Is AI investment slowing Naver's profits?

Naver is expected to report lower third-quarter operating profit as AI infrastructure spending and other costs rise, while AI service revenue grows slowly. FnGuide’s consensus estimate puts operating profit at 500 billion won, down 12.4 percent year-on-year, despite projected revenue growth of 12 percent to 3.51 trillion won. Analysts also expect operating expenses and depreciation to keep increasing. Naver says extending the estimated useful life of computing assets from five to six years will defer about 100 billion won in annual depreciation.

Naver’s infrastructure expenses have exceeded 200 billion won per quarter since the third quarter of last year and reached 250.8 billion won in the first quarter of this year.

Eugene Investment & Securities projected total operating expenses of 2.99 trillion won in the third quarter, up 16.7 percent year-on-year, and 3.1 trillion won in the fourth quarter.

Kyobo Securities estimated depreciation expenses of 824 billion won this year, 943 billion won in 2027 and 1.041 trillion won in 2028.

Naver cited increased commerce marketing expenses, World Cup broadcasting rights costs and higher depreciation from GPU investments as contributors to rising costs.

Naver said its computing assets’ estimated useful lives were extended from five to six years to reflect expected usage periods; the change defers depreciation rather than eliminating the costs.

Published Oct 21, 2026 3:26 pm KST

AI bills arriving faster than revenue, dragging Q3 profit outlook

Naver's office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Naver

The outlook for internet giant Naver’s third-quarter earnings is turning gloomy, with analysts expecting operating profit to decline by double digits, citing spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and the slow monetization of AI services.

According to market tracker FnGuide, the brokerage consensus estimate for Naver's third-quarter operating profit stood at 500 billion won ($377.5 million), down 12.4 percent from 570.66 billion won a year earlier, as of Wednesday.

This contrasts with the projected 12 percent increase in revenue to 3.51 trillion won from 3.14 trillion won over the same period.

Among the various factors, rising costs appear to be the biggest contributor to the decline. These include increased marketing expenses for Naver's commerce business, World Cup broadcasting rights costs reflected in the third-quarter results and higher depreciation expenses stemming from investments in graphics processing units (GPUs).

Naver categorizes its operating expenses into development, operations, partnership, infrastructure and marketing costs. Of these, infrastructure expenses include depreciation costs associated with GPUs and other computing resources used for AI.

The company has consistently recorded infrastructure costs of more than 200 billion won per quarter since the third quarter of last year, with expenses reaching 250.8 billion won in the first quarter of this year.

Although infrastructure expenses fluctuate depending on individual investments, analysts expect Naver's overall operating expenses and depreciation costs to remain on an upward trajectory.

Eugene Investment & Securities projected Naver's total operating expenses to rise 16.7 percent year-on-year to 2.99 trillion won in the third quarter and surpass the 3 trillion won mark to reach 3.1 trillion won in the fourth quarter.

Kyobo Securities estimated that Naver's depreciation expenses will increase from 824 billion won this year to 943 billion won in 2027 and 1.041 trillion won in 2028.

Naver's expenses have also been affected by a change in how it accounts for its computing assets. In the second quarter, the company said it extended their estimated useful lives from five to six years. Naver said the change reflects the assets' actual expected usage periods and will defer approximately 100 billion won in depreciation expenses annually.

Spreading the costs over six years reduces annual depreciation expenses, but does not eliminate the costs themselves. Major U.S. tech companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta, have also extended the estimated useful lives of their servers in recent years. Amazon, however, shortened the useful life of certain servers from six to five years starting in 2025, citing the rapid pace of technological advances in AI.

While costs are expected to rise, revenue growth from AI services remains slow.

“New ad placements, such as ads in AI Briefing, are still contributing only a limited amount of revenue and will not expand in earnest until 2027,” Eugene Investment & Securities analyst Chung Ui-hoon said. He added that third-quarter infrastructure costs are expected to reflect rising depreciation from GPU investments.

Korea Investment & Securities analyst Chung Ho-yoon noted that Naver's share price has given up most of its gains since the company announced its AI factory business in June. He attributed the decline to the time needed for the data center business to generate meaningful revenue and delays in announcing contracts with major tenants, which have kept investors on the sidelines.

