On its third quarter of 2026 earnings call, held on Nov. 9, 2026, WEBTOON (NASDAQ:WBTN) announced projected fourth-quarter revenue growth of 9% to 12% on a constant currency basis, an operational metric that excludes foreign currency fluctuations. Long-term investors should care because accelerating advertising sales and expanding artificial intelligence tools show the core business is regaining momentum despite revenue contraction in Japan. Three key takeaways from management stand out.
1. Digital Advertising Revenue Accelerates Across Global Markets
Advertising provides a higher-margin revenue stream than paid digital comic chapters. Scaling ad sales in North America and Korea lifts gross margin while reducing dependence on platform transaction fees.
Advertising was a clear highlight. Revenue grew 26.2% year-over-year to $49.7 million or 30.1% in constant currency to $51.2 million, with strength in Korea and Rest of World offset by a decline in Japan.
— David Lee, Chief Financial Officer
2. Japanese Content Investments Target Local Growth Opportunities
Japan represents the world’s largest digital comic market, yet app household penetration sits below 20%. Management is committing 10 billion Japanese yen, or roughly $63 million in U.S. dollars, over three years to fund local creators and revive paid user growth.
First, we are investing in content with plans to deploy JPY 10 billion, approximately USD 63 million over the next 3 years to strengthen our local content pipeline and bring more compelling stories to leaders.
— Yongsoo Kim, President
3. Artificial Intelligence Tools Expand Reader Access and Engagement
Automatic translation breaks down geographic barriers for stories on CANVAS, the self-publishing open platform. Broader language access increases episode reads, driving global readers into paid content funnels without adding manual translation overhead.
In the 8 weeks ended in August, average weekly CANVAS episode read by our non-English readers were up almost 40% and CANVAS episode reads per reader grew close to 30% compared with the 8 weeks before the beta launch.
— Yongsoo Kim, President
Looking Ahead
Fourth-quarter momentum reflects organic platform expansion, led by Korean paid content and global ad formats. Management is watching web-to-app user conversions while deploying capital into intellectual property adaptations.
We remain confident in our expectation to return to double-digit revenue growth by the end of the year while continuing to build WEBTOON into the world’s leading storytelling technology platform.
— David Lee, Chief Financial Officer
