KT Corporation Sponsored ADR Stock price
Compare with Peer Group
📊 Peer Group
📈 What is it?
The peer group consists of the companies with the most similar business model. They serve as a benchmark for putting a stock into context.
🧮 How is it selected?
Based on similarity of business model, meaning companies from the same industry with comparable products and a similar customer base. That's the only way to compare apples to apples.
🏛️ Why does it matter?
Whether a stock is cheap or expensive is best judged by comparison. A P/E of 18 or an EV/FCF of 20 can look cheap or expensive depending on the yardstick. The peer group gives you the most accurate one: companies with a similar business model that operate under the same conditions.
🎯 What does it mean for investors?
When a metric sits below the peer average, the stock is valued more cheaply relative to its competitors, and above the average more expensively. A discount to the peer group can be an opportunity, but it can also have a reason (for example lower growth). The comparison is a starting point, not a verdict.
Is KT Corporation Sponsored ADR a Top Scorer Stock based on the Dividend, High-Growth-Investing or Leverman Strategy?
As a Free StocksGuide user, you can view scores for all 9,127 stocks worldwide.
StocksGuide Premium
StocksGuide Unlimited
Key metrics
📘 Market Capitalization
📈 What is it?
Market capitalization shows how much a company is currently worth on the stock market.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps classify companies by size (Large, Mid, Small Cap) and indicates their market presence and relative stability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Large-cap companies tend to be more stable, often pay dividends, but may grow more slowly.
- Smaller firms may offer higher growth potential but come with more volatility.
- Market capitalization is a useful indicator of company size — but not a measure of whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued.
📘 Enterprise Value (EV)
📈 What is it?
Enterprise Value represents the total cost to acquire a company — including its debt and excluding its cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(= Market Cap + Net Debt)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV gives a more complete picture of a company's value than market cap alone and is used in key valuation ratios like EV/FCF or EV/Sales.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Enterprise Value shows the true cost of buying a company, including all financial obligations.
- It is more accurate than just looking at market cap, especially when comparing companies with different levels of debt or cash.
- Professional investors prefer EV-based multiples because they better reflect the company’s full financial footprint.
📘 Net Debt
📈 What is it?
Net Debt shows how much debt remains after subtracting a company’s available cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It indicates how dependent a company is on borrowed money and how easily it can service its debt in the short term.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low or negative net debt signals financial strength and flexibility.
- Companies with strong cash positions are better positioned in crises.
- High net debt increases financial risk — especially in environments with rising interest rates or economic downturns.
📘 Cash
📈 What is it?
Cash represents all liquid assets a company can access immediately — including cash, bank deposits, and short-term investments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It reflects a company’s financial flexibility and resilience — enabling investments, buybacks, or buffer in downturns.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A strong cash position means greater room for maneuver and crisis resistance.
- Cash-rich companies can invest, pay down debt, or repurchase shares.
- But excess idle cash might indicate a lack of growth opportunities.
📘 Shares Outstanding
📈 What is it?
Shares outstanding represent the total number of a company’s shares currently held by investors — excluding treasury stock.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s the basis for key metrics like Earnings Per Share (EPS), Market Capitalization, or the Price/Earnings ratio (P/E).
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Fewer shares in circulation typically increase earnings per share — making each share more valuable.
- Share buybacks reduce the number of shares and boost per-share metrics.
- Issuing new shares does the opposite — diluting shareholder value and lowering per-share figures.
📘 Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E)
📈 What is it?
The P/E ratio shows how many times a company's earnings per share are reflected in its current share price — in other words, how "expensive" the stock appears relative to its profits.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The P/E ratio is one of the most widely used valuation metrics. It helps investors assess whether a stock appears cheap or expensive compared to its earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
📊 P/E (TTM) = Based on earnings from the last 12 months (Trailing Twelve Months):🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/E may indicate undervaluation — or signal underlying issues.
- A high P/E may reflect strong growth expectations — or an overvalued stock.
📘 Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S)
📈 What is it?
The P/S ratio shows how much investors are paying for $1 of the company’s revenue – regardless of profitability.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/S is especially useful for evaluating growth companies or businesses not yet profitable. It reflects how the market values the company’s sales.
🧮 Calculation
Market Cap = $9.30b | Revenue (TTM) = $20.08b
Market Cap = $9.30b | Estimated Revenue = $20.41b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/S may indicate undervaluation — or low profitability.
- A high P/S can reflect strong growth expectations — or excessive optimism.
- Especially helpful when evaluating companies where profits are low, volatile, or negative.
📘 Enterprise Value to Sales (EV/Sales)
📈 What is it?
EV/Sales shows how much investors are paying for $1 of revenue — considering not just equity, but also debt and cash. It’s the capital structure–adjusted version of the P/S ratio.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s ideal for comparing companies with different levels of debt. It reflects a company's true cost relative to its revenue.
🧮 Calculation
Enterprise Value = $14.71b | Revenue (TTM) = $20.08b
Enterprise Value = $14.71b | Forward Revenue = $20.41b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EV/Sales allows for capital structure–neutral company comparisons.
- A lower ratio may indicate undervaluation; a higher one may signal strong growth expectations or overvaluation.
- Especially helpful when evaluating high-growth companies with low or negative earnings.
📘 Enterprise Value to Free Cash Flow (EV/FCF)
📈 What is it?
EV/FCF shows how many years it would take for a company to "pay back" its enterprise value using its free cash flow.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It focuses on real cash generation, ignoring accounting noise — ideal for assessing profitability and value based on liquidity, not earnings.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low EV/FCF may signal undervaluation and strong cash generation.
- A high EV/FCF might reflect weak recent cash flow or aggressive growth expectations.
- Best suited for stable, mature businesses with predictable free cash flows.
📘 Price-to-Book Ratio (P/B)
📈 What is it?
The P/B ratio compares a company’s market value to its book value — showing how much investors are paying for each dollar of net assets.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/B is commonly used for asset-heavy industries like banks or industrials. It helps assess whether a stock is trading above or below its net asset value.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A P/B below 1 may signal undervaluation — or weak profitability.
- A P/B above 1 implies the market expects future value creation (e.g., brand, IP, growth).
- Best used for companies with tangible assets and strong balance sheets.
📘 Dividend per Share (DPS)
📈 What is it?
Dividend per Share shows how much cash a company pays out to shareholders for each share they own – usually on an annual or quarterly basis.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
DPS is the absolute value of the payout per share – crucial for income-focused investors and dividend strategies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable or growing DPS often signals a strong, shareholder-friendly business.
- DPS alone doesn’t tell you how attractive the payout is – the stock price also matters (→ see Dividend Yield).
- Long-term dividend growth is often a hallmark of high-quality companies – like the dividend aristocrats.
📘 Dividend Yield
📈 What is it?
Dividend yield shows how large a company’s dividend is in relation to its current share price.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It allows investors to compare dividend payouts across stocks, regardless of price or payout size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable yield can reflect reliable distributions.
- Comparing 1Y and 5Y yield shows whether dividend growth keeps pace with stock price appreciation.
- A low yield isn’t always negative – it can signal strong past performance or growth focus.
📘 Dividend Growth
📈 What is it?
Dividend growth shows how much a company has increased its dividend per share over time.
🧮 How is it calculated?
5Y: Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
🏛️ Why is it important?
Consistently rising dividends are often a sign of financial strength and shareholder orientation – especially relevant for long-term investors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stable dividend growth is a sign of sustainable earning power.
- High dividend growth can significantly boost your total return:
- If a company pays $1 in dividends and increases it by 15% annually over 5 years, you’ll receive $2 per share in year 5 – twice as much as at the start!
📘 Payout Ratio
📈 What is it?
The payout ratio shows what percentage of a company’s earnings (per share) is distributed to shareholders as dividends.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess whether the dividend is sustainable – especially in relation to the company’s profitability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low payout ratio means the company retains more earnings for reinvestment – typical for growth companies.
- A moderate payout (e.g. 25–50%) indicates a healthy balance between returns and reinvestment.
- High payout ratios may seem attractive but can carry risk if earnings decline.
📘 Consecutive Dividend Increases
📈 What is it?
This metric shows how many consecutive years a company has raised its dividend per share – without any cuts or pauses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(Special dividends are not considered.)
🏛️ Why is it important?
A long track record of increases reflects financial strength, consistency, and shareholder commitment.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A long dividend increase streak builds confidence – especially in volatile markets.
- Such companies are seen as reliable and income-friendly investments.
- The longer the streak, the stronger the company’s dividend discipline.
📘 Revenue
📈 What is it?
