LG Uplus (032640) 🔎 In-depth
KOSPI · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
LG Uplus is a company whose revenue backbone is the monthly communications fees people pay, with 5G/LTE mobile fees the largest share and broadband and IPTV wireline/media, plus enterprise leased lines, IDC, cloud and AI, forming the growth axes. In its March 2026 value-up disclosure the company formalized a policy of paying out at least 40% of separate-basis net profit as dividends and lifting the total shareholder-return ratio to as much as 60%, decided in April to cancel treasury shares, saw first-quarter net profit improve 8.4%, and raised the 2025 dividend to ₩660 per share from the prior year. The strengths are that, on top of stable communications cash flow, profit is recovering faster than revenue, and a P/B of 0.68x and a forward P/E of about 10.6x come with a roughly 4% dividend, share cancellation and a company-backed dividend floor. The cautions are that domestic communications revenue growth is a gentle roughly 5% a year given subscriber saturation, and the 5.9% ROE trails KT's (9.8%).
This page organises public market and filing data for information purposes. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, nor investment advice. Metrics labelled “forward” are our own unverified estimates. Please verify with the original DART filings and decide at your own responsibility.
30-second brief
Pulled directly from the computed values below — not a separately written opinion.
What do the SourceComputedEstimateReading tags mean?
Source filings and exchange data · Computed calculated from public data · Estimate our own unverified projection · Reading drafted automatically, then rule-checked. See AI & Automation.
Core valuation metric
This stock's effective sub-sector is “Telecommunications” (Telecom & Utilities), a type typically read first through EV/EBITDA.
Telecom pours heavy capital into network infrastructure and uses debt alongside it, so depreciation and capital structure weigh heavily on reported profit. That's why EV/EBITDA — enterprise value, including debt, against operating cash generation — reflects the underlying profitability more fairly than net-income P/E.
Price against earnings alone becomes unstable when earnings swing. Reading it together with price against assets helps gauge the downside.
This note explains how each sector is typically valued and is educational context only, not investment advice.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Revenue rose 5.7% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 1.5% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 6.1% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 5.9%.
- P/B is low versus peers too, so it looks cheap on an asset basis as well.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder LG 38.25% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 38.25%
With the controlling bloc holding 38%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
LG Uplus's revenue backbone is the monthly communications fees people pay. Mobile (5G/LTE) fees make up the largest share, backed by wireline and media fees such as home broadband and IPTV (U+tv). On top of this come enterprise leased lines, internet data centers (IDC), cloud and AI, a business the company is growing while its core communications business is saturated. In short, the company's money comes from steady monthly fees from subscribers plus IT infrastructure for enterprises, and the number of subscribers and per-person average revenue per user (ARPU) are the key earnings variables.
The latest close is ₩15,000 and the market capitalization is ₩6.4 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩14,720) and below its 60-day moving average (₩15,032). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 53.5, a neutral level. The one-month change is +0.1%, the three-month change is -2.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -15.8%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 38 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 38% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 16.1%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
On last year's (2025) confirmed full-year results, the P/E ratio (how many times one year's earnings the price trades at) is 12.15x and P/B (price to book net assets) is 0.72x. A P/B below 1 means the shares are priced below even the company's net assets. ROE (how much the company earns in a year on its equity) of 5.9% and an operating margin of 5.8% are not flashy but are steady, as is typical of telecoms. The debt ratio (debt to equity) of 119.7% is the usual level for a telecom that operates with debt because network investment is capital-intensive, and an interest-coverage ratio of 3.2x means there is ample capacity to service interest. One important point is that this P/E is on a trailing basis using last year's confirmed profit. As shown below, with profit in a recovery phase, the P/E on this year's expected earnings (about 10.6x) is lower still, so last year's multiple should be read not as a burden but rather as being on the cheap side.
