LINE Corporation's segment revenue 2019
The different business segments
The core business of LINE Corporation consisted mainly of the advertising business as well as the communication and content business. The advertising segment accounted for more than half of the revenue generated in 2019. It included advertisements on services like Timeline and the news application LINE News, which was introduced in 2013. The communication and content business made up roughly one third of the revenues. It encompassed services such as LINE Manga and LINE Music, a music streaming app which has been available since December 2014. The strategic business, which included the digital wallet service LINE Pay, accounted for about 30.8 billion yen.
LINE in comparison with other web-based services
LINE is the dominating messaging app in its home market, boasting an exceptionally high number of monthly active users in Japan. Aside from Japan, LINE’s main markets are Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia. While LINE is one of the most popular Asia-based mobile messenger apps, there remains a clear gap compared to the world’s leading social networks in terms of active users. Direct competitors on the global messaging app market are services such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat.