webtoon.com

EX-99.2 3 final250512_2025q1xshare.htm EX-99.2 final250512_2025q1xshare
1 Q4 & FY 2024 Shareholder LetterNASDAQ: WBTN WEBTOON Entertainment Shareholder Letter WEBTOON Entertainment Q1 2025NASDAQ: WBTN


 
2 Dear Fellow Shareholders, We are pleased to start the new year with strong Q1 results, with both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA coming in at the top end of our guidance. While total revenue of $325.7 million was roughly flat year-over-year, mainly due to unfavorable foreign currency movements, it increased 5.3% on a constant currency basis. Net loss was $22.0 million in the quarter, compared to a net income of $6.2 million in the year prior, driven by higher general & administrative expenses due to public company costs, and higher marketing expense. Notably, our Adjusted EBITDA was $4.1 million, demonstrating the underlying profitability of our global platform. We were pleased to demonstrate continued solid ARPPU growth of 2.8%, or 8.4% on a constant currency basis, driven by growth across Korea, Japan, and Rest of World. We believe this demonstrates the value we are delivering to our existing users all over the world, who come to our platform to find and enjoy our content. Our flywheel is clearly driving our success as our results were supported by developments across the creator ecosystem, content, and our user base all working cohesively. Q1 2025 May 13, 2025


 
3 With AI-powered personalized recommendations, dynamic video content previews, and a new onboarding process to better understand user preferences, WEBTOON is making comic discovery more like browsing a streaming service from your living room. These new features make it easier than ever to find and fall in love with some of the world’s most captivating stories. We have a number of initiatives, spanning from new user onboarding to a revamp of the Home, Search, and “New & Hot” tabs, which form the core content discovery experience. This starts with our onboarding process that uses simple preference inputs to prevent irrelevant content from dominating a user’s first impression. Once we have some behavioral data, the Home tab starts to surface a personalized list of titles—whether it’s something you’ve never read, something you dropped, or something you’re actively following. In short, the Home tab will be your personalized content hub. Making Comic Discovery Easier As the category creator that built the popular webcomic format, innovation is at the core of what we do. We believe WEBTOON has already transformed how the world reads comics, and we believe we are today revolutionizing how our users engage with the platform and find their next favorite story. We have already built scaled operations in Korea and Japan. Building on that foundation, we see significant opportunities to expand our presence and brand awareness of our English-language platform, reaching more of the global consumers who we believe will fall in love with our content. WEBTOON’s English-language webcomic platform represents the largest percentage of webcomic MAU in Rest of World and we are making significant enhancements to this platform to drive growth in the rest of the world. Our English-language platform has performed well, with MAU increasing 19% during the first quarter. While we already have a large number of English language users, we are earlier in the process of establishing our flywheel in Rest of World. As a result, English webcomics have one of the highest proportions of light users as measured by the number of titles and number of episodes a user reads. This means many users come to our platform for just one or two specific titles. Our opportunity, and where we are laser focused, is on driving attachment to the platform by helping our users discover more content they’ll love and deepening their engagement over time. While users are deeply engaged with one favorite series, we want to encourage them to explore and discover additional stories to get the most out of the platform so even when their favorite title ends, they can remain engaged with us as they continue to read other content. With a library of millions of titles across our global ecosystem and a deep understanding of user preferences, we believe we are uniquely positioned to suggest new titles for users to read. Our ongoing goal is to turn light users into more engaged, multi-title readers—and ultimately, paying users. To achieve our vision, we are making product upgrades and introducing content that is already well- established and popular in other mediums.