Five-year revenue has grown steadily, reaching ₩15.5 trillion in 2025, up 5.7% from the prior year, and the pace of growth has gradually quickened (from +1.8% the year before to +5.7% this year). With the core communications business saturated, enterprise and media revenue propped up the top line. The profit side shows a sharper inflection. Net profit fell hard once to ₩374.5 billion in 2024, then recovered 39.9% to ₩523.9 billion in 2025. That recovery continues this year. Cumulative first-quarter 2026 revenue was ₩3.8 trillion (+1.5%), while operating profit was ₩272.3 billion (+6.6%) and net profit ₩176.0 billion (+8.4%), with the profit growth rate clearly outpacing revenue growth. In other words, even without large top-line growth, cost efficiency and enterprise and media margins are supporting a phase in which profit grows faster. The forward P/E of about 10.6x on this year's expected earnings being lower than last year's confirmed 11.5x directly reflects this picture of profit rising above last year's. Because communications is an industry where fees flow in steadily each month from a subscriber base, it tends to sustain a recovery trend rather than swing sharply.
Recent disclosures read along two threads: confirmed results and shareholder returns. In its March 24 corporate-value enhancement plan (a voluntary value-up disclosure), the company formalized a policy of paying out at least 40% of separate-basis net profit (excluding one-offs) as dividends, and, in years with strong cash flow, adding buybacks to widen the total shareholder-return ratio to as much as 60%. On April 30 it duly decided to cancel treasury shares, reducing the share count. First-quarter profit improvement (net profit +8.4%) was formally confirmed in the May 7 preliminary-results fair disclosure and the May 15 quarterly report, and several May investor-relations (IR) session disclosures show the company is active in investor communication. Dividends are paid semiannually as interim and year-end payments, and the 2025 dividend of ₩660 per share (interim ₩250 plus year-end ₩410) was raised from the prior year's ₩650.
The strengths are clear. On top of the stable cash flow of monthly communications fees, profit that bottomed last year is recovering faster than revenue through the first quarter of this year, the 0.68x P/B means the price is below net assets, and the forward P/E on this year's expected earnings (about 10.6x) is lower than the trailing figure. Add a roughly 4% dividend, and shareholder returns such as share cancellation and the value-up disclosure are backed not by words but by actual filings; the company's formalized dividend floor (at least 40% of separate-basis net profit) raises predictability. There are also points to watch. Domestic communications is already saturated at the subscriber level, so revenue growth is a gentle roughly 5% a year and explosive growth is hard to expect, and the 5.9% ROE trails KT's (9.8%) (though it is higher than SK Telecom's 3.2%, placing capital efficiency in the middle of the three). In sum, this stock is viewed not for high growth but for stable cash flow, profit recovery, and dividends and returns. It is strong as long as dividends and returns hold and enterprise and media fill the gap left by the stagnating core, and weaker if intensifying competition shakes fees and subscribers or if return capacity shrinks.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Undervalued
The peer set is KT and SK Telecom, the two other domestic mobile operators whose business structures are directly comparable; all three run mobile, wireline, media and enterprise IT, making P/E, P/B, ROE and dividends easy to line up side by side.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| KT | 7.79x | 0.74x | 8.54% |
| SK Telecom | 47.91x | 1.47x | 2.73% |
Against the peer set, LG Uplus's position is clear. (a) Relative position: a 0.68x P/B is lower than KT (0.77) and SK Telecom (1.48), the most undervalued of the three relative to net assets. Its 11.5x P/E is higher than KT (7.8x), but KT's higher ROE (9.8%) reflects a difference in earnings power, and SK Telecom's 46x P/E is a distortion from profit depressed by one-off costs, making simple comparison difficult. (b) Premium/discount: on dividends (4.7%) and P/B it is the most favorable of the three, while on the earnings multiple it carries a slight premium to KT, so the direction is mixed, but the undervaluation on the asset and dividend axes is clearer. (c) Limits of trailing and the forward view: because last year was an inflection with net profit recovering 39.9%, the trailing P/E looks somewhat high, but with profit continuing to grow this year, the forward P/E falls to about 10.6x. Taking together the low P/B, the highest dividend in the sector, and the company's official return floor, we judge the stock to be in undervalued territory within the three operators.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩15,000 and the market capitalization is ₩6.4 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩14,720) and below its 60-day moving average (₩15,032). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 53.5, a neutral level. The one-month change is +0.1%, the three-month change is -2.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -15.8%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 38 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 38% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 16.1%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Relative performance stock vs index · start = 100
Excess return vs index · 3M +16.09% / 6M -25.84% / 12M -47.00%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 12.15x is in line with the sector median (11.13x). The P/B of 0.72x is below the sector median (0.94x).
