Operating leverage remains elusive as the company reported a negative operating margin of -4.64% and a net margin of -25.02% in recent periods, reflecting high revenue-sharing obligations.
| Sales/Revenue | 1.38B | 1.38B | 1.35B | 1.28B | 1.08B |
| Revenue Growth % | 2.26% | 2.54% | 5.12% | 18.84% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 1.04B | 1.06B | 1.01B | 987.26M | 806.38M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 76.7% | 74.86% | 76.96% | 74.71% |
| Gross Profit | 333.62M | 322.18M | 339.07M | 295.49M | 273.01M |
| Gross Margin % | 24.21% | 23.3% | 25.14% | 23.04% | 25.29% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -4.98% | 14.75% | 8.23% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 379.13M | 386.29M | 439.77M | 331.85M | 387.73M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 27.94% | 32.61% | 25.87% | 35.92% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 379.13M | 386.29M | 436.96M | 323.08M | 378.13M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 27.94% | 32.4% | 25.19% | 35.03% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 0 | 0 | 2.81M | 8.76M | 9.6M |
| Operating Income | -45.51M | -64.11M | -100.7M | -36.36M | -114.72M |
| Operating Margin % | -3.3% | -4.64% | -7.47% | -2.83% | -10.63% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 36.33% | -176.97% | 68.31% | - |
| EBITDA | -10.52M | -28.68M | -64.53M | -499K | -79.98M |
| EBITDA Margin % | -0.76% | -2.07% | -4.78% | -0.04% | -7.41% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 89.69% | 55.55% | -12830.86% | 99.38% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 34.99M | 35.43M | 36.17M | 35.86M | 34.73M |
| EBIT | -376.04M | -389.35M | -149.26M | -132.67M | -117.31M |
| Net Interest Income | 18.35M | 19.11M | 15.78M | 2.93M | 322K |
| Interest Income | 18.43M | 19.17M | 15.82M | 3.01M | 1.17M |
| Interest Expense | 79K | 56K | 45K | 79K | 844K |
| Other Income/Expense | -330.6M | -325.3M | -48.61M | -96.39M | -3.44M |
| Pretax Income | -376.11M | -389.41M | -149.31M | -132.75M | -118.15M |
| Pretax Margin % | -27.3% | -28.16% | -11.07% | -10.35% | -10.95% |
| Income Tax | -15.9M | -16.02M | 3.6M | 12.01M | 14.37M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 4.23% | 4.11% | -2.41% | -9.04% | -12.16% |
| Net Income | -332.99M | -345.93M | -143.91M | -116.45M | -129.87M |
| Net Margin % | -24.17% | -25.02% | -10.67% | -9.08% | -12.03% |
| Net Income Growth % | -92.96% | -140.39% | -23.57% | 10.33% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | -360.21M | -373.39M | -152.91M | -144.76M | -132.52M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 57.36M | 57.82M | 84.33M | 98.33M | 132.36M |
| EPS (Diluted) | -2.49 | -2.66 | -1.21 | -0.91 | -1.02 |
| EPS Growth % | -89.06% | -119.83% | -32.97% | 10.78% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | -2.66 | -1.21 | -0.91 | -1.02 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 133.62M | 130.18M | 128.59M | 127.07M | 127.07M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 133.62M | 130.18M | 128.59M | 127.07M | 127.07M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - |
Structural margin ceiling
As reported in recent financial statements, WBTN's revenue growth has decelerated to a modest 2.54% year-over-year, suggesting that the company's primary markets may be reaching a saturation point or that the current monetization strategy is failing to capture significant incremental value from its existing user base.
The transition from rapid user acquisition to monetization depth appears to be stalling, as evidenced by the recent quarterly revenue fluctuations. Investors should monitor whether the platform's freemium funnel can effectively convert active users into paying customers without further diluting the value proposition of its episodic content.
Based on the company's reported figures, WBTN maintains a gross margin of approximately 23.30%, which indicates a high variable cost structure that likely reflects significant revenue-sharing obligations with creators and substantial platform fees paid to mobile app stores for distribution.
This margin profile is uncharacteristically low for a digital platform, suggesting that WBTN operates more like a traditional media distributor than a high-margin software entity. The inability to expand these margins significantly warrants investigation into whether the company possesses sufficient pricing power to offset its creator-led cost structure.
According to the provided income statement data, WBTN's operating expenses frequently exceed gross profit, resulting in a negative operating margin of -4.64% and indicating that the company has yet to achieve the necessary scale to leverage its fixed administrative and marketing overhead effectively.
The volatility in SG&A expenses suggests that management is still heavily reliant on aggressive marketing spend to maintain user engagement. Without a clear path to scaling operating income faster than gross profit, the current business model appears to be structurally dependent on external capital to fund ongoing operations.
Analysis of the company's recent filings reveals that stock-based compensation, which reached as high as $55.1 million in 2024Q2, significantly distorts the reported net income and complicates the assessment of the company's true underlying profitability and cash-generating capability.
The frequent swings between net losses and occasional positive earnings suggest that non-operating items and compensation expenses are masking the core operational performance. Investors should look past the headline EPS figures to focus on the cash-based operating results to determine if the business is moving toward self-sustainability.
While the market may be valuing WBTN as a high-growth streaming platform, the reported -25.02% net margin suggests that the company's reliance on a decentralized creator base may impose a permanent ceiling on profitability that is not currently reflected in the broader investment narrative.
Short-term investors should be wary of the assumption that WBTN will eventually achieve Netflix-like margins, as the platform's economics are fundamentally tied to creator payouts and app store taxes. The lack of consistent profitability suggests that the company's long-term value may be more dependent on its data-harvesting capabilities than its current content monetization.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying WBTN stock.
For fiscal year 2025, WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. Common stock (WBTN) reported total revenue of $1.38B. This represents a 28.1% increase compared to $1.08B in 2022.
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. Common stock (WBTN) reported a net loss of $345.9M for the fiscal year ending 2025.
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. Common stock (WBTN) reported an operating income of $-64.1M, resulting in an operating profit margin of -4.6%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. Common stock (WBTN) generated $322.2M in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 23.3%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.