 
4 We’re also upgrading the Search tab by introducing keyword-based search, making it easier for users to find titles using themes and keywords — not just exact matches. Supporting stronger discovery across WEBTOON’s massive library, improved search empowers fans to explore the wide variety of creators and series on the platform. In our last shareholder letter, we talked about ‘Highlights,’ which are short, trailer-style promotional videos for our content in select countries. We have since rebranded this feature as “New & Hot,” where users discover new and trending titles—using full-screen, trailer-style videos to create stronger engagement. This tab is not personalized, but rather focused on recency and trends, setting it apart from Home. We are confident that the upgrades we are making to our platform will make it easier for users to find and engage with the content they love. Turning to paid content, in the Q4 shareholder letter, we talked about a new paid content model that allows binge-readers to unlock the full series of select completed titles. This new option to unlock full series adds to WEBTOON’s popular Fast Pass and Daily Pass products, giving readers more control over how they consume content and expanding monetization opportunities for our creators. Since its launch in March, we’ve already seen a significant increase in revenue from this model. As a result of these product initiatives, we have already seen users in our test groups show a 9% increase in the number of episodes read. We are particularly encouraged to see this growth in engagement come from light users finding and reading new titles. Onboarding Search "New & Hot" When faced with a vast catalogue of content from around the world to choose from, it can be hard to know what to read next. We want our audience to spend their time enjoying a story, not looking for one.


 
5 Significant Reformat Launches Coming to the Platform WEBTOON has become the destination for comics of all kinds, including some of the biggest franchises in entertainment. Whether we’re helping new creators reach a global audience and build their fandom, or working with marquee publishers to bring beloved franchises to readers around the world, we’re committed to delivering the highest quality storytelling to our passionate community of readers. This year, we are strategically partnering with traditional comic publishers to bring some of the biggest franchises and titles in comics to our platform, reformatted for our unique mobile vertical scroll. We know there is a large segment of entertainment fans who love comic IP; and they have made comic franchises some of the biggest cinematic successes in the world. With our largest proportion of users being Gen Z and millennials, who are mobile-first, highly engaged users with increasing purchasing power, we believe we can bring new audiences from around the world to existing publisher titles. We have already found success with top comic publishers in the past. We partnered with Marvel Entertainment in 2022 to create the seven-part miniseries “Eternals: The 500 Year War,” based on the “Eternals” from Marvel Comics and prequel to the 2021 film. We also worked with DC Entertainment to create a series of standalone webcomics, including “Batman: Wayne Family Adventures” in 2021. That partnership brought popular characters from the DC Universe to our platform, with original stories and art from our creators. We view this as yet another way to engage with our users, bringing popular content to the WEBTOON platform. This year alone, we expect to launch a large number of reformatted works, starting in Q2 with key titles from IDW Publishing as well as bringing two major Japanese manga titles to our English-language platform. We are partnering with IDW Publishing to bring some of their most popular franchises to WEBTOON. This much-anticipated partnership will make WEBTOON’s English-language platform the exclusive digital home of newly reformatted webcomic versions of “Godzilla: Unnatural Disasters,” and readers can now find on our platform “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Locke & Key” (source material for the Netflix streaming series of the same name), and the Eisner Award-nominated “Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.” The first batch of titles from WEBTOON’s IDW slate launched on April 25, with additional titles coming soon. We are also pleased to bring two significant Japanese manga titles to our platform in May. “Fullmetal Alchemist” is one of the best-selling manga series of all time, having sold over 80 million copies worldwide. It has been adapted into anime as well as live-action films. The popular manga series “From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman,” adapted from the original light novel, has been reformatted into full color and optimized for WEBTOON’s vertical scroll format. The title is also currently streaming as an animated series on Amazon Prime.


 
6 Junkoo Kim Founder & CEO, WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. In Closing I’m proud of our continued progress, and energized about the path forward. WEBTOON is the category creator and global leader in the webcomic format, and we’re just getting started. The first quarter laid a strong foundation to the year, and we have many developments we’re encouraged about in 2025. I would like to thank the WEBTOON community - our team members, creators, users, and shareholders - for joining us on this journey. Innovation and growth are true to our core, and we are just as passionate as ever about democratizing storytelling by bringing comics and a new form of visual storytelling to the creator economy all around the world. Thank you for your continued support of our company and the joy that storytelling brings, Continued Success in IP Adaptations Our stories continue to turn into successful IP Adaptations globally. “Mala Influencia” recently launched on Netflix as an exclusive worldwide on May 9. Based on the Wattpad webnovel with 51 million reads, this film premiered in Spanish cinemas earlier this year. We are thrilled to continue building on our past Spanish-Language success. In Q1, we also announced a September theatrical run for the Spanish teen drama “Sigue Mi Voz,” after which it will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. The project is produced by our Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and based on a story by author Ariana Godoy, whose “Through My Window” Wattpad story became an international three-film phenomenon on Netflix. We have a significant pipeline of adaptations for the rest of the year and we look forward to sharing more in coming quarters. We’re thrilled to bring a new slate of world-class titles to WEBTOON. These partnerships represent an exciting step in expanding our diverse library and connecting more fans with the stories they love in a whole new way. We believe partnering with well-established IP will help expand our user acquisition in Rest of World. Importantly, this is not about replacing Originals, which remain the heart of WEBTOON. Rather, it’s about supplementing them, and insulating our platform from the natural fluctuations that result from a popular Originals title going on hiatus. The goal here is to diversify our content sources while continuing to elevate WEBTOON’s reputation and visibility in the market.


