[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Daishin Securities has lowered its target price for CJ ENM, citing a slower-than-expected recovery in TV advertising revenue.

In a report released on April 8, analyst Kim Hoi-jae maintained a “Buy” rating on CJ ENM but reduced the target price to KRW 85,000 from KRW 94,000.

The firm estimates CJ ENM’s first-quarter revenue at approximately KRW 1.1 trillion, in line with the previous year, while operating profit is projected to reach KRW 29 billion—representing a significant year-on-year increase driven by improved performance at loss-making subsidiaries.

Kim noted that earnings are expected to benefit from improvements at streaming platform TVING and global studio Fifth Season. However, persistent weakness in TV advertising prompted a downward revision in overall earnings forecasts.

CJ ENM’s TV advertising revenue has declined sharply from KRW 510 billion in 2020 to an estimated KRW 280 billion in 2025. Growth expectations for this year have also been revised down to 2.8% from an earlier estimate of 7%.

While solid viewership ratings had supported expectations of a rebound, Kim said ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty linked to geopolitical tensions continues to weigh on advertising demand.

TVING is expected to remain in the red due to increased costs associated with partnerships, advertising-based subscription models (AVOD), and content investments, although subscriber growth remains steady. Meanwhile, Fifth Season is projected to return to profitability this year with an estimated operating profit of KRW 15 billion.

Despite maintaining a positive long-term outlook, Daishin Securities warned that further delays in TV advertising recovery or content supply uncertainties could lead to additional downward revisions.

 

 

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