Digital Comics from Marvel and Star Wars to be brought to Naver's Webtoon platform thanks to a 81% increase in partnership with Disney.
Webtoon Entertainment Sees Surge in Shares Following Disney Partnership
Webtoon Entertainment, a digital comics company controlled by South Korean internet giant Naver, saw an 81% increase in shares on Wednesday following a significant partnership announcement with Disney.
The partnership, which was announced earlier in the week, involves Webtoon publishing around 100 reformatted Disney comics and producing original webcomics based on Disney’s popular franchises, including Marvel, 20th Century Studios, and Star Wars. These comics will be available in a dedicated section of Webtoon's English-language app, which has over 80 million monthly active users.
The partnership is one of Disney’s largest publishing deals and includes iconic titles like Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Star Wars, Alien, and As Old as Time: A Twisted Tale (featuring Belle and the Beast). The comics are adapted into Webtoon's vertical-scroll format, familiar to its mobile users, with a mix of free and paid content via Webtoon Coins.
This strategic alliance aims to bring classic and new storytelling to a younger, mobile-native audience, enhancing brand engagement for both companies. The partnership is expected to accelerate user growth, content offerings, and revenue for Webtoon Entertainment.
However, some analysts suggest that despite the enthusiasm, Webtoon's current share valuation may no longer offer substantial upside, indicating that the market might have priced in much of the partnership’s expected benefits.
Webtoon Entertainment's roots date back to 2005, when Naver launched a platform for serialized digital comics in a vertical-scroll format. Since then, the company has expanded globally, with 71% of its users consuming online comics in languages other than Korean and Japanese.
In addition to the Disney partnership, Webtoon Entertainment is also launching a short-form video platform that turns webtoons into bite-sized clips. The company attributes its financial growth to an increased revenue from paid content, advertising, and intellectual property adaptations.
The prominence of webtoons rose further during the pandemic, with the global success of K-pop and K-dramas helping the digital comics expand beyond Korea. Over the past year, Kakao's webtoon business has withdrawn from markets including mainland China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Europe.
In the quarter ended June, Webtoon Entertainment posted an 8.5% rise in revenue to $348 million. The company had 156 million global monthly active users in the same period, up from 138 million in the previous quarter. The net loss of Webtoon Entertainment narrowed by 95% to $3.9 million during the same period.
Webtoon Entertainment went public on the Nasdaq in a $315 million IPO in June last year. The company's shares closed at $16.96 on Wednesday, below its initial public offering price of $21. It is worth noting that the surge in share price on the announcement day marked Webtoon’s best trading day since going public.
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