 
7 Adjusted EBITDA was $4.1 million, compared to $22.2 million in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 1.3%, compared to 6.8% in the prior year. Net loss was $22.0 million, compared to net income of $6.2 million in the prior year, driven by higher general & administrative expenses due to costs associated with being a public company and higher marketing expense. Total revenue of $325.7 million declined 0.3% driven by a decline in Paid Content, partially offset by growth in Advertising and IP Adaptations. Diluted loss per share was $0.17, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.06 in the prior year. Adjusted earnings per share was $0.03, compared to Adjusted EPS of $0.20 in the prior year. Cash and cash equivalents of approximately $550.1 million plus another $28.1 million of short-term deposits included in Other current assets. Revenue on a constant currency basis was $343.8 million, growing 5.3%, driven by growth in all three revenue streams. • Paid Content revenue declined 2.5%, but grew 2.8% on a constant currency basis, driven by ongoing strength in Japan, offset by declines in Korea and Rest of World. • Advertising revenue grew 7.8%, or 13.6% on a constant currency basis, primarily driven by double-digit revenue growth in Korea and Japan, offset by a single-digit revenue decline in Rest of World. Strong performance in Korea was supported by increased ad sales from NAVER while ad sales from other partners were relatively consistent. • IP Adaptations revenue grew 11.8%, or 20.7% on a constant currency basis, driven by double- digit revenue growth on a constant currency basis in Korea and triple-digit revenue growth on a constant currency basis in Japan, offset by a double-digit revenue decline on a constant currency basis in Rest of World. Financial Update First Quarter 2025 (vs. First Quarter 2024)


 
8 $266.7 $274.2 $37.0 $42.0 $22.9 $27.6 $326.6 $343.8 1Q24 1Q25 $11.5 $12.4 1Q24 1Q25 7.8 7.4 1Q24 1Q25 171.3 153.3 1Q24 1Q25 Consolidated Global Results GLOBAL REVENUE CC ($M) GLOBAL MPU (M) GLOBAL MAU (M) Global ARPPU CC ($) Paid Content Revenue CC Advertising Revenue CC IP Revenue CC MPU Paying ratio - 10.5% 5.3% +8.4% WEBTOON Entertainment’s total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025 declined 0.3% to $325.7 million, compared to $326.7 million in the prior year, driven by a decline in Paid Content, partially offset by growth in Advertising and IP Adaptations. On a constant currency basis, this translated to growth of 5.3%. In Paid Content, first quarter revenue of $260.2 million declined 2.5%, but grew 2.8% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year. This was driven by ongoing strength in Japan, offset by declines in Korea and Rest of World. 4.5% 4.8% Global Revenue CC


