Is Wongnai (LINE MAN Wongnai) profitable in 2026?

LINE MAN Wongnai posted its first-ever net profit of 542 million baht in 2025, reversing a 356 million baht loss in 2024, per Thai DBD filings reported December 2025. Whether this holds through 2026 depends on the ongoing fee war with Grab.

Who owns LINE MAN Wongnai?

LINE MAN Wongnai is privately held, backed by Singapore's GIC, LINE Corporation/Naver, BRV Capital Management, PTT Oil and Retail Business, Bualuang Ventures, and Taiwan Mobile, with GIC and LINE co-leading a $265 million Series B in September 2022 that pushed valuation past $1 billion.

Is Grab beating LINE MAN Wongnai in Thailand?

Grab held about 47% of Thai food-delivery GMV in 2025 versus LINE MAN Wongnai's 41%, but Grab's Thailand net profit fell 75% to 379 million baht in 2025 from 1.5 billion baht in 2024, showing both are locked in a costly fee war.

Could AI replace Wongnai's restaurant review platform?

Wongnai's review and search front-end overlaps with functions generative AI search tools increasingly commoditize, but its FoodStory POS integration across roughly 700,000 merchants and LINE's 90%+ Thai penetration are workflow and distribution locks that pure AI tools cannot easily replicate as of 2026.

When will LINE MAN Wongnai IPO?

A planned 2025 Thai SET listing was postponed in December 2025; as of February 2026 the company is weighing Hong Kong or New York instead, with a venue decision expected by Q3 2026 and a revised IPO target of 2027.

What is LINE MAN Wongnai's biggest competitor?

Grab is LINE MAN Wongnai's primary rival in Thai food delivery, holding about 47% GMV share versus LMWN's 41% in 2025, while ShopeeFood is the fastest-growing third player, rising from 7% to 10% share the same year.

Vertical and industry software · subsidiary of LINE Corporation (Naver/Z Holdings/LY Corporation) · Thailand

Wongnai

wongnai.com ↗

Thai app for restaurant discovery, food delivery, and POS software for merchants.

Losing its protection

Assessed 30 July 2026 · Evidence as of 30 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 30 July 2026 · Checkable from Q3 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: IPO venue decision (Hong Kong or New York) ahead of targeted 2027 listing

The call

Wongnai turned its first profit in 2025 while locked in a fee war with Grab, with its POS arm still lacking the AI features rivals like Toast already ship.

LINE MAN Wongnai delivers food and provides restaurant software in Thailand, powered by LINE's huge user base there and 15 years of restaurant data. Grab is trying to take share by cutting delivery fees, which pushes LINE MAN's profits down, and competitors like Toast and Chowbus are adding AI tools to restaurant software that LINE MAN has not matched yet. The real test is whether Grab keeps bleeding money and slashing fees so aggressively that it forces LINE MAN back into losses before its planned 2027 stock sale.

Why

AI pressure: Toast IQ and Chowbus AI Butler (AI-native POS assistants). Global POS rivals ship AI features grounded in merchant data; FoodStory has no dated AI feature yet, risking a capability gap. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.

Bigger players: Grab. Grab undercuts on merchant fees (9% vs Wongnai's 10%) in a live fee war, squeezing margins on both sides of the duopoly. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. LINE's 90%+ Thai penetration, 15 years of Thai restaurant data, and FoodStory's lock-in across 700K merchants.

What would change this call

LINE MAN Wongnai reports a net loss or margin decline for 2026. Would show Grab's fee cuts reversed LMWN's first profitable year.
Thai government renews or withdraws the Chuay Thai Plus stimulus program in 2026. Would reveal how much of LMWN's order volume depends on subsidy rather than organic demand.
FoodStory ships a dated AI feature for merchants within 6 to 9 months, similar to Toast IQ. Would show LMWN's POS arm can keep pace with global competitors like Toast.

Key numbers

542M baht net profit in 2025, first profitable year (2025-12-31)
41% Thai delivery GMV share vs Grab's 47% (2025-12-31)
10% merchant fee vs Grab's 9% amid stimulus-linked price war (2025-12-31)

Named risks

Fee war with Grab could compress newly-won profitability back to loss. Severity: high
Growth partly tied to Thai government stimulus scheme that could be withdrawn. Severity: medium
IPO venue and timeline uncertain after 2025 SET postponement, now targeting 2027. Severity: medium
No dated AI feature shipped in FoodStory POS versus Toast and Chowbus AI launches. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Grab	contesting	Cut merchant fee to 10% vs Grab's 9% under stimulus scheme, active fee war as of 2025-2026
ShopeeFood	losing to	ShopeeFood share rose from 7% to 10% of Thai GMV in 2025 while LMWN/Grab shares held flat
Toast	losing to	Toast shipped AI assistant 'Toast IQ' in October 2025 with millions of usage threads by Q1 2026; no LMWN equivalent found
Chowbus	losing to	Chowbus unveiled 'AI Restaurant Butler' at NRA Show in May 2026; no dated FoodStory AI feature announced

Questions people ask

Is Wongnai (LINE MAN Wongnai) profitable in 2026?: LINE MAN Wongnai posted its first-ever net profit of 542 million baht in 2025, reversing a 356 million baht loss in 2024, per Thai DBD filings reported December 2025. Whether this holds through 2026 depends on the ongoing fee war with Grab.
Who owns LINE MAN Wongnai?: LINE MAN Wongnai is privately held, backed by Singapore's GIC, LINE Corporation/Naver, BRV Capital Management, PTT Oil and Retail Business, Bualuang Ventures, and Taiwan Mobile, with GIC and LINE co-leading a $265 million Series B in September 2022 that pushed valuation past $1 billion.
Is Grab beating LINE MAN Wongnai in Thailand?: Grab held about 47% of Thai food-delivery GMV in 2025 versus LINE MAN Wongnai's 41%, but Grab's Thailand net profit fell 75% to 379 million baht in 2025 from 1.5 billion baht in 2024, showing both are locked in a costly fee war.
Could AI replace Wongnai's restaurant review platform?: Wongnai's review and search front-end overlaps with functions generative AI search tools increasingly commoditize, but its FoodStory POS integration across roughly 700,000 merchants and LINE's 90%+ Thai penetration are workflow and distribution locks that pure AI tools cannot easily replicate as of 2026.
When will LINE MAN Wongnai IPO?: A planned 2025 Thai SET listing was postponed in December 2025; as of February 2026 the company is weighing Hong Kong or New York instead, with a venue decision expected by Q3 2026 and a revised IPO target of 2027.
What is LINE MAN Wongnai's biggest competitor?: Grab is LINE MAN Wongnai's primary rival in Thai food delivery, holding about 47% GMV share versus LMWN's 41% in 2025, while ShopeeFood is the fastest-growing third player, rising from 7% to 10% share the same year.

Timeline

2026-06-04Company frames 'AI Growth' as IPO driver in investor narrative, no dated product cited
2026-02-06Weighs Hong Kong or New York IPO listing, targets 2027, venue decision due Q3 2026
2025-12-31Reports first-ever annual net profit: 542 million baht, vs 356 million baht loss in 2024
2025-12Postpones planned Thai SET IPO listing citing weak local market conditions
2025-08Acquires JERA Cloud, extending POS into beauty and wellness sector
2023-07Completes acquisition of FoodStory, becoming Thailand's leading restaurant POS provider
2023-01Rebrands Rabbit LINE Pay to LINE Pay, integrating payments across ecosystem
2022-09-27Raises $265M Series B led by GIC and LINE Corporation, valuation tops $1 billion
2020-07-01Wongnai merges with LINE MAN to form LINE MAN Wongnai, backed by $110M from BRV Capital
2010-01-01Wongnai founded in Bangkok by Yod Chinsupakul and three co-founders

Revision history

30 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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