Disclosure: This article has been updated since initial publication. (Humberto Saabedra)
Following the initial SEC filing confirming plans for an initial public stock offering (IPO) at the beginning of the month, WEBTOON is about to go public today. But first, they filed a prospectus with the SEC – a massive document filled with charts and graphs that reveals some impressive figures that highlight the success and reach of the platform’s global community of creators and readers….but also some surprising facts.
According to the updated filing, the average annual salary for professional creators on WEBTOON is around $48,000, with the top 100 creators earning $1 million annually. The level of financial support represents part of the platform’s commitment to supporting its creators, which allows many to turn their passion into a career. However these figures alone don’t tell the whole story.
Some of WEBTOON’s numbers are surprising, given the success of the platform – 170 million monthly active users. The investment website Seeking Alpha broke some of them down. For instance, despite all those readers, the company is not profitable. In 2023 it lost $145 million on revenue of $1.28 billion. These numbers were better than 2022’s though, so thing are improving.
From 2017 to 2023, WEBTOON paid out a cumulative total of $2.8 billion to its creators, underscoring the platform’s ability to generate revenue from the vast audience’s willingness to support the content and creators they love. The data also sheds light on user engagement with an average of 30 minutes spent on the platform daily, readers are deeply immersed and actively invested in the stories WEBTOON offers. The platform’s reach is truly global, with over 170 million users leaving approximately 1 million comments monthly, creating a vibrant and interactive community.
The demographics of WEBTOON’s user base are equally intriguing for potential shareholders. North America alone accounts for 11.8% of the monthly active users, translating to 20 million people actively using the site. Breaking it down further, 75% of WEBTOON readers belong to Gen Z, indicating the platform’s evergreen appeal to younger audiences who are often at the forefront of digital trends. Moreover, paid content which requires users to pay to unlock the latest chapters contributes 80.2% of WEBTOON’s revenue, highlighting the value placed on exclusive and premium content which underpins the success of the platform.
However, while all of the numbers sound amazing and will likely convince investors to jump in on the intial public offering when available, one can’t ignore WEBTOON’s checkered history of creator treatment, as at the same time that the platform pats itself on the back for paying out a salary for established creators lucky enough to get picked up for its various exclusivity programs, the platform does have its issues with overall creator treatment and fairness, such as the recent incident where Super Likes were nearly forced on Canvas users at the expense of Patreon support, as well as multiple incidents with past creators regarding limiting creator promotion of titles were they did not hold physical publishing rights themselves.
What’s particularly noteworthy is that half of WEBTOON’s users are based outside of Korea, Japan, and North America, illustrating the universal appeal of storytelling on the platform and its global appeal. This diverse userbase not only fosters an exchange of culturally significant narratives but also ensures a wide variety of content that can cater to different tastes and preferences.
WEBTOON’s proposed listing on the NASDAQ Global Select Market is a significant milestone that reflects the platform’s growth and the increasing recognition of webtoons, or vertical scrolling comics as a legitimate and influential form of youth entertainment. As WEBTOON continues to expand its horizons as a business, the potential for creators to reach new heights in their careers seems limitless.
However, WEBTOON Entertainment going public also presents its own potential for short and long-term challenges. For instance, WEBTOON has to be able to balance the needs of the business with the needs and desires of creators, and while going public can present unique opprtunities with the economic wherewithal to undertake new projects and ideas, it also needs to keep in mind the creators and users that fueled their growth to this point.
(Additional reporting by Heidi MacDonald)
[This story has been updated to more accurately reflect WEBTOON’s monetization strategies.]