 
9 $82.4 $71.6 1Q24 1Q25 $48.7 $66.7 1Q24 1Q25 During the first quarter, total MAU of 153.3 million declined 10.5% while MPU of 7.4 million decreased 5.2% compared to the first quarter of the prior year. This was primarily due to pressure on Rest of World MAU due to a Wattpad security upgrade in January which temporarily affected search engine indexing. While we promptly addressed these settings, we expect to see the impact for another quarter. As we have discussed for the past two quarters, Wattpad also continues to be impacted by a government ban in one country, and we are actively working to address concerns expressed by the government. As we discussed last quarter, we remain focused on driving app users, who are more engaged and present better monetization opportunities. We saw growth in webcomic app MAU of 4.2% in the first quarter, excluding webnovel users. Advertising revenue in the first quarter grew 7.8%, or 13.6% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year. This strong performance was driven by double-digit constant currency revenue growth in Korea and Japan. In Korea, this growth was the result of increased ad sales from NAVER while ad sales from other partners were relatively consistent. Japan’s growth was driven by achievement-based ads and pre-roll ads. And in Rest of World, the decline was primarily driven by a decline in Wattpad revenue. IP Adaptations revenue in the first quarter grew 11.8%, or 20.7% on a constant currency basis, compared to the prior year, driven by double-digit revenue growth on a constant currency basis in Korea and triple-digit revenue growth on a constant currency basis in Japan, offset by double-digit revenue decline on a constant currency basis in Rest of World. We remain optimistic about the pipeline of entertainment projects in all our regions. Gross Profit Gross Profit % +37.0% 25.2% 22.0% GLOBAL G&A ($M) GLOBAL GROSS PROFIT ($M) Gross profit declined 13.0% in the first quarter to $71.6 million from $82.4 million in the prior year. This resulted in a gross margin of 22.0%, compared to 25.2% in the prior year. There were one time impacts from a larger stock-based compensation (“SBC”) expense recognized in Cost of Revenue as well as a true-up accrual for Japan creator revenue share from the prior year. In addition, free coin marketing expenses in Korea were moved from Marketing to Cost of Revenue starting in Q1.


 
10 0.20 0.03 $22.2 $4.1 Net loss for the first quarter was $22.0 million, compared to a net profit of $6.2 million last year. This was primarily due to higher general & administrative expenses due to costs associated with being a public company and higher marketing expense. Excluding adjustments and other non-recurring costs, the Company posted a first quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $4.1 million, compared to $22.2 million in the prior year. As a result, first quarter diluted loss per share was $0.17, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.06 in the prior year period, and adjusted earnings per share was $0.03, compared to Adjusted EPS of $0.20 in the prior year period. Adj. EBITDA Margin Adj. EBITDA (Non-GAAP) ($M) ADJUSTED EPS ($) 6.8% 1.3% Total general & administrative expenses in the first quarter were $66.7 million, compared to $48.7 million in the prior year. The increase was driven primarily by costs associated with being a public company. Interest income for the quarter was $5.1 million, compared to $1.2 million in the prior year, and other income for the quarter was $2.7 million, compared to a loss of $1.4 million in the prior year period. Income tax expense was $2.5 million in the quarter, compared to $6.7 million in the prior year. Depreciation and amortization for the quarter was $8.4 million, compared to $9.0 million in the prior year. $48.7 $66.7 1Q24 1Q25 $48.7 $66.7 1Q24 1Q25


 
11 3.8 3.4 1Q24 1Q25 $7.9 $8.4 1Q24 1Q25 27.0 24.2 1Q24 1Q25 $126.7 $131.2 1Q24 1Q25 +6.7% KOREA MPU (M) KOREA ARPPU CC ($) MPU Paying ratio Korea’s total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $117.7 million compared to $126.8 million in the prior year, primarily driven by unfavorable foreign currency movements. Revenue grew 3.6% on a constant currency basis. This revenue growth was driven by double-digit constant currency revenue growth in Advertising and IP Adaptations, offset by single-digit constant currency decline in Paid Content. In the first quarter, Korea MAU of 24.2 million decreased 10.3% year-over-year while MPU of 3.4 million declined 10.6% year-over-year. First quarter Paying Ratio of 14.2% was consistent with prior year. First quarter ARPPU declined 5.3% year-over-year to $7.5 on a reported basis, but increased on a constant currency basis by 6.7%. Starting January 1, 2025, NAVER adjusted their methodology for measuring MAU in Korea. Korea is the only region where NAVER serves as a source of our MAU data. NAVER recently adjusted their methodology for identifying and counting web users for all of their services. This change is only related to web MAU in Korea. There is no change in the app MAU numbers, and MPU and ARPPU are also unaffected. All the other regions are reporting their metrics in the same way as previous quarters. Please see the table below for a reconciliation with previously reported MAU in Korea. Korea Performance By Location KOREA REVENUE CC ($M) KOREA MAU (M) +3.6% -10.3% -10.6% 14.2% 14.2%


 
12 $22.2 $23.0 1Q24 1Q25 2.1 2.2 1Q24 1Q25 21.1 21.9 1Q24 1Q25 $154.4 $169.0 1Q24 1Q25 +3.7 % JAPAN REVENUE CC ($M) JAPAN MAU (M) JAPAN MPU (M) JAPAN ARPPU CC ($) MPU Paying ratio +3.5 % Japan +9.4% +5.2% 10.1% 10.3% Japan’s total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 6.4% to $164.3 million, compared to $154.4 million in the prior year. Revenue grew 9.4% on a constant currency basis. This revenue growth was driven by single-digit constant currency revenue growth in Paid Content, double-digit constant currency revenue growth in Advertising, and triple-digit constant currency revenue growth in IP Adaptations. In the first quarter, Japan's MAU increased 3.7% year-over-year to 21.9 million. First quarter MPU of 2.2 million achieved growth of 5.2% year-over-year, while the region’s Paying Ratio of 10.3% was up 14 basis points year-over-year. LINE Manga was the number one overall app for revenue including mobile games, according to Sensor Tower. First quarter ARPPU of $22.3 increased 0.6% year-over-year on a reported basis and grew 3.5% on a constant currency basis.


 
13 $6.3 $6.5 1Q24 1Q25 1.8 1.7 1Q24 1Q25 123.2 107.3 1Q24 1Q25 $45.5 $43.7 1Q24 1Q25 ROW REVENUE CC ($M) ROW MAU (M) -12.9 % Rest of World -4.0% -5.9% Rest of World’s total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025 declined 4.0% to $43.7 million, compared to $45.5 million in the prior year. Revenue declined 4.0% on a constant currency basis, driven by declines in Paid Content, Advertising, and IP Adaptations. In the first quarter, Rest of World MAU of 107.3 million decreased 12.9% year-over-year and MPU of 1.7 million declined 5.9% year-over-year. Wattpad web MAU was impacted by a change in security setting we referenced earlier. Paying Ratio of 1.6% was up 12 basis points year-over-year and ARPPU of $6.5 increased 3.5% year- over-year on a reported and constant currency basis. ROW MPU (M) ROW ARPPU CC ($) MPU Paying ratio +3.5% 1.5% 1.6%


 
14 For the second quarter 2025, the Company expects: • Revenue growth on a constant currency basis in the range of 2.2%-5.2%. This represents revenue in the range of $335-$345 million, based on current FX rates. • Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $0.5-$5.5 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA Margin in the range of 0.1%-1.6%. Guidance Second Quarter 2025 Outlook About WEBTOON Entertainment WEBTOON Entertainment is a leading global entertainment company and home to some of the world's largest storytelling platforms. As the global leader and pioneer of the mobile webcomic format, WEBTOON Entertainment has transformed comics and visual storytelling for fans and creators. With its CANVAS UGC platform empowering anyone to become a creator, and a growing roster of superstar WEBTOON Originals creators and series, WEBTOON Entertainment’s passionate fandoms are the new face of pop culture. WEBTOON Entertainment’s adaptations are available on Netflix, Prime Video, Crunchyroll, and other screens around the world, and the company’s content partners include Discord, HYBE and DC Comics, among many others. With approximately 150 million monthly active users, WEBTOON Entertainment’s IP & Creator Ecosystem of aligned brands and platforms include WEBTOON, Wattpad--the world’s leading webnovel platform--Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, Studio N, Studio LICO, WEBTOON Unscrolled, LINE Manga, and eBookJapan, among others. Conference Call & Webcast Details As previously disclosed, the Company will host a webcast and conference call on May 13, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss the Company’s financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2025. A live webcast of the conference call will be available online at https://ir.webtoon.com/. For those unable to listen to the live webcast, an archived version will be available at the same location for up to one year.