Enterprise value (EV)
EV = market cap + net debt. It reflects cash and debt, so it captures the real cost of the whole business that market cap alone misses; lower multiples are cheaper relative to earnings or sales.
Intrinsic value (DCF estimate) Estimate
Model output — not a price target. This is what the formula returns under the assumptions below, not a view on where the share price should go.
DCF (discounted cash flow) estimate — discount rate 10.1%, initial growth 8.5%→terminal 2.0%, 10-yr forecast, free-cash-flow basis, forward earnings power normalized 1.085x. A reference range that shifts materially with assumptions.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 6.1%, in line with the sector average (7.0%). The operating margin is 5.9%. The debt ratio is 120.2%, so the financial structure is moderate.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $10.1B | $10.3B | $10.9B | +5.65% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $701.1M | $606.4M | $626.7M | +3.36% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $437.5M | $263.1M | $368.0M | +39.90% ↑ faster |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $9.7B | $9.8B | $10.1B | $10.3B | $10.9B |
| Operating profit | $687.8M | $759.6M | $701.1M | $606.4M | $626.7M |
| Net profit | $500.4M | $465.8M | $437.5M | $263.1M | $368.0M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 2.77% | ||||
Revenue rose 5.7% year over year (2023 ₩14.4 trillion → 2024 ₩14.6 trillion → 2025 ₩15.5 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Operating profit rose 3.4% year over year. Profit is growing at an accelerating pace. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 2.8%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 3.7%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 1.5% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Source Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators Computed
What stands out
- P/E and P/B are both low versus peers, so the price looks inexpensive relative to earnings and assets.
- The dividend yield, at 4.4%, is on the high side.
Points to watch
- The figures shown are based on the last annual report as of the writing date, so it is best to review the latest quarterly results and filings alongside them.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-03-24FilingCorporate-value enhancement plan (value-up) voluntary disclosure — policy to pay out at least 40% of separate-basis net profit (excluding one-offs) as dividends and to widen the total shareholder-return ratio, including buybacks, to as much as 60%.Medium-term: the company formalizing a shareholder-return floor is a signal that raises the predictability of dividends and buybacks. Source
- 2026-04-30DividendDecision to cancel treasury shares — removing treasury stock to reduce the share count and lift per-share value.Medium-term: the lower share count is favorable to existing shareholders in terms of earnings per share and net assets per share. A signal of return commitment. Source
- 2026-05-07EarningsFirst-quarter 2026 consolidated preliminary-results fair disclosure — cumulative revenue ₩3.8 trillion (+1.5%), operating profit ₩272.3 billion (+6.6%), net profit ₩176.0 billion (+8.4%), all up year on year.Near-term: profit growth outpacing revenue growth confirms improving profitability in official figures. Evidence that last year's recovery carried into the first quarter of this year. Source
- 2026-05-20IRInvestor-relations (IR) session notice — a venue for the company to explain first-quarter results, shareholder returns and growth strategy to investors.Near- and medium-term: an official communication channel where the company directly explains its business direction and return plans. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend per share (DPS) 2025 | ₩660(base) | ₩660 | Confirmed | link |
| Shareholder-return policy (payout ratio / return ratio) | 53.7%(base) | net profit 40% , 60%(FY2024~2026) | Confirmed | link |
| First-quarter 2026 net profit | ₩176.0 billion(+8.4% YoY) | 1 (DART) | Confirmed | link |
| 2026 full-year net-profit outlook | approx. ₩570.0 billