Kt Corp (KT)

Price$19.79Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-05 05:00 UTC

AI: Undervalued

Price checkKT looks modestly undervalued at a discount to book value and normalized earnings.

KT's Seoul shares trade at about 7.6 times 2025 earnings and roughly 0.77 times 2025 book value; using management's 8.3% adjusted return on equity for 2025 implies a normalized earnings multiple near nine times. The 2025 dividend equaled about 4.5% of the current Seoul share value, and planned buybacks add support, so the discount looks meaningful but not extreme.

Big pictureKT's cash generation is steadier than reported profit, although heavy network investment limits owner returns.

From 2022 through 2024, KT's revenue stayed near 26 trillion won while operating income fell from 1.97 trillion to 0.64 trillion, but operating cash flow rose from 3.60 trillion to 5.07 trillion. After 2.91 trillion won of capital spending, free cash flow, meaning cash left after operations and investment, was about 2.16 trillion won in 2024, showing better cash durability than profit durability.

Business strengthKT has manageable leverage, shrinking shares, and meaningful shareholder returns, but debt has recently risen.

At the end of 2024, KT had 3.72 trillion won of cash and 10.52 trillion won of debt; by the second quarter of 2026, cash was 3.05 trillion won and borrowings were about 11.27 trillion won, although current assets still exceeded current liabilities. KT's shares outstanding fell from 256.0 million in early 2023 to 241.1 million at year-end 2025, while its 2025 dividend was 2,400 won per common share and it plans 750 billion won of buybacks and cancellations during 2026 through 2028.

What could change the storyFaster artificial intelligence growth could lift returns, while security damage or overspending could erase the discount.

In the second quarter of 2026, KT's artificial-intelligence transformation revenue rose 22.3% and cloud revenue rose 19.8%, supporting its 2028 goals to more than double the related growth business and reach a 9% to 10% return on equity. KT's wireless service revenue fell 1.8% after customer-appreciation measures, while data-center and subsea expansion can consume capital, so the valuation depends on growth lifting returns faster than debt and remediation costs rise.

AI: News

Second-quarter profit resetKT's profit fell against a property-boosted comparison, while core service and artificial intelligence sales still grew.

On August 12, 2026, KT reported second-quarter operating income of 648.3 billion won, down 36.1% year over year, and net income of 480.6 billion won, down 34.5%; the prior-year comparison included a major real-estate project. KT's service revenue still rose 1.8%, while artificial-intelligence transformation revenue grew 22.3%, showing healthier core activity than the headline profit decline suggested.

Three-year buyback planKT committed more cash to buybacks and a higher return target that could support valuation.

KT's board approved a plan on August 11, 2026 targeting a 9% to 10% consolidated return on equity by 2028 and 750 billion won of share buybacks and cancellations from 2026 through 2028. KT also aims to more than double its 2025 artificial-intelligence transformation revenue by 2028, which could justify a higher valuation if the promised returns and cash generation materialize.

Data-leak fineKT's regulatory fine made the security breach a measurable cost and reinforced customer-retention concerns.

On July 30, 2026, South Korea's privacy regulator fined KT 54 billion won after finding stolen data from more than 16,600 mobile customers and illegal payments totaling 240 million won. The direct fine is manageable for KT, but the breach can raise remediation spending and weaken wireless retention; any stock-price movement around the announcement cannot reliably be attributed to the fine alone.

Loading local price history

Revenue

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Net income

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Free cash flow

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Total cash / debt

CashTotal debt

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
Revenue	₩28.25T	₩26.38T	₩26.29T	₩25.64T	₩24.90T	₩24.10T	₩24.90T	₩23.44T	₩23.55T	₩23.16T	₩22.70T
Research & development	—	—	—	₩174.94B	₩168.97B	₩156.94B	₩165.03B	₩176.76B	₩168.63B	₩167.88B	₩183.82B
Operating expenses	₩15.50T	₩26.08T	₩25.17T	₩24.27T	₩23.51T	₩23.42T	₩23.87T	₩22.34T	₩22.48T	₩21.78T	₩21.62T
Operating income	₩2.59T	₩640.06B	₩1.43T	₩1.97T	₩1.70T	₩1.02T	₩1.03T	₩1.10T	₩1.07T	₩1.38T	₩1.08T
Operating margin	9.17%	2.43%	5.43%	7.68%	6.83%	4.24%	4.12%	4.70%	4.54%	5.97%	4.74%
EBITDA	₩6.70T	₩4.52T	₩5.24T	₩5.62T	₩5.31T	₩4.66T	₩4.66T	₩4.38T	₩4.43T	₩4.73T	₩4.42T
EBITDA margin	23.73%	17.13%	19.93%	21.94%	21.32%	19.32%	18.70%	18.70%	18.83%	20.41%	19.45%
Net income	₩1.72T	₩406.67B	₩972.18B	₩1.39T	₩1.46T	₩746.26B	₩695.87B	₩719.41B	₩546.34B	₩831.85B	₩624.68B
Net profit margin	6.08%	1.54%	3.70%	5.40%	5.86%	3.10%	2.79%	3.07%	2.32%	3.59%	2.75%
Basic EPSper basic share	₩3,559.50	₩1,870.00	₩3,982.00	₩5,200.00	₩5,759.00	₩2,858.00	₩2,634.00	₩2,634.00	₩1,884.00	₩3,043.00	₩2,231.00
Diluted EPSper diluted share	₩3,557.00	₩1,868.00	₩3,977.00	₩5,196.00	₩5,747.00	₩2,858.00	₩2,632.00	₩2,634.00	₩1,883.00	₩3,041.00	₩2,231.00