Demand and funding clarity for AIDC: Core ad growth de-rating vs 1GW AIDC realism

Research evidence excerpt

Demand and funding clarity for AIDC: Core ad growth de-rating vs 1GW AIDC realism

Global Markets Research

Naver Corporation 035420.KS 035420 KS 15 July 2026

EQUITY: INTERNET & NEW MEDIA

RatingDemand and funding clarity for AIDC Remains Neutral

Target price

Reduced fromCore ad growth de-rating vs 1GW AIDC realism KRW 210,000 KRW 240,000

Action: Maintain Neutral and revise down TP to KRW210,000 Closing15 July 2026price KRW 189,600

We cut our SOTP-based TP by 13% to KRW210,000, mainly reflecting a downward revision of its

core advertising business. Advertising accounted for 45% of total revenue in 2025, but we believe Implied upside +10.8%

falling search market share and weakening user engagement will slow ad revenue growth from 8-

9% in 2025-26F to just 5% by 2028-30F. Structural cost increases to defend traffic — including Market Cap (USD mn) 19,986.3

creator support, feed ad revamps, and AI search upgrades — will compress the segment’s ADT (USD mn) 303.5

sustainable margin, in our view. Meanwhile, we exclude the company’s planned 1GW AI datacenter

(AIDC) business from our valuation, for now. While management guides KRW20tn in revenue and Relative performance chart

a 20% OPM from AIDC opportunities, the required USD50bn+ capex lacks a clear roadmap of

demand and funding plan. Without securing customers and financing clarity, we believe heavy

capex and depreciation costs may pose risks to the balance sheet. A key upside risk is securing

large-scale AIDC contracts with hyperscalers and a downside risk is AIDC overcapacity.

2Q26 preview: Top-line resilience overshadowed by margin compression

We forecast 2Q26F OP to be near Bloomberg consensus, but margins will likely remain weighed

down by escalating costs. We believe revenue will likely grow 16% y-y, matching 1Q25’s