Revenue shows how much a company earns in total from selling its products and services – the gross income before any costs are deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Revenue is one of the key figures to assess a company’s size, market position, and growth potential.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing revenue indicates rising demand and can be an early signal of future earnings growth.
- Comparing actual and expected revenue reveals trends in the market environment and analyst sentiment.
- Note: Strong revenue alone isn’t enough – margins and profitability matter just as much.
📘 EBITDA
📈 What is it?
EBITDA stands for “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.” It reflects a company’s operating profit before the effects of financing, taxes, and accounting depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBITDA is widely used to evaluate a company’s operating performance – especially across capital-intensive sectors or international comparisons.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high or growing EBITDA indicates strong operational profitability – independent of taxes, interest, or accounting methods.
- It’s especially useful for comparing companies across sectors or geographies.
- Important: EBITDA is not a net income figure – it excludes key costs like depreciation and interest.
📘 EBIT
📈 What is it?
EBIT stands for “Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.” It reflects a company’s operating profit after depreciation, but before interest and tax expenses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT is a core profitability metric that shows how well the company performs in its main business operations – independent of capital structure and tax environment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT indicates strong profitability from the company’s core business – before financial and tax effects.
- It allows better comparison between companies with different debt levels or tax structures.
- Compared to EBITDA, EBIT already accounts for depreciation and reflects capital intensity more clearly.
📘 Net Income
📈 What is it?
Net income is the company’s total profit – the amount left after all expenses, taxes, interest, and depreciation have been deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the most comprehensive measure of a company’s profitability – showing how much actual profit remains after all business and financing costs.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing net income indicates that the company is managing all of its costs efficiently.
- It directly influences valuation metrics like P/E ratio and the company’s dividend capacity.
- Over time, net income trends reveal how resilient and profitable the business model really is.
📘 Free Cash Flow (FCF)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow shows how much actual cash remains after a company covers its operating expenses and capital expenditures.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF reflects a company’s real financial strength – regardless of accounting profits. It shows how much flexibility a company has for dividends, share buybacks, or debt reduction.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High free cash flow means the company generates real, usable cash – independent of reported net income.
- It’s often the most reliable base for sustainable dividends and buybacks.
- Declining FCF can be an early warning sign – even when profits appear stable.
📘 Revenue Growth
📈 What is it?
Revenue growth shows how much a company’s sales have changed compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on forward projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected revenue ÷ Revenue in prior year − 1) × 100
Forward growth is based on analyst estimates for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Rising revenue signals growing demand, business expansion, and market share gains – especially important for growth-oriented companies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growth is the engine of long-term value creation – especially in tech and growth sectors.
- What matters is not just current growth, but its sustainability.
- Forward projections reflect whether analysts expect continued momentum – or a slowdown.
📘 EBITDA Growth
📈 What is it?
EBITDA growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) has increased or decreased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBITDA ÷ EBITDA from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Growing EBITDA indicates improving operational profitability – regardless of financing or accounting effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Strong EBITDA growth signals operational efficiency and scalability – especially during growth phases.
- EBITDA growth can be an early indicator of margin and earnings expansion – but should be assessed alongside revenue and EBIT.
📘 EBIT Growth
📈 What is it?
EBIT growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (after depreciation, but before interest and taxes) has increased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBIT ÷ EBIT from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT growth is a direct indicator of a company’s business performance – taking into account capital intensity through depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Rising EBIT signals improving operating profitability – even after accounting for depreciation.
- It’s especially important for evaluating companies with significant capital expenditures.
- Combined with revenue and EBITDA growth, EBIT growth provides a well-rounded view of operational progress.
📘 Net Income Growth
📈 What is it?
Net income growth shows how much a company’s bottom-line profit has increased or decreased compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on analyst projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected net income ÷ Net income from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate reflects analysts’ expectations for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the ultimate measure of profitability. Growing net income signals stronger efficiency, cost control, and sustainable earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stronger net income boosts valuation, dividend potential, and investor confidence.
- If profits stall while revenue grows, it may signal margin pressure.
📘 Free Cash Flow Growth
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow (FCF) growth shows how a company’s available cash – after covering operating expenses and capital expenditures – has changed compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Free cash flow reflects real financial strength. Growing FCF indicates more flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, and reinvestment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Declining FCF may point to rising investments, increasing costs, or weaker operating performance.
- Especially for dividend investors, FCF growth is critical – since dividends are paid from actual available cash.
- A negative trend isn't always bad, but it deserves closer attention.
📘 Gross Margin
📈 What is it?
Gross margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains after deducting the direct costs of goods sold (like materials and production). It represents the company’s “raw profit” before fixed costs, taxes, and interest.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Or simply: Gross Margin = Gross Profit ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Gross margin indicates how efficiently a company can produce or procure what it sells. It is a key measure of product-level profitability and pricing power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high gross margin suggests strong pricing power and efficient production.
- Falling margins may signal rising input costs or competitive pressure.
- Compared to peers, gross margin offers insights into the quality of a business model.
📘 EBITDA Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBITDA margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.It reflects operating efficiency without being distorted by financing or accounting factors.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBITDA margin reveals how much operating income a company generates per dollar of revenue – independent of capital structure and tax effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBITDA margin reflects strong core profitability – before accounting distortions.
- It allows for effective comparisons across companies and sectors.
- A stable or growing margin signals efficient cost control and business scalability.
📘 EBIT Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBIT margin shows what percentage of revenue remains as operating profit after depreciation but before interest and taxes.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBIT margin reflects a company’s core profitability while accounting for capital intensity (e.g. machinery, infrastructure). It’s especially useful for comparing businesses with different levels of depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT margin shows that the company remains efficient even after factoring in depreciation.
- It’s especially relevant for capital-intensive industries.
- Stable or rising EBIT margins over time are a strong indicator of pricing power and business quality.
📘 Net margin
📈 What is it?
Net margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as bottom-line profit after deducting all costs, interest, taxes, and depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net margin reflects a company’s overall efficiency – across operations, financing, and taxation. It shows how much actual profit is generated from each dollar of revenue.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high net margin means the company is not only strong operationally but also manages financing and taxes efficiently.
- Peer comparisons reveal business quality and competitiveness.
- Declining margins despite revenue growth can be a red flag for rising costs or inefficiencies.
📘 Free cash flow margin
📈 What is it?
The free cash flow (FCF) margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as actual free cash after covering all operating expenses and capital expenditures.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This margin reflects the true liquidity generated by the business – independent of accounting rules or depreciation. It’s especially relevant for dividends, buybacks, and reinvestment decisions.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high FCF margin means a company consistently generates strong cash flow.
- It’s a positive signal for financial stability and shareholder returns.
- The long-term trend is key – a declining margin may indicate rising investments or weakening operating efficiency.
📘 Equity Ratio
📈 What is it?
The equity ratio indicates what portion of a company’s total assets is financed by shareholders’ equity – in other words, how much it relies on its own capital.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
A high equity ratio reflects financial strength and stability, especially during downturns. It’s a key indicator of a company’s solvency and long-term risk profile.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Companies with high equity ratios are generally more resilient and less dependent on external debt.
- Low equity ratios can signal higher risk or aggressive financial strategies.
- Important: Always assess the equity ratio in combination with the return on equity (ROE). This shows not just how stable the company is – but also how efficiently it uses shareholder capital.
📘 Return on Equity (ROE)
📈 What is it?
Return on equity (ROE) shows how efficiently a company uses its shareholders’ equity to generate profit. In other words: how much net income is earned per dollar of equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROE is a core profitability metric. It helps investors understand whether a company delivers attractive returns on the capital provided by its shareholders.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROE indicates that the company is using its capital efficiently and profitably.
- It’s especially meaningful for capital-intensive businesses or firms with high equity bases.
- Important: A very high ROE can also result from high debt levels – always interpret it alongside the equity ratio to assess financial health.
📘 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
📈 What is it?
ROCE measures how efficiently a company generates profits from its total capital – including both equity and interest-bearing debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It evaluates the return on all capital employed, regardless of how it’s financed.
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROCE is ideal for comparing companies with different financing structures. It shows how well management uses capital to create value for both shareholders and creditors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROCE means the company uses its capital efficiently – regardless of whether it's funded by debt or equity.
- The higher the ROCE compared to peers, the more value the company creates with its invested capital.
- Especially relevant for capital-intensive sectors like industrials, energy, or infrastructure.
📘 Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
📈 What is it?
ROIC measures how efficiently a company generates returns from the capital invested in its core operations – regardless of whether the capital comes from equity or debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
- NOPAT = Net Operating Profit After Taxes
- Invested Capital = Operating assets minus non-interest-bearing liabilities
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROIC is one of the most accurate indicators of capital efficiency. Unlike return on equity, it is not distorted by leverage and shows how much value is created for all capital providers.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROIC shows how effectively a company uses the capital that is truly invested in its core operations.
- Unlike ROCE, ROIC focuses only on the capital that is actively used to run the business – and that requires a return (i.e. interest-bearing).
- Especially useful when comparing companies with large amounts of excess cash or non-interest-bearing liabilities – giving a more realistic picture of capital efficiency.
📘 Leverage Ratio (Debt-to-Equity)
📈 What is it?
The leverage ratio indicates how much a company relies on interest-bearing debt (such as loans and bonds) relative to its shareholders’ equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This ratio helps assess a company’s financial structure and risk profile. High leverage can enhance returns – but also increases exposure to interest rate changes and financial stress.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low leverage ratio signals financial strength and independence.
- A higher ratio can improve returns in good times but increases risk during downturns or rising interest rate periods.
- 👉 Always interpret in the context of industry, capital intensity, and interest rate environment.
📘 Earnings per share (EPS)
📈 What is it?
Earnings per Share (EPS) shows how much profit is attributable to a single share – and is one of the most important metrics for evaluating a company's performance.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The diluted share count reflects potential new shares that could be issued through options, convertible bonds, or other rights.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EPS is the basis for many key valuation metrics like P/E ratio, PEG ratio, or payout ratio. It enables comparisons of profitability across companies, regardless of their size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EPS captures per-share profitability and is especially useful for comparisons over time or with analyst estimates.
- Rising EPS may signal consistent growth or share buybacks.
- Important: Always use diluted EPS for more realistic valuations – especially in companies with stock-based compensation.
📘 Free cash flow per share (FCF per share)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow per Share shows how much free cash flow a company generates per outstanding share – after investments, but before dividends or debt repayments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures (CapEx).
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF per Share reveals how much real cash is available per share – useful for dividends, buybacks, or reducing debt. Unlike net income, free cash flow is harder to manipulate and often seen as a more reliable metric.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High FCF per share signals strong financial flexibility.
- It shows how much capital the company can effectively reinvest or return to shareholders.
- Particularly relevant for dividend payers and capital-efficient businesses.
📘 Short interest
📈 What is it?
Short interest indicates how many shares of a company are currently sold short – that is, borrowed and sold by investors who expect the price to decline.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It reflects the percentage of a company’s shares that are being shorted relative to the total shares available.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Short interest serves as a sentiment indicator: A high value may signal skepticism or bearish expectations – but also increases the potential for a short squeeze if prices rise unexpectedly.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low short interest usually indicates market confidence in the company.
- High short interest can be a warning sign – or an opportunity if sentiment shifts.
- Especially relevant in volatile markets or ahead of key earnings releases.
📘 Employees
📈 What is it?
The employee count shows how many people a company employs worldwide – offering insights into its size, structure, and business model.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess operational scale, labor intensity, and cost structure. Combined with revenue and profit, it enables key metrics like revenue per employee or productivity.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high headcount can signal operational complexity – but also significant growth capacity.
- Revenue per employee is a key indicator of efficiency.
- Especially useful for comparing tech, industrial, or service-heavy companies.
📘 Turnover per employee
📈 What is it?
Revenue per employee indicates how much revenue a company generates on average per employee – a key measure of efficiency and productivity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The employee count is typically taken from the most recent annual report.
🏛️ Why is it important?
This metric helps compare business models – especially between labor-intensive and technology-driven companies. A high value suggests automation, operational efficiency, or strong value creation per head.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high revenue per employee indicates a scalable and margin-strong business model.
- A low figure may reflect labor-intensive operations or lower value-add.
- Especially helpful when comparing tech companies to industrial or service sectors.
KT Corporation Sponsored ADR Stock Analysis
Analyst Opinions
30 Analysts have issued a KT Corporation Sponsored ADR forecast:
Analyst Opinions
30 Analysts have issued a KT Corporation Sponsored ADR forecast:
KT Corporation Sponsored ADR Events
Past Events
|
MAY
12
Q1 2026 Earnings Call
5 months ago
|
|
FEB
10
Q4 2025 Earnings Call
8 months ago
|
|
NOV
7
Q3 2025 Earnings Call
11 months ago
|
StocksGuide Free
KT Corporation Sponsored ADR — Q1 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Good morning, and good evening. Thank you all for joining this conference call. And now we will begin the conference of the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2026 Earnings results by KT. We would like to have welcoming remarks from KT IRO, and then CFO will present earnings results and entertain your questions. This conference will start with a presentation followed by a Q&A session. [Operator Instructions] Now we would like to turn the conference over to KT IRO.
Good afternoon. I am Sun Wook Kim, IRO of KT. We will now begin the earnings presentation for the first quarter of 2026. Please note that today's presentation includes estimates of financial and operating performance based on K-IFRS that have not been reviewed by an outside auditor. As such, other than confirmed historical data, we cannot guarantee the accuracy and completeness of financial and business-related information and such information is subject to change in the future. Now Hye-Byung Min, CFO of KT will present the 2026 Q1 earnings.
Good afternoon. I am Hye-Byung Min, CFO of KT. In Q1, KT reorganized the company's growth strategy and implementation system based on stable transition of the management and business structure and developed a new midterm shareholder return policy to solidify the foundation for corporate value enhancement. KT will evolve to become an AX platform company that leads the AI innovation of Korea. AX innovation will be a springboard for our next leap forward. First, we will make utmost effort to regain customer trust while also strengthening our core businesses by innovating information security, network and IT infrastructure.
Second, we plan to secure solid growth drivers with AX innovation-based success models such as sector-specific AX, hyper-personalized AX and new growth AX. At the same time, we will continue to seamlessly implement our corporate value up plan. In order to ensure continuity, the new midterm shareholder return policy effective from 2026 to 2028 will be equivalent to the previous policy of using 50% of stand-alone adjusted net income as resources for shareholder return. For 2026, the annual dividend per share will be a minimum of KRW 2,400 and the dividend per share for Q1 will be KRW 600. The record date is May 27 and payment date is June 11. Also, as part of our corporate value up plan for 2026, the share buyback program of KRW 250 billion will be completed by September. Next, the performance and future plan of each business division will be presented by the respective division heads before we dive into the Q1 results.
Good afternoon. I am Hyun-Jin Park, Head of the Customer Business Group. The B2C business in January experienced temporary decline in both wireless and fixed line subscribers because of the early termination penalty waiver program. However, since February, we are observing a net increase in the number of subscribers. The related sales expense, which increased last year should weigh on this year's results as it is amortized this year. But since February, the related numbers are being managed within our business plan.
The most important strategic direction this year is to regain customer trust while also pursuing sustainable growth by offering a hyper-personalized customer experience based on AX. In this regard, since February 1, we have been running a customer appreciation program to regain customer trust and strengthen customer protection. And on April 28, we launched the Customer Protection 365 Task Force to which we are concentrating company-wide resources. We are working to detect risk preemptively by leveraging AI to analyze on and off-line VOC while establishing a system to address damages incurred by customers within 24 hours based on a company-wide cooperation system. We also have the customer outreach forum to engage in direct communication with customers.
In order to provide an AX-based hyper-personalized customer experience, we are concentrating on the following: First, we will focus on what we do best, which is AI in B2C. MyK, a AI service for B2C customers will be constantly improved to offer hyper-personalized user experience and convenience. For small business owners, we have Sajang Easy AI, which offers specialized AI services for the small business segment. We will continuously develop the platform to support the success of small business owners.
Second, we will prepare the next IPTV platform to enhance the media content user experience. The platform will offer hyper-personalized customized services by using AI speakers and TV windows. Content curated to the taste of the user will be recommended while also enhancing overall convenience. Third, AI will be applied to the entire process of customer contact to deliver uninterrupted user service. AI will be introduced to customer consultation, sales, phone activation and customer service to boost operational efficiency and to ensure that customers use KT in the most convenient manner from beginning to end. By leveraging AI, we will offer products and services tailored to customer needs, provide activation service at the customers' earliest convenience and ensure continued usage of KT services through customized care.
Good afternoon. I am Bong-Gyun Kim, Head of the Enterprise Business Division. The strategic goal of KT's B2B business in 2026 is to lead the B2B AX market with specialized AI for the public sector and different industries. The 3 main pillars are basics and principles, solid growth and future readiness. Basics and principles will be our top priority in terms of securing strong fundamentals. We will rigorously fulfill our commitment to customers while ensuring a safe working environment for our employees. By doing so, we will strengthen our preemptive risk management system.
