Nexon (3659): FY2025 Results Summary — Record Revenue on ARC Raiders Launch and MapleStory Growth

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Nexon Co., Ltd. (3659) reported record full-year revenue for FY2025. Nexon’s fiscal year ends on December 31, so FY2025 refers to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. Revenues rose +6% year over year as reported (+10% on a constant-currency basis) to ¥475,102 million, driven by strong new launches and a solid recovery in flagship titles. Operating income was ¥124,012 million, roughly flat year over year, as the revenue increase was offset by cost increases. Net income attributable to owners of the parent decreased -32% to ¥92,052 million, primarily due to the recognition of an FX loss of ¥2.7 billion in 2025 (versus a gain of ¥30.9 billion in 2024) and an impairment loss of ¥8.6 billion on investments accounted for using the equity method.

Consolidated Results (Full-Year Actual)

The presentation describes FY2025 as delivering record revenues driven by strong new launches and solid recovery in flagship titles. Variable costs (royalty and PG fees) and marketing costs increased year over year primarily due to the new launches — ARC Raiders, MABINOGI MOBILE and MapleStory: Idle RPG — and HR costs increased due to investments in new talent for both new and live games. Nexon recognized an impairment loss of ¥4.6 billion in 2025, compared with ¥13.4 billion in 2024. Cash flows from operating activities were ¥171,872 million (¥100,968 million in the prior year), and cash and cash equivalents stood at ¥498,868 million at fiscal year-end.

Item	FY2025	FY2024	YoY (As Reported)	YoY (Constant Currency)
Revenues	¥475,102 million	¥446,211 million	+6%	+10%
Operating income	¥124,012 million	¥124,176 million	-0%	+2%
Net income (attributable to owners of the parent)	¥92,052 million	¥134,848 million	-32%	-31%
Earnings per share	¥114.48	¥161.79	—	—

By franchise, Dungeon&Fighter franchise revenue fell 21% year over year, as a recovery in Dungeon&Fighter (PC) was offset by a revenue decline in Dungeon&Fighter Mobile in China. The MapleStory franchise grew 43% year over year on growth in Korea MapleStory and MapleStory Worlds plus a contribution from MapleStory: Idle RPG. FC franchise revenues were nearly flat year over year, and Horizontal revenues grew 25% year over year driven by the new launches MABINOGI MOBILE and ARC Raiders. ARC Raiders, launched on October 30, has sold 14 million units to date, with a peak of 960,000 concurrent users in January and approximately six million weekly active users sustained to date.

Revenue by Region and Platform

By region, Korea accounted for 53% of FY2025 revenue, China 23%, Japan 3%, North America & Europe 14%, and Rest of World 7%. By platform, PC/Console accounted for 71% and Mobile 29%. North America and Europe revenue rose 61% year over year, reflecting contributions from ARC Raiders and MapleStory: Idle RPG, while China revenue declined (33%) year over year.

Region / Platform	FY2025	FY2024	YoY (As Reported)
Korea	¥249,973 million	¥195,022 million	28%
China	¥109,513 million	¥164,116 million	(33%)
Japan	¥14,014 million	¥17,768 million	(21%)
North America and Europe	¥68,582 million	¥42,522 million	61%
Rest of World	¥33,020 million	¥26,783 million	23%
PC/Console	¥338,857 million	¥256,524 million	32%
Mobile	¥136,245 million	¥189,687 million	(28%)
Nexon Total	¥475,102 million	¥446,211 million	6%

Q4 2025 Results

In the fourth quarter, revenues grew 55% year over year as reported to ¥123,599 million, in line with the company’s outlook, driven by the MapleStory franchise, Dungeon&Fighter (PC), and the new launches. Q4 revenue included a deferral of ¥27.7 billion of ARC Raiders revenue — more than half of which will be recognized in Q1 of 2026 — and an estimated impact of refunds for MapleStory: Idle RPG that reduced revenue by ¥9 billion. Operating income was ¥7,175 million (versus an operating loss of ¥1,729 million in Q4 2024) but came in below the outlook, reflecting performance-based bonuses related to strong sales, higher-than-planned platform fees, a ¥3.0 billion impairment loss related to the service termination of a published game, and an estimated ¥4 billion impact from the MapleStory: Idle RPG refunds. Net income was ¥10,857 million, down 66% year over year, as Nexon recorded a ¥9.7 billion FX gain in Q4 2025 versus a ¥31.7 billion FX gain in Q4 2024.

Q1 2026 Outlook

Nexon provides quarterly guidance; the presentation includes an outlook for Q1 2026 rather than a full-year FY2026 forecast. The company expects record-breaking quarterly revenue with strong momentum across its portfolio, including year-over-year growth in Dungeon&Fighter (PC) and the MapleStory franchise along with solid contributions from ARC Raiders and MABINOGI MOBILE, while Dungeon&Fighter Mobile is expected to decline year over year. The revenue outlook includes an estimated impact of ¥5 billion from MapleStory: Idle RPG refunds (¥3 billion at the operating income level).

Item	Q1 2026 Outlook	Q1 2025 (Actual)	YoY % Change (As Reported)
Revenues	¥150,492 – ¥164,015 million	¥113,934 million	32% ~ 44%
PC/Console	¥117,765 – ¥125,622 million	¥77,596 million	52% ~ 62%
Mobile	¥32,727 – ¥38,393 million	¥36,338 million	(10%) ~ 6%
Operating income	¥51,182 – ¥61,122 million	¥41,611 million	23% ~ 47%
Net income	¥40,912 – ¥48,442 million	¥26,272 million	56% ~ 84%
Earnings per share	¥51.72 – ¥61.25	¥32.12	—

Shareholder Returns

The presentation states that a strong balance sheet allowed Nexon to double its dividend payout while materially buying back shares in 2025. Nexon completed a ¥25 billion share repurchase by January 28 under the one-year, ¥100 billion share buyback policy outlined in February 2025, and on February 12 the Board of Directors resolved to cancel all shares previously purchased under the share buyback program. The company is committed to proactive shareholder returns under its policy of returning more than 33% of the previous year’s operating income to shareholders. Per the buy-back history chart, share repurchases totaled ¥96.9 billion in 2025 (¥51.4 billion in 2024). The per-share dividend was doubled from ¥22.5 in 2024 to ¥45 in 2025, and the per-share annual dividend forecast is ¥60 in 2026.

Item	2024	2025	2026 (Forecast)
Dividend per share	¥22.5	¥45	¥60
Share buy-back (Buy-Back History)	¥51.4 billion	¥96.9 billion	—

Pipeline / Topics

The pipeline excerpt in the presentation includes Azur Promilia (fantasy world RPG; publisher; Korea), Project DX (MMORPG on the Durango IP; Korea, Japan and global), Project RX (anime-style game), Vindictus: Defying Fate (action RPG on the Vindictus IP; Korea and global), NAKWON: LAST PARADISE (extraction survival; PC), Woochi the Wayfarer (action adventure), Dungeon&Fighter: ARAD (open-world action RPG on the Dungeon&Fighter IP), and Project OVERKILL (3D action RPG on the Dungeon&Fighter IP). Launch schedules are largely to be announced. Q1 2026 financial results are scheduled for release on Thursday, May 14th, 2026.

This article is an analysis based on publicly available information and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any specific securities. Investment decisions are your own responsibility.