 
15 Forward-Looking Statements This letter contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements cover all matters which are not historical facts and include, without limitation, statements or guidance regarding or relating to our future financial position, results of operations and growth, plans and objectives for future capabilities, ability to attract users in both our core and underpenetrated geographies, ability to grow our Paid Content, Advertising and IP Adaptations businesses, our financial condition and liquidity, and other statements concerning the success of our business and strategies. Forward- looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. They are not assurances of future performance and are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the forward-looking statements contained in this letter are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: weakness in the economy, market trends, uncertainty and other conditions in the markets in which we operate, and other geopolitical or macroeconomic factors beyond our control; inability to attract, empower, properly support or incentivize our creators; inability to retain, attract and engage with our users; inability to anticipate, understand and appropriately respond to market trends and changing user preferences; failure to retain or increase our paying users; failure to effectively operate in highly competitive markets; inability to innovate and expand our Advertising business; inability to continue to diversify our monetization strategy or to increase revenues from IP Adaptations; failure to control our content-related costs; exposure to significant legal proceedings and regulatory investigations which may result in significant expenses, fines and reputational damage; failure to provide a safe online environment for children; exposure to claims that we violated third parties’ intellectual property rights; failure to obtain, maintain, protect or enforce our proprietary and intellectual property rights; rise of conflicts of interests with NAVER Corporation, our majority stockholder; and other risks and uncertainties set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed by the Company with the SEC on March 11, 2025, and in other filings we make with the SEC in the future. Additionally, forward-looking statements regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. Other than in accordance with our legal or regulatory obligations, we undertake no obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. A Note About Key Business Metrics We define MAU as users based on each device logged in and each offering accessed from a single device and may include the same individual user multiple times if the user is logged in from multiple devices or if the user accesses multiple offerings from one device.


 
16 Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions This letter contains certain financial information that is not presented in conformity with U.S. GAAP. These non-GAAP measures include Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Earnings Per Share (Adjusted EPS), revenue on a constant currency basis and revenue growth on a constant currency basis. We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide users of the Company’s financial information with additional meaningful information to assist in understanding financial results and assessing the Company’s performance from period to period. Management believes these measures are important indicators of operations because they exclude items that may not be indicative of our core operating results and provide a better baseline for analyzing trends in our underlying businesses, and they are consistent with how business performance is planned, reported and assessed internally by management and the board of directors of the Company. Our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation, or as substitutes for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP measures have limitations as they do not reflect all the amounts associated with our results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP, and should only be used to evaluate our results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding or most directly comparable GAAP measures. We strongly encourage investors and shareholders to review our financial statements and publicly filed report in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. A reconciliation is provided at the end of this shareholder letter for each historical non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We encourage investors and shareholders to review the related U.S. GAAP financial measures and the reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business. We do not provide a reconciliation of forward- looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis because we are unable to predict with reasonable certainty or without unreasonable effort non-recurring items that may arise in the future. Adjusted EBITDA: We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), adjusted to remove the impact of interest income, interest expense, income tax expense (benefit) and depreciation and amortization with further adjustments to eliminate the effects of loss on equity method investments, effect of applying the valuation method of fair value through profit or loss, impairment of goodwill, non-cash stock-based compensation and certain other non-recurring costs. Adjusted EBITDA Margin: We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue. Adjusted Earnings Per Share (Adjusted EPS): We define Adjusted Earnings Per Share as Earnings Per Share before interest expense, interest income, income tax expense and depreciation and amortization with further adjustments to eliminate the effects of loss on equity method investments, effect of applying the valuation method of fair value through profit or loss, impairment of goodwill, non-cash stock-based compensation We define MPU as users who have paid to access Paid Content in the applicable calendar month, averaged over each month in the given period. We define Paying Ratio as the ratio of MPU divided by MAU for the respective periods. We define Paid Content ARPPU as average Paid Content revenue in a given month divided by the number of MPU for such month, averaged over each month in the given period.