Solid growth will be driven by KT's uniquely differentiated telco capabilities and AX competitiveness. To this end, we will preoccupy the rapidly growing AX infrastructure market by winning a diverse array of large-scale projects that are expected for this year and also expand the database business by leveraging group-wide capabilities. Also, we will pioneer new markets step by step by promoting our sector-specific AX reference within each customer category and then expand our presence into neighboring sectors. Moreover, we will continuously advance our service model to reflect values desired by customers to offer telco and AX services as a package. Lastly, we will prepare for the future to secure sustainable growth. We will combine telco, which is KT's key strength with AX to deliver a standard model for each industry that addresses the key issues of customers. And based on the standard model, we will lay the foundation for mid- to long-term growth by innovating the overall B2B project implementation system across sales, consulting, execution and operations.
Good afternoon. I am Sang-won Park, Head of the AX Business Division. In Q1, KT mobilized company-wide AX capabilities and organically connected AX consulting, AI technology, platforms and operational skills to develop an AX platform-centered project implementation system that can rapidly and effectively support the customer AX journey. In addition, we have started the execution-based AX consulting service, which works together with customers on diverse sectors to define on-site AX issues and jointly verify applicable solutions. Going forward, KT's AX business will go beyond being a mere AX tech provider to become an AX value partner by working together with customers to deliver business innovation. To this end, in 2026, KT's AX business will focus on core strategic directions.
First, we will further cement the business competitiveness of our key strength, which is agentic AICC. We are incorporating business task automation based on agentic AI to develop the next-generation AICC. AICC will be more than a simple customer service channel. It will evolve to become a customized marketing channel, which we plan to deploy to a wide range of sectors. Second, we will develop a platform that considers industrial characteristics, government regulations, security and even sovereign requirements. The 5-layer AX end-to-end service will be strengthened with this platform.
Customers will be able to apply our AX platform to their business rapidly. It will be offered as a customized service that incorporates sector-specific features. We plan to provide an end-to-end AX service, which encompasses the A to Z of AX from adoption to operational optimization. Third, we will strengthen the foundation for the data for AI business, which is necessary to secure and leverage data and is a key factor for successful corporate AX adoption. Based on internally accumulated data operation experience in the process of our own AX innovation, we will advance the foundation for data usage for customers to create a key driver for AX growth.
Lastly, we will continue to expand the scope of our AX business. With customized product packaging, we will venture into finance, public, manufacturing, defense and other sectors to continue growth. Also, by commercializing managed services, which enables continuous support and optimization of the overall AX operation of customers, we will build a solid footing for long-term sustainable business growth. Thank you.
So that was the presentation by the heads of each business division on the first quarter results and the overview of the future strategic direction. Now we will move on to the financial performance of 2026 Q1. Operating revenue decreased by 1.0% Y-o-Y to KRW 6, 778.4 billion. Operating income declined by 29.9% to KRW 482.7 billion due to last year's base effect coming from property sales of the Gwangjin District development project and an increase of sales and labor costs. Net income contracted by 31.5% Y-o-Y to KRW 388.3 billion due to the decline of operating income. EBITDA decreased by 13.1% to KRW 1,440 billion. I'll go over the operating expense on the next page.
Depreciation expense should shrink. However, the amortization of increased sales expense that was incurred last year and the increase in labor cost led to a 2.3% increase Y-o-Y to KRW 6,295.7 billion. The statement of financial position is on the next page. As of 2026 Q1, debt-to-equity stood at 117.6%. Net debt-to-equity decreased by 3.9 percentage points on Y-o-Y basis to 39.9%. The total CapEx executed by KT and major group subsidiaries in 2026 Q1 was KRW 363.7 billion. On a stand-alone basis, CapEx was KRW 304.2 billion. Major subsidiaries executed KRW 59.5 billion. Now I will go over the performance of each business division. Wireless service revenue increased by 0.4% Y-o-Y to KRW 1,683 billion. Since the expiry of the early termination fee waiver program in January, the subscriber base turned to net addition. Number of subscribers grew by 2.72 million Y-o-Y to reach 29.16 million subscribers. 5G penetration as of Q1 was 82.7%.
Next is fixed line. Broadband revenue rose by 1.8% to KRW 640.2 billion, thanks to an increase in both GiGA Internet subscribers and value-added services. The media business grew by 1.3%, which was mainly driven by an increase in both IPTV subscribers and premium plans. Next is B2B services. B2B revenue decreased by 2.2% Y-o-Y due to the completion of a large-scale data center design and build project and ongoing streamlining of low-margin businesses. Moving forward, we will focus on winning B2B AX projects and strengthening the growth portfolio to deliver visible results. Next, I will go over the major subsidiaries. KT Cloud posted KRW 250.1 billion in revenue, which is similar to last year, thanks to winning public sector projects and higher utilization of the Gasan data center despite the base effect coming from last year's completion of a DBO project.
KT Estate revenue jumped by 72.9% Y-o-Y to KRW 237.4 billion, driven by robust hotel business and the Dunsan apartment complex property sales. The content subsidiaries grew by 1.9% Y-o-Y despite the divestiture of PlayD, showing balanced growth across StudioGenie, Nasmedia and Millie's Library. In particular, StudioGenie had a strong year, generating buzz and viewership with its premium original content lineup, including Honor and Climax. The company is also working to enhance competitiveness by diversifying distribution.
Today, I went over the business performance of KT for the first quarter of 2026. In Q1, we set the direction of the company, which is to become an AX platform company. We reviewed our core competitiveness and created a launch pad for growth. Going forward, we will continue to boost corporate value by expanding our AX-driven growth portfolio and implementing rigorous profit management. We look forward to your continued interest and support. Thank you.
For further details, please refer to the earnings release materials distributed earlier. We will now begin the Q&A session to answer your questions. [Operator Instructions].
[Operator Instructions] The first question will be provided by Jae-min Ahn from NH Investment & Securities.
2. Question Answer
And first, I would like to congratulate the new CFO, Hye-Byung Min; and IRO, Sun Wook Kim for their new appointments. And we really look forward to communicating with you as we further discuss KT IR issues? I have 2 questions today. One is regarding the appointment of the new CEO. So Mr. Yoon-Young Park was appointed as the new CEO. And so I would like to have a better understanding of his strategic view and whether the company has plans to communicate -- has plans to -- for the CEO to communicate with the market? My second question is regarding the first quarter stand-alone operating income. I think it did underperform the expectations. So what would your annual outlook for operating income be for 2026?
So thank you for those kind words, and we look forward to working with you as well. I think there were largely 2 questions. First was regarding the appointment of the new CEO, his strategic direction and communication plans with the market. And the second question was regarding the annual operating income outlook. Yes. And I will take your first question regarding the strategic direction of the new CEO. So the new CEO has emphasized KT's vision as to become an AX platform company. This means that we will be accelerating AX innovation based on the key strengths of KT. And in that sense, I think it's largely in line with the previous strategic direction of AICT. The 2 pillars of the AX platform company is strong fundamentals and solid growth. So we are working to establish a virtuous cycle between the 2 pillars. So the strong fundamentals will drive solid growth and then the solid growth can be reinvested in strong fundamentals. And by doing so, we believe KT can be a leader in the AX market going forward.
To go into more detail on the strong fundamentals. So I think top priority of KT at the moment is to regain customer trust. And to do that, we will be focusing on innovating information security, strengthening the quality of network infrastructure and further advancing IT infrastructure as well. And we believe that such strong fundamentals will be a cornerstone for sustainable growth. And then I will go into more detail on solid growth. So as you all know, AX innovation has become an essential factor in all industries. And to achieve that solid growth, we will be working on not only the B2C and B2C telco markets, but also we'll be expanding the AX success model to new growth areas.
And so driven by strong fundamentals and solid growth, KT to become an AX platform company would be the key strategic vision of the new CEO. And then you also asked about communication plans. So our new CEO has consistently emphasized the importance of communicating and delivering our commitments with the shareholders and the market. Currently, we are internally reviewing the right timing and format for such communication. And so once that is confirmed, we will be communicating that with the market. So then I will move on to the second question. You asked about the annual outlook for profitability. So in January, because of the reduction of our subscriber base and the completion of large-scale data center build projects, our service revenue declined. And in the cost segment, the depreciation expense decreased. However, operating costs such as sales and labor costs increased. So Q1 results were relatively lower than previous quarters.
But going into Q2, we will be having very strict management of the operating expenses with a special focus on sales cost. And so considering all those factors for the full year, we plan to achieve similar results as last year. So if you look at the last year results, if we exclude the impact of the data breach incident, adjusted operating income was around KRW 1.5 trillion. So we are working to achieve those levels. And if we also talk about the group subsidiaries, the main growth drivers, which are the real estate, DC cloud and content subsidiaries, I believe will continue to generate improved growth, and that should also have positive contribution to the overall group numbers.
The following question will be presented by Seung Woong Lee from Yuanta Securities.
I largely have 2 questions. One is regarding the shareholder return policy. And KT announced the new midterm shareholder return policy recently, and I believe it largely continues the previous one. But if profitability recovers, what would be the direction of your shareholder return policy then? Is there a possibility that the return policy can be upsized? And there is also the item of the adjustment. So in the adjustment, you included noncash items and nonordinary P&L. So can you elaborate on specifically what those 2 items mean? And the third question is regarding your wireless business. In the first quarter this year, there was the early termination waiver program that led to a reduction of the subscriber base and that had negative impact on the revenue. So what would be the growth strategy and overall revenue outlook for the full year for the wireless business?
I think largely your question has 2 sections. The shareholder return policy will be addressed by myself. And your question on the wireless business will be addressed by Mr. Park Hyun-Jin, the Head of the Customer Business division. Yes. So regarding your question on shareholder return, the mid- long term, so 2026 to 2028 shareholder return policy was announced to be 50% of net adjusted income. And so that will continuously be implemented. Yes. And then you talked about the overall direction of the return policy. So of course, we will make effort to continuously improve profitability, which also means that we are making effort to increase the dividend per share. Yes. And as you would know, according to our value up program, we are buying shares around KRW 250 billion every year. And so that program will continuously be implemented according to the value up program. And so I'd like to highlight that we are also working to indirectly increase the shareholder return.
And your next question was regarding the adjustments that we make to come with the net adjusted income number. So there are largely 2 elements. One is noncash items and the second is nonordinary P&L. So if you first look at the noncash items, it's the same as the previous policy. But for example, there is some valuation gains and losses that may be incurred from some investments or foreign funds, overseas funds that we hold. So these transactions do not actually ensue cash transactions. And then regarding the nonordinary items. So for example, we may be divesting a sizable asset or there may be some penalties that are sizable that we may need to pay. So we are trying to remove the impact of one-off to ensure that there is stable visibility of dividend payments.
Yes. And I am Hyun-Jin Park, the Head of the Customer Business division, and I will address your question regarding the wireless service business. First of all, the decrease of subscriber base we experienced in January, I think, is largely being offset at the moment given the February numbers show net additions. And as you all know, in the second half, there are some new plans that will be launched related to government policy. But the QoS is around 400 kilo bps. So we don't believe that this will have significant negative impact to our revenue.
And for the full year outlook, I think I can summarize it into 2 key words. It is efficiency and agility. We recently launched a 5G choice plan that is linked to the YouTube premium service. KT is the only telco company in Korea that was able to partner with YouTube and launch this type of plan. So we will continuously work to understand customer needs and reflect them in the design of our plans so that we can observe an increase of the ARPU. And at this point, we are not really concentrating on acquiring new customers by spending large amounts of marketing and sales costs. We will be concentrating on efforts in noncontact channels and other types of services like the used phone sales service so that we can reduce the acquisition cost and generate appropriate level of revenue.
The following question will be presented by Joonsop Kim from KB Securities.
I have 2 questions regarding data centers. One is the AI data center. So I believe that the customer needs and requirements for AI data centers will be different from existing B2B customers. So what are the key needs that you have understood from your discussions with customers? And what is the competitive edge KT has in this area? Second is the securing of power. So I believe that power has become the key obstacle in terms of building and securing more data centers. So how is KT working to overcome this challenge?
Thank you for the question. I think there were largely 2 questions. One was regarding AIDC. What are the customer needs and characteristics and what are KT's key strengths in this area? And second was regarding the security of power for the data centers. So to address this question, Mr. Bong-Gyun Kim, the Head of the Enterprise Business Division, will be answering your question.
Yes, I am Bong-Gyun Kim, Head of the Enterprise Business Division, and I'd like to take your questions. So first, regarding the needs of customers in the AIDC. I think there are largely 3 needs. One is the environment that the GPU is operating. So when I say environment, it includes, like you already mentioned today, the securing of power, the heating. And when heating occurs, can it be well managed by the facilities there. So the overall environment will be one key need. Second will be the build-out. So you will have multiple racks and all those racks will be holding GPUs. Those racks will be connected to each other. We call this the clustering capability, and that is also one key aspect that the customers look at.
And the third is operations. So if there is a failure in one of the GPUs, can you detect it and take that up quickly and reconnect all of the racks. So we call that reclustering ability. So largely, there are 3 aspects. One is the environment, second is the build and third is the operations. And I'll move on to KT's key strengths. So we have very long experience and track record in this area going back to IDCs. And we are also operating the largest number of data centers as well. So that experience is key strength. Yes. And so in terms of the accumulation of the experience, the skills and capabilities, I think KT would be by far top notch. And we are also continuously enhancing the clustering abilities that I mentioned earlier as well.
In terms of the environment, in the past, for the DCs, air cooling was sufficient. But because the new data centers use very high voltage, it needs to be -- it usually uses liquid cooling. Yes. And I would like to highlight that KT is the first company in Korea to commercialize this liquid cooling data center. So we mentioned the Gasan data center, which has been recently established, and the Gasan data center uses this type of cooling system. And currently, we are in the testing period.
I will move on to your question regarding securing power. Yes. In relative terms, I believe the power is more -- it does more ample power in the areas outside of Seoul rather than Seoul. So in the Seoul and largely Seoul metropolitan area, we will be focusing on the expansion of low voltage, so the existing type data centers. And outside of Seoul, where the power can be more abundant, we will be laying out the AIDC infrastructure. In terms of execution strategy, we are planning to buy and lease land that already has secured the necessary power. Yes. So to summarize, we have a 2-track strategy. So we have different strategy for Seoul and metropolitan Seoul and the areas outside of Seoul. And as for the execution strategy, we will be securing land that has already confirmed the procurement of power.
The following question will be presented by Charlie Bai from HSBC.
Congratulations on new management Board. I have only one follow-up question on AIDC. May I know more about your new AIDC buildup plan? And may I know if you have any full year revenue target for the KT Cloud business?
Thank you for those questions. I think your first question is related to the capacity plans that we have for AIDC. So unfortunately, we are not able to share the exact numbers that we have for AIDC, but we have the goal to achieve around 500 megawatts within 5 years. Yes. And regarding your question on KT Cloud, so let me try to answer it this way. I think we will be able to continue double-digit growth this year for the revenue. Yes. And the 500-megawatt number that I just shared with you, I want to clarify that it is for our total data center capacity.
There are no questions in the queue right now.
There are no further questions, we will now conclude the Q&A session. We appreciate your active participation and interest. Thank you for joining us today despite your busy schedules. This concludes the earnings call for the first quarter of 2026. Thank you.
[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]
KT Corporation Sponsored ADR — Q1 2026 Earnings Call
KT Corporation Sponsored ADR — Q4 2025 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
[Interpreted] Good morning and good evening. Thank you all for joining this conference call. And now we will begin the conference of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 earnings results by KT. We would like to have welcoming remarks from KT IRO, and then CFO will present earnings results and entertain your questions. [Operator Instructions] Now we would like to turn the conference over to KT IRO.
[Interpreted] Good afternoon. This is Jaegil Choi, KT's IRO. Let's begin FY 2025 Earnings Presentation of KT Corp.
Please be reminded that today's presentation includes K-IFRS-based financial estimates and operating results, which have yet to be reviewed by an outside auditor. We, therefore, cannot ensure accuracy nor completeness of financial and business data, aside from the historical actuals. So please note that these figures may be subject to change in the future.
Let me now invite our CFO, Jang Min, to walk through the earnings for FY 2025.
[Interpreted] Good afternoon. This is Jang Min, KT's CFO. Before presenting the earnings for FY '25, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere apologies to shareholders and customers for the inconvenience and concerns caused arising out of last year's data breach incident. This incident is serving as an impetus for KT in solidifying the company's fundamental resilience in network and cybersecurity as we are committed to regaining trust from the customers.
Now moving on to 2025 annual performance. Under balanced growth from B2C and B2B, KT's revenue and operating profit both saw significant growth versus last year on strong performance from core businesses, including data center, cloud and the Gwangjin-gu real estate project.
Considering the base effect in 2024 of workforce transformation and even if we were to exclude profit from this year's Gwangjin-gu project, both the consolidated and stand-alone operating profit recorded more than a double-digit growth year-over-year, which is a testament to enhanced fundamental earnings capacity.
Also, collaborating with global big tech companies, we launched a series of new products, and we will tap into the AX market in earnest moving forward. Following the September rollout of SOTA K, which is an AI model developed in partnership with Microsoft, we also introduced secure public cloud, which is a security enhanced cloud service back in November.
We are also starting to gain more visibility in business outcomes from the Palantir partnership, particularly in respect to the financial sector of customers as we explore new business opportunities in offering consulting and solutions application.
Also last November, we opened Gasan AI data center, making it the first such center in Korea commercializing the liquid cooling technology. As a large scale AI infrastructure hub located in the metropolitan area capable of running AI computation and data processing, we expect the center will play an important role in making KT Cloud cement its leadership in the market. .
2025 year-end dividend is set KRW 600 per share with a record date of February, the 25th. There was temporary financial impact in the wake of the breach incident, but under a strong commitment towards shareholder value enhancement, annual DPS was increased 20% from KRW 2000 back in 2024, rising to KRW 2,400 in 2025. Following 2025 under the corporate value enhancement plan, we are planning on KRW 250 billion of share buyback and cancellation this year.
Efforts are continuing towards enhancing the corporate value at the group level as well. In December, KT Alpha announced its plan on interim dividend and cash payout, which is the first since the establishment of the company. And in January this year, Millie's Library announced its corporate value plan as well.
The BoD of KT started the process to appoint CEO as of November, the 4rth and confirmed candidate Park Yoon-young as the next CEO on December, the 16th. He is known for his expertise in B2B in future technologies and is expected to take office as the CEO subject to AGM approval.
KT, once again, is committed to strengthening the company's fundamentals and will do its utmost to rebuild customer trust. Regaining trust is our foremost priority under which we are taking necessary steps such as free replacement of USIMs, cancellation fee waivers and implementing customer appreciation package. These measures will increase costs in the short run, but such decisions were made because we believe customers' trust is what matters most in determining corporate value and defining the company's existence in the longer term.
Going beyond the simple short-term response, we are making structural improvements across the entire security framework. Information security and innovation task force has been set up directly under the CEO as we are revamping the security governance, including further empowering the authority of CISO and integrating and reorganizing distributed legacy security organization and their roles.
We are also planning on around KRW 1 trillion investment into security for 5 years to expand Zero-Trust security scale up, AI-powered integrated monitoring system and beef up access control and encryption, so as to bolster information security system in phases. Through such investment, KT will internalize security capabilities as its sustainable competitiveness. Corporate value up plan will be implemented as planned, including the KRW 250 billion of share buyback and cancellation as previously mentioned. .
Now moving on to FY '25 financial performance. Operating revenue increased 6.9% on year, reporting KRW 28,244.2 billion, Operating profit increased 205% year-over-year, reaching KRW 2,469.1 billion and continuing growth from core businesses, including telecom, real estate, cloud, data center and also driven by profitability improvement efforts and one-off gains from real estate projects. On higher operating profit, net income was up 340.4% year-over-year to KRW 1,836.8 billion. EBITDA was up 35.5% year-over-year to KRW 6,349.3 billion.
Next, operating expense. Operating expense was flat year-on-year, recording KRW 25,775.1 billion, due to lower labor cost and depreciation and efficient general spending despite the rise in selling expense following the growth in subscribers.
Next is on the financial position, the balance sheet. Debt-to-equity ratio as of end of 2025 recorded 120.7% while net debt-to-equity ratio fell 0.4 percentage points year-over-year, reaching 37.4%. Next is CapEx. Total CapEx spend by KT and its major subsidiaries in 2025 was KRW 2,939.7 billion. KT separate basis was KRW 2,143.9 billion, while major subsidiaries spent KRW 795.8 billion in CapEx.
Moving on to breakdown of business performance. Wireless revenue was up 2.8% on year to KRW 7,155.4 billion. Revenue growth was driven by subscriber expansion around 5G and 5G penetration as of end of '25 recorded 81.8%.
Next, fixed line. Broadband revenue posted 1.9% year-over-year growth, reporting KRW 2,533.5 billion on the back of GiGA subscriber growth and value-added service expansion. Media business revenue grew 1.7% on year, driven by higher IPTV subscriber net addition and growth in OOH revenue. Home Telephony revenue was down 5.8% year-over-year to KRW 658.9 billion.
Next, on B2B services. B2B service revenue was up 1.3% year-over-year on the back of balanced growth from telecom and AI and IT business despite the impact from streamlining of low-margin businesses. And against the backdrop of stable growth from such network-based businesses, such as enterprise messaging and enterprise Internet, AI IT has seen growth of 3.1% year-on-year on the back of AICC design and build business, et cetera.
Moving on to major subsidiaries. Now despite the divestment of PlayD, our content subsidiaries revenue stayed flat year-over-year, following top line growth from StudioGenie, Nasmedia and Millie's Library. KT Cloud revenue saw rise in data center usage by global customers and with AI cloud demand expanding, revenue increased 27.4% year-on-year, reporting KRW 997.5 billion. KT Estate revenue was up 15.9% year-on-year to KRW 719.3 billion on the impact of strong hotel business and new property development projects.
This brings me to the end of the FY 2025 full year performance briefing for KT. Once again, we would like to sincerely apologize for the data breach incident and the concerns it would have caused. KT will take this opportunity as a turning point in redefining itself as a company worthy of trust.
On the back of growth from its core telecom business, visible results from AX business with the underpinning of the group's core portfolio, KT will yet again fortify its fundamentals in 2026. We will also implement the plan on corporate value enhancement so as to drive a step-wise increase in corporate value. We ask for continued interest from investors and analysts.
For more details, please refer to the earnings presentation that we shared.
[Interpreted] We will now take your questions. [Operator Instructions] The first question will be provided by Wonseok Hwang from Shinhan Securities.
2. Question Answer
[Interpreted] I have 2 questions that I would like to ask. The first one, I would like to understand as to what the financial impact is of your customer compensation package regarding the data breach incident? And my second question is with the incoming new CEO, I would like to understand as to whether he will be keeping to the previous shareholder return stance that the company has shown?
[Interpreted] I would like to first respond to the first question that you pose regarding the customer appreciation package that the company has implemented and its impact on the financials. We originally said that the benefit that the customers would actually feel will amount to about KRW 450 billion. But not all of that expense is going to be booked as cost under our accounts because it would actually depend on to what extent the customer actually uses up those benefits.
So in terms of the cost that was actually incurred in 2025 and what is most certain to be accrued in 2026 has already booked -- has already been booked in our 2025 numbers. And with regards to additional incurrence of cost come 2026, in consultation with our external auditor, we will come up with an appropriate accounting treatment.
But what I can tell you with certainty is that our performance or earnings in 2026 is going to be better compared to 2025. That is the plan that we are currently working under, and we will do our utmost to actually achieve that.
Moving on to your second question. I understand that the question relates to the future approach or direction regarding our shareholder return policy and the sustainability of the company's past growth strategy going forward.
Now first or first mentioned in my opening presentation, we've actually increased the DPS by 20% from the 2024 KRW 2000 per share to KRW 2,400 in 2025. In terms of the shareholder plan to be applied from 2026, it will be something that the new incoming CEO and the BoD would have to finalize on.
As you would appreciate, the company's shareholder return policy has been progressive. It's been expanding year-over-year. And as I've also mentioned, our objective for this year is going to be a higher level of profit versus what we've seen last year. So the dividend plan or the shareholder return plan to be devised by the new CEO and the BoD, we expect will be in line with those -- in line with those stance.
In terms of whether the growth strategy that we currently have will continue to be implemented going forward, I'm sure you could appreciate that the AX driven innovation is something that is essential across all of the industry sectors. So in light of that aspect, the new CEO has practical experience in the B2B domain and he values the commitment and the promise that the company has made to the market as well as to the shareholder. Hence, we do not expect that there will be any significant change to our strategic approach. Now having said that, with him taking the office in light of certain strategies or certain tactical approaches, those will reflect the philosophy of the new CEO.
Next question, please?
[Interpreted] The following question will be presented by Minha Choi from Samsung Securities.
[Interpreted] I am [indiscernible] from Samsung Securities. I would also like to ask you 2 questions. First is on the outlook for your wireless business going forward. Since the data breach incident, I understand that there was a 14 days of cancellation fee waiver period starting from the end of last year up until the beginning of this year, and I understand that there was some churn of your subscribers, I would like to know under that backdrop for this year, what is your outlook for your wireless business growth? .
