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WEBTOON Entertainment Narrows Net Loss in Q2 on U.S., Japan Growth
posted on by Wonhee Cho
WEBTOON Entertainment significantly narrowed its operating loss in the second quarter of 2025 thanks to growth in both the U.S. and Japanese markets.
According to a filing on Aug 12, the company reported that revenue reached US$348.3 million, up 8.5% from US$321 million a year earlier. Net loss also shrank to US$3.88 million, down from US$76.57 million in the prior-year quarter.
By segment, revenue increased across paid content, advertising, and intellectual property businesses. Paid content — the company's largest revenue source — rose 5.4% year-over-year to US$274.9 million, boosted in part by a 13.2% sales increase in Japan, one of the world's biggest comics markets. Advertising revenue grew 11.9% to US$45.2 million, while IP business revenue surged 41.8% to US$28.1 million.
WEBTOON has been focusing on expansion in North America and Japan. The company revamped its English-language app with AI-powered recommendations and trailer videos, which helped drive a 19% increase in monthly active users (MAUs) in the first quarter of this year, and drove another 19% increase in the second quarter (global MAU numbers declined 7.6% to 156.1 million compared to the same quarter last year, however). In Japan, its service LINE Manga ranked No. 1 in the country's overall app market during the first half of the year, according to data.ai.
Meanwhile, WEBTOON intellectual property is finding new life in adaptations worldwide. The Naver web novel Marry My Husband inspired a Japanese live-action series that became the all-time most-watched Amazon Original drama in Japan. Other popular titles, including Omniscient Reader and ELECEED, are currently being developed into anime projects.
Source: WEBTOON Entertainment