由于人工智能基础设施支出和其他成本上升，而人工智能服务收入增长缓慢，预计Naver第三季度营业利润将有所下降。FnGuide的普遍预期显示，尽管预计营收将增长12%至3.51万亿韩元，但Naver的营业利润仍将为5000亿韩元，同比下降12.4%。分析师还预计运营费用和折旧将持续增加。Naver表示，将计算资产的预计使用寿命从五年延长至六年，每年可延缓约1000亿韩元的折旧支出。

自去年第三季度以来，Naver 的基础设施支出每季度都超过 2000 亿韩元，今年第一季度更是达到了 2508 亿韩元。

Eugene Investment & Securities 预计第三季度总运营支出为 2.99 万亿韩元，同比增长 16.7%，第四季度为 3.1 万亿韩元。

教保证券预计今年的折旧费用为 8240 亿韩元，2027 年为 9430 亿韩元，2028 年为 1.041 万亿韩元。

Naver 指出，商业营销费用增加、世界杯转播权成本上升以及 GPU 投资折旧增加是导致成本上升的原因。

Naver表示，其计算资产的预计使用寿命已从五年延长至六年，以反映预期的使用期限；这一变化只是推迟了折旧，而不是消除了成本。

发布于2026年10月21日下午3:26（韩国标准时间）

人工智能账单的到账速度超过收入，拖累第三季度盈利预期

Naver京畿道城南市办公室 / 图片由Naver提供

互联网巨头Naver第三季度的盈利前景变得黯淡，分析师预计其营业利润将出现两位数的下滑，理由是该公司在人工智能（AI）基础设施方面的支出以及AI服务货币化速度缓慢。

据市场追踪机构 FnGuide 的数据显示，截至周三，券商对 Naver 第三季度营业利润的普遍预期为 5000 亿韩元（3.775 亿美元），较去年同期的 5706.6 亿韩元下降 12.4%。

这与同期预计收入增长 12% 至 3.51 万亿韩元形成鲜明对比，后者为 3.14 万亿韩元。

在诸多因素中，成本上升似乎是导致业绩下滑的最大原因。这些成本包括Naver电商业务营销费用的增加、反映在第三季度业绩中的世界杯转播权费用，以及因图形处理器（GPU）投资而导致的折旧费用增加。

Naver将其运营支出分为开发成本、运营成本、合作成本、基础设施成本和市场营销成本。其中，基础设施支出包括与GPU和其他用于人工智能的计算资源相关的折旧成本。

自去年第三季度以来，该公司每季度的基础设施成本持续超过 2000 亿韩元，今年第一季度的支出更是达到了 2508 亿韩元。

尽管基础设施支出会因具体投资而波动，但分析师预计 Naver 的整体运营支出和折旧成本将继续保持上升趋势。

Eugene Investment & Securities 预测，Naver 第三季度总运营支出将同比增长 16.7% 至 2.99 万亿韩元，第四季度将突破 3 万亿韩元大关，达到 3.1 万亿韩元。

教保证券估计，Naver的折旧费用将从今年的8240亿韩元增加到2027年的9430亿韩元，并在2028年达到1.041万亿韩元。

Naver的支出也受到其计算资产会计处理方式变更的影响。该公司在第二季度表示，已将这些资产的预计使用寿命从五年延长至六年。Naver表示，这一变更反映了这些资产的实际预期使用期限，每年将递延约1000亿韩元的折旧费用。

将成本分摊到六年可以降低每年的折旧费用，但并不能完全消除成本本身。近年来，包括微软、Alphabet 和 Meta 在内的美国大型科技公司也延长了其服务器的预计使用寿命。然而，亚马逊却将部分服务器的使用寿命从六年缩短至五年，并从 2025 年起生效，理由是人工智能技术的快速发展。

尽管成本预计会上升，但人工智能服务的收入增长依然缓慢。

“诸如在AI Briefing中投放广告等新的广告位目前带来的收入仍然有限，预计要到2027年才会真正实现增长，”尤金投资证券分析师郑义勋表示。他还补充说，预计第三季度的基础设施成本将反映出GPU投资折旧的增加。

韩国投资证券分析师郑浩允指出，自Naver公司6月份宣布进军人工智能工厂业务以来，其股价已回吐大部分涨幅。他将股价下跌归因于数据中心业务需要时间才能产生可​​观的收入，以及与主要租户签订合同的延迟，这些因素导致投资者持观望态度。