My second question is compared to your peers in the industry, your B2B growth seems to be much slower. Would like to understand as to the reason why and what your outlook for your B2B business going forward is?
[Interpreted] So first off, regarding the 14 days of cancellation fee waiver, during that period of time, we had about 230,000 subscribers leave the company. But because of the net addition that we actually achieved previously, the actual all-in impact was on a full year basis, a net addition of subscribers. So that basis of net addition is what creates the revenues going forward for our wireless business in 2026.
Now having said that, it is hard to look forward to, for instance, a very high level of growth of double digit from the wireless business at this point. That's why we are going to focus on more -- making our operations more efficient through rationalizing the selling expenses and distribution and improving on the offerings, which will be the efficiency measures that will help us defend our bottom line.
Responding to the second part of the question, in terms of the reason why our B2B growth rate is lower compared to the industry peers and what our outlook is for 2026, first, in looking at our B2B business, you have to also incorporate our enterprise Internet, our lease line business, data center and AI business as well. And as you know, for us, we have a separate subsidiary entity under KT Cloud. So you also need to take that aspect into consideration. So if you were to also combine the KT Cloud revenue on a combined basis, you will see that our revenue growth on a year-over-year basis is 6%. And in light of the total size of the B2B market and the market share that we have in that market, 6%, does not look that low.
And also on KT Cloud separate basis, the growth rate was 27.4% year-over-year, which is a quite steep uptrend, and we expect this trend to continue this year as well.
[Interpreted] With no questions in the line, we would now like to close the Q&A session. Once again, thank you very much for your questions and for your interest in the company and thank you all for joining us despite your very busy schedules. This brings us to the end of KT's Full Year 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Thank you.
[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]
KT Corporation Sponsored ADR — Q4 2025 Earnings Call
KT Corporation Sponsored ADR — Q3 2025 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
[Interpreted] Good morning and good evening. Thank you all for joining this conference call. And now we will begin the conference of the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 earnings results by KT. We would like to have welcoming remarks from KT IRO, and then CFO will present earnings results and entertain your questions. [Operator Instructions]
Now we would like to turn the conference over to KT IRO.
[Interpreted] Good afternoon. This is Choi Jaegil, KT's IRO. We will begin the third quarter 2025 earnings presentation.
Please be reminded that today's presentation includes K-IFRS-based financial estimates and operating results, which have not yet been reviewed by an outside auditor. We, therefore, cannot ensure accuracy nor completeness of financial and business data, aside from the historical actuals. So please note that these figures may be subject to change in the future.
With that said, let me now invite our CFO, Jang Min, to discuss KT's Q3 2025 earnings.
[Interpreted] Good afternoon. This is Jang Min, KT's CFO. Before going into the earnings for Q3 2025, I would like to extend my sincere apologies to our customers and investors for the unauthorized micro payments and infringement incident perpetrated through the illegal base station connection.
KT is currently implementing a comprehensive plan to compensate customers affected by such unauthorized micro payments and personal information breach. Starting November 5, KT is replacing used SIM free of charge for all of its customers. Going forward, KT will do its utmost to put in place technical and system-based guardrails to protect customers, and to ensure that such incidents are prevented through preemptive and far-reaching security measures.
On November 4, we officially began the process for CEO nomination. KT's Director Candidate Nomination Committee, comprising of all of the independent auditors, will select a pool of candidates from various different channels to recommend one candidate to the Board of Directors before the end of the year. BOD will then make the final confirmation and the new CEO will be appointed at the General Meeting of Shareholders.
Now I will move on to KT's third quarter earnings for 2025. Based on our telco business and continuing growth of group's core portfolio, as well as real estate profit gained from Gwangjin District development, KT sustained growth in revenue and operating profit this quarter. We are also collaborating with global big tech companies to launch specific services, and have secured a solid footing for AX business execution by opening KT Innovation Hub, placing momentum behind the transformation towards an AICT company.
We released consecutively our proprietary model, Mi:dm2.0, SOTA K, which is a model developed in collaboration with Microsoft, as well as Llama K, based on Meta's open source technology, introducing AI LLM lineup catering to Korean requirements. Under the AI multimodal strategy, we will expand AI-driven usage base across various verticals including media press, education, public and financial domains.
In October, we opened KT Innovation Hub under strategic partnership with Microsoft, where we can hold exhibitions on AX and AI experience and provide industry-specific consulting services. AI experts of both companies, together with our clients, will be working together in the hub to explore new AX business opportunities.
Third quarter dividend is KRW 600 per share as we maintained 20% higher dividend payout year-over-year as was the case in Q1 and Q2. Corporate value enhancement plan also is ongoing as planned. We had concrete results in securing capacity required for structural transformation into becoming an ICT company, with SOTA K launch being one of such endeavors. We continue to work on streamlining assets and driving profitability enhancements through rationalizing low-margin businesses and liquidation of noncore assets.
As part of the value enhancement plan, we also completed KRW 250 billion share buyback on 13th of August.
Next on financial performance for Q3 of '25. Operating revenue was up 7.1% year-over-year, reporting KRW 7.1267 trillion and sustained growth from core businesses, including telecom, real estate, cloud and data center and profitability improvement efforts as well as onetime real estate sales gains. Operating profit was up 16% Y-o-Y, reporting KRW 538.2 billion. Net income was up 16.2% Y-o-Y, recording KRW 445.3 billion, driven by increase in operating profit. EBITDA increased 5.2% Y-o-Y, reaching KRW 1.5039 trillion.
Next page, I will walk through the operating expense items. Operating expense increased 6.4% year-on-year to KRW 6.5886 trillion, an increase in cost of goods sold, cost of services and selling expense.
Next is the financial position of the company. Debt-to-equity ratio at end of September 2025 was 123.3%, while our net debt ratio went up 4.2 percentage points year-over-year, reaching 34.5%.
Next, on CapEx. Total CapEx up to the third quarter of '25 of KT and its main subsidiaries accounted for KRW 1.9637 trillion. KT's separate basis CapEx was KRW 1.3295 trillion, while major subsidiaries spent KRW 634.2 billion.
Next, performance breakdown by business. Wireless revenue was up 4% year-on-year, reaching KRW 1.8096 trillion. Subscriber base expansion around 5G drove the top line growth, with 5G penetration as of third quarter end reaching 80.7%.
Next is fixed-line business. Broadband internet revenue increased 2.3% year-on-year to KRW 636.7 billion on the back of GiGA Internet subscriber growth and value-added services. Backed by higher IPTV subscriber net addition and sale of premium plans, media business posted growth of 3.1% year-over-year. Home telephony revenue fell 6.6% year-over-year to KRW 160.9 billion.
Next is B2B business. B2B service revenue reported 0.7% year-over-year growth on the back of enterprise messaging, corporate broadband and network-based business growth, despite streamlining of low-margin businesses.
For the AI and IT business, revenue came down 5.7% year-over-year due to structural enhancement work done on certain businesses in line with our selective focus strategy, notwithstanding AICC project wins from large customers and ongoing monetization.
Next is performance of major subsidiaries. Revenue from content subsidiaries dipped 1.8% year-over-year due to less number of original title production.
KT cloud revenue was up 20.3% year-on-year, following higher data center usage by global clients and AI cloud demand growth. KT Estate revenue was up 23.9% year-on-year to KRW 186.9 billion, backed by good performance from hotel business and new development projects.
This ends report on KT's third quarter earnings results. Once again, I would like to extend my sincere apology for causing concern over unauthorized micro payments and the infringement incident. KT will cooperate with the government's investigation process and exert our utmost effort in ensuring network security and stronger customer protection. Also, we will bring true AI CT transformation. And by successfully implementing corporate value enhancement plan, we'll endeavor to drive stepwise upgrade in KT's corporate value.
Once again, thank you to our investors and analysts for your continued interest and support.
[Interpreted] For more information, please refer to the document and materials that we had previously circulated. We will now begin the Q&A session. To give as much opportunity as possible, I would like to ask that you limit your questions to 2 per person.
[Interpreted] [Operator Instructions] The first question will be provided by Hoi Jae Kim from Daishin Securities.
2. Question Answer
[Interpreted] I'm Kim Hoi Jae from Daishin Securities. You were able to record good financial performance up until the third quarter. I know that for the fourth quarter, usually there is a seasonality expense-related impact, so it will be hard to make that projection. But still I would like to get some color as to what your projection is going forward for the fourth quarter.