 
17 and certain other nonrecurring costs. We calculate Adjusted Earnings Per Share by making the adjustments described herein from Net Income (Loss) and dividing by basic and diluted weighted average shares of common stock outstanding, respectively, for the applicable period. Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis: We define revenue on a constant currency basis as revenue adjusted to remove the impact of foreign currency rate fluctuations and the impact of deconsolidated and transferred operations. We calculate revenue on a constant currency basis in a given period by applying the average currency exchange rates in the comparable period of the prior year to the local currency revenue in the current period. We calculate revenue on a constant currency basis in each of our revenue streams – Paid Content, Advertising and IP Adaptations – using the same method as laid out herein. Revenue Growth on a Constant Currency Basis: We define revenue growth on a constant currency basis as period-over-period growth rates of revenue, adjusted to remove the impact of foreign currency rate fluctuations and the impact of deconsolidated and transferred operations. We calculate revenue growth (as a percentage) on a constant currency basis by determining the increase in current period revenue over prior period revenue, where current period foreign currency revenue is translated using prior period average currency exchange rates. ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis: We define Paid Content ARPPU on a constant currency basis as average Paid Content revenue on a constant currency basis in a given month divided by the number of MPU for such month, averaged over each month in the given period. As discussed above, we calculate revenue on a constant currency basis in a given period by applying the average currency exchange rates in the comparable period of the prior year to the local currency revenue in the current period and excluding deconsolidated and transferred operations. ARPPU Growth on a Constant Currency Basis: We define ARPPU growth (as a percentage) on a constant currency basis as the increase in current period ARPPU over prior period ARPPU, with current period foreign currency ARPPU translated using prior period average currency exchange rates and excluding deconsolidated and transferred operations. Contact Information Investor Relations Corporate Communications Soohwan Kim, CFA investor@webtoon.com Kiel Hume & Lauren Hopkinson webtoonpress@webtoon.com


 
18 Quarter Ended Figures in millions, except user metrics and per share data March 31, 2025 March 31, 2024 Change Total Revenue $325.7 $326.7 (0.3%) Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis¹ $343.8 $326.6 5.3% Paid Content Revenue $260.2 $266.9 (2.5%) Paid Content Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis1 $274.2 $266.7 2.8% Advertising Revenue $39.9 $37.0 7.8% Advertising Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis1 $42.0 $37.0 13.6% IP Adaptations Revenue $25.6 $22.9 11.8% IP Adaptations Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis1 $27.6 $22.9 20.7% Monthly Active Users (“MAU”) 153.3 171.3 (10.5%) Korea MAU 24.2 27.0 (10.3%) Japan MAU 21.9 21.1 3.7% Rest of World MAU 107.3 123.2 (12.9%) Monthly Paying Users (“MPU”) 7.4 7.8 (5.2%) Korea MPU 3.4 3.8 (10.6%) Japan MPU 2.2 2.1 5.2% Rest of World MPU 1.7 1.8 (5.9%) Paying Ratio 4.8% 4.5% 27 bps Korea Paying Ratio 14.2% 14.2% (4 bps) Japan Paying Ratio 10.3% 10.1% 14 bps Rest of World Paying Ratio 1.6% 1.5% 12 bps Paid Content Average Revenue Per Paying User (“ARPPU”) $11.8 $11.5 2.8% Korea ARPPU $7.5 $7.9 (5.3%) Japan ARPPU $22.3 $22.2 0.6% Rest of World ARPPU $6.5 $6.3 3.5% ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis¹ $12.4 $11.5 8.4% Korea ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis¹ $8.4 $7.9 6.7% Japan ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis¹ $23.0 $22.2 3.5% Rest of World ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis1 $6.5 $6.3 3.5% Net Income/(Loss) ($22.0) $6.2 ($28.2) Adjusted EBITDA¹ $4.1 $22.2 ($18.1) Adjusted EBITDA Margin¹ 1.3% 6.8% (553 bps) Diluted EPS ($0.17) $0.06 ($0.23) Adjusted EPS1 $0.03 $0.20 ($0.17) Financial and Operational Highlights


 
19 1 Revenue on a constant currency basis, Paid Content revenue on a constant currency basis, Advertising revenue on a constant currency basis, IP Adaptations revenue on a constant currency basis, ARPPU on a constant currency basis, Korea ARPPU on a constant currency basis, Japan ARPPU on a constant currency basis, Rest of World ARPPU on a constant currency basis, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP financial measures. For definitions of these non-GAAP financial measures, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions” of this letter. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure can be found at the end of this letter.


 
20 Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures In addition to adjustments for foreign exchange fluctuations, we have also further adjusted revenue to exclude the impacts of deconsolidated and transferred operations to show growth or loss exclusive of these changes ("Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis"). Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis is a Non-GAAP metric that management believes adds value but has its limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. The following table presents a reconciliation of revenue to revenue on a constant currency basis, and ARPPU to ARPPU on a constant currency basis, respectively, for each of the periods presented. Three Months Ended March 31, (in thousands of USD, except percentages) 2025 2024 Change Total Revenue $325,707 $326,744 (0.3)% Effect of deconsolidated and transferred operations - (145) (100.0)% Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 18,131 - N/A Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis 343,838 326,599 5.3% Paid Content Revenue 260,226 266,855 (2.5)% Effect of deconsolidated and transferred operations - (120) (100.0)% Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 13,969 - N/A Paid Content Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis $274,195 $266,735 2.8% Advertising Revenue 39,898 36,996 7.8% Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 2,141 - N/A Advertising Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis 42,039 36,996 13.6% IP Adaptations Revenue 25,583 22,893 11.8% Effect of deconsolidated and transferred operations - (25) (100.0)% Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 2,021 - N/A IP Adaptations Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis $27,604 $22,868 20.7% Paid Content Average Revenue Per Paying User ("ARPPU")¹ Korea Paid Content Revenue $77,027 $90,943 (15.3)% Korea ARPPU $7.5 $7.9 (5.3)% Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 0.9 - N/A Korea ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis $8.4 $7.9 6.7% Japan Paid Content Revenue $150,401 $142,208 5.8% Japan ARPPU $22.3 $22.2 0.6% Effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations 0.6 - N/A Japan ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis $23.0 $22.2 3.5%


 
21 Rest of World Paid Content Revenue $32,798 $33,704 (2.7)% Rest of World ARPPU $6.5 $6.3 3.5% Rest of World ARPPU on a Constant Currency Basis $6.5 $6.3 3.5% 1 ARPPU is calculated by taking Paid Content revenue and dividing it by the number of monthly paid users ("MPU") for such month, averaged over each month in the given period. ARPPU on a constant currency basis is calculated by dividing Paid Content revenue on a constant currency basis by the number of MPU for such month, averaged over each month in the given period. Where each metric is country specific, the numerator is Paid Content revenue on a constant currency basis by country and the denominator is users by country.


 
22 Three Months Ended March 31, (in thousands of USD, except percentages) 2025 2024 Net income (loss) ($21,969) $6,233 Plus (minus): Interest income (5,113) (1,235) Interest expense 2 33 Income tax expense 2,547 6,668 Depreciation and amortization 8,437 9,035 EBITDA ($16,096) ($20,734) Stock-based compensation expense1 17,035 2,226 Restructuring and IPO-related costs2 1,642 1,516 Loss (gain) on fair value instruments, net3 930 (3,371) Loss on equity method investments, net4 569 1,052 Adjusted EBITDA5 $4,080 $22,157 Net loss margin (6.7)% 1.9% Adjusted EBITDA Margin 1.3% 6.8% Weighted average shares outstanding Basic 129,598,942 109,505,160 Diluted 129,598,942 109,564,500 Earnings (loss) per share Basic (0.17) 0.06 Diluted (0.17) 0.06 Adjusted EPS6 Basic 0.03 0.20 Diluted 0.03 0.20 1 Represents stock-based compensation expense related to WEBTOON’s equity incentive plan and stock-based compensation plans of NAVER and Munpia, including amounts which are cash settled. 2Represents non-recurring expenses that we do not consider representative of the operating performance of the business. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, these amounts include legal fees and advisory fees. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, these amounts were comprised of financial advisory fees, consulting fees, severance fees, and office relocation fee. 3Represents unrealized net loss (gain) of financial assets measured at FVPL, which include the Company's equity investments.5Represents our proportionate share of recognized losses associated with our investments accounted for using the equity method. 4Represents our proportionate share of recognized losses associated with our investments accounted for using the equity method. 5Totals may not foot due to rounding. 6The numerator for Adjusted EPS is calculated by adjusting Net Loss by the same items in the Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation. The denominator for computing Adjusted EPS is the same as that used for Diluted EPS. The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin for each of the periods presented.


 
23 MAU Reconciliation 1Q24 2Q24 3Q24 4Q24 Korea Previous 24.7 23.2 25.0 24.5 New 27.0 25.8 28.1 27.3 Total Previous 169.0 166.3 166.9 169.6 New 171.3 168.9 170.0 166.0