And you've decided to pay out dividend per share of KRW 600 up until Q3. Just wondering whether there is further upside to the dividend payment for -- when the fourth quarter comes? And also until -- so in 2025, you had decided to do a share buyback and cancellation in the amount amounting to KRW 1 trillion. Just wondering whether in 2026, you will be able to grow that size of share buyback and cancellations?
[Interpreted] Thank you for that question. Responding to the question on Q4 outlook. As you have correctly mentioned, in the fourth quarter, there are usually seasonality issue. And also, we have to consider all the measures to compensate for customers. And also, there are certain uncertainties that currently exists relating to the fines or the penalties that we will be subject to. So at this point, we are making a quite conservative stance when it comes to making a forecast going forward, but we are putting our utmost efforts to minimize any impact or any damage to our customers and also to our financials.
Now, however, because we were able to report a quite solid performance up until Q3, if we were to make projections on the full year 2025 financials, thanks to our efforts in growing our top line growth, at the same time, improving the profitability and considering that there was also a one-off gain from the NCP business, the real estate, and also due to the fact that we are able to drive our core business-centric group affiliate growth, we believe that both on a consolidated and separate basis, we could achieve a year-over-year growth.
On the second question, basically, when it comes to the dividends, yes, there will be a onetime impact coming from this hacking incident, and there will be certain uncertainties in terms of its impact on the financials. However, we will be considering the annual based financial performance as well as the expectations that the shareholders have, based upon which I am most certain that our BoD will make a reasonable decision.
So lastly, regarding our announcement of the plan to do the share buyback and the cancellation amounting to a total size of KRW 1 trillion, so for this year, we had already conducted the buyback and cancellation amounting to KRW 250 billion. And your question was whether for next year, can you expect about the same amount or more bigger as we go forward. I can tell you that our value up plan will continue to be implemented. And in consideration of the confidence that the market is giving us, we will make sure that either this could happen on the same size basis as it was for this year, for next year or there could be certain adjustments. We will very flexibly and nimbly respond to changes in the overall operational backdrop and deciding on the specific size.
Next question, please.
[Interpreted] The following question will be presented by Chan-Young Lee from Eugene Investment & Securities.
[Interpreted] I am Lee Chan-Young from Eugene Investment & Securities. My question relates to the recent hacking incident. I would like to understand as to what the financial impact will be in line with your compensation to the customers and your subscribers, and also for the measures that you are putting in place to make sure that you prevent a recurrence of such incident going forward. And I would like to know the extent of this expense that is currently captured in Q3 numbers. And also going forward, what will be the timing or the scope of that expense?
[Interpreted] Thank you for that question. As I've mentioned before, we have put in place a measure and a compensation plan to compensate for any harm that has been inflicted due to the unauthorized micropayment incident as well as the data breach issue. Now -- and also on November 5, we had made the announcement that we will be replacing the used SIM cards of all of the KT customers. And if and when we go through this investigation process by the government as well as the police, if additional harm is identified, then the -- eventually, the final amount of the compensation will be determined.
Now in terms of the timing as well as the size of this expense, we cannot make a perfect prediction based on where we are today. However, we believe that in terms of the used SIM chip replacement, the relevant costs will be recognized under Q4 figures. There is also free data that we are planning to provide and KRW 150,000 discount on the handset tariff as well as certain other expenses. Now these expenses, when they are actually incurred, that would be the timing upon which it will be booked in our financials.
Now we've also already made an announcement to the market that for the coming 5 years, that we have put in place an information security-related investment in the amount that exceeds KRW 1 trillion. We've actually communicated that plant was into the market. And looking back at our track record, we've been investing about KRW 120 billion to KRW 130 billion on a per annum basis for this security purposes. So we believe that this KRW 1 trillion, which we'll be investing in the upcoming 5 years, is not going to be overly burdensome for the company.
Next question, please.
[Interpreted] The following question will be presented by Eun Jung Shin from DB Securities.
[Interpreted] I just have one question. Your CEO appointment process has just begun. Can you just walk us through the process under which your new CEO will be appointed? And when there is a new CEO that comes into office, will there be any changes to the current value of program that the company has?
[Interpreted] Thank you for that question. Let me walk you through our CEO appointment process. We've actually officially kick started the discussion process on appointment of the new CEO as of the November 4. And under the BoD rules, there is going to be a director candidate recommendation committee that's going to be comprised of all of our independent directors, who are 8 of them in total, and they will go through the relevant processes.
So first off, we begin with the candidacy pool of the CEO, who's going to be recommended by a third party and outside entity. And also, we will go through an open call process as well and also receive recommendation from the current shareholders as well as include a candidate from the -- internally from inside the company. So the Director of Candidates Recommendation Committee will then go through the screening and vetting process based upon the documentation, and we'll also engage in interviews. And by the end of the year, the committee is going to select one CEO candidate to be tabled at the BoD.
So this one candidate that is recommended by the recommendation committee is going to be tabled at the BoD, BOD making the final confirmation on that candidate, and this candidate will go through the General Meeting of Shareholders deliberation process in 2026 to be finally appointed as the CEO of the company.
Lastly, your question on the consistency of the sustainability of the current value up plan that's in place. Now the company went through the BoD resolution last November and had made appropriate market disclosure. And we also went through the disclosure on the implementation progress in May as well. And so I do not think that there is a correlation between the CEO change and the changes to the value up plan. Basically, because of a new CEO, there is not -- the value up plan itself is going to be made invalid for instance, because the BoD understands the direction for the company that is deflated in the value up plan and actually, the value up plan is a commitment and promise that we make to the market. And therefore, I believe the action plans that are included in the plan itself is going to be sustained.
[Interpreted] There are no questions in the queue right now.
[Interpreted] With no questions in the queue. We would now like to close the Q&A session. Thank you, everyone, for your interest and for your questions. And once again, thank you very much for joining us despite your very busy schedules. This ends KT's third quarter 2025 earnings call. Thank you.
[Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]
KT Corporation Sponsored ADR — Q3 2025 Earnings Call
Financial data from KT Corporation Sponsored ADR
Revenue
Revenue is the sum of all sales generated by a company, e.g. for its products or services.
Revenue (TTM) metric explainedDirect Costs
Direct costs are the costs incurred directly in connection with the manufacture of the product or service.
Gross Profit
Gross Profit indicates how much of the revenue remains in the company after deducting direct production costs. If the percentage share of sales is calculated, this is referred to as the gross margin.
Gross Profit metric explainedSelling and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) include all expenses for marketing and sales as well as the general administration of the company.
Research and Development Expense
Research and development costs (R&D) provide information on how much the company invests in the research and development of its products. The costs are particularly interesting as a percentage of revenue and in comparison to direct competitors.
EBITDA
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The EBITDA margin is calculated as a percentage of sales.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation represents reductions in the value of the company's assets (e.g. due to wear and tear on machinery).
EBIT (Operating Income)
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) is the company's profit before interest and taxes, also known as the operating income. The EBIT Margin is calculated as a percentage of sales at
.
Net Profit
Net Profit represents the profit or loss after deduction of all costs.
Net Profit metric explainedStocksGuide Premium
| Jun '26 |
+/-
%
|
||
| Revenue | 20,079 20,079 |
0%
0%
100%
|
|
| - Direct Costs | 7,096 7,096 |
1%
1%
35%
|
|
| Gross Profit | 12,983 12,983 |
1%
1%
65%
|
|
| - Selling and Administrative Expenses | 7,626 7,626 |
4%
4%
38%
|
|
| - Research and Development Expense | 120 120 |
13%
13%
1%
|
|
| EBITDA | 4,195 4,195 |
6%
6%
21%
|
|
| - Depreciation and Amortization | 2,807 2,807 |
1%
1%
14%
|
|
| EBIT (Operating Income) EBIT | 1,388 1,388 |
25%
25%
7%
|
|
| Net Profit | 948 948 |
39%
39%
5%
|
|
In millions USD.
Don't miss a Thing! We will send you all news about KT Corporation Sponsored ADR directly to your mailbox free of charge.
If you wish, we will send you an e-mail every morning with news on stocks of your portfolios.
KT Corporation Sponsored ADR Stock News
Company Profile
KT Corp. engages in the provision of integrated telecommunication services. It operates through the Customer and Marketing businesses. Its services include wire and wireless phones, internet, and other communication. The company was founded on December 20, 1981 and is headquartered in Seongnam-si, South Korea.
StocksGuide Premium
| Head office | South Korea |
| CEO | Mr. Kim |
| Employees | 14,020 |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Website | www.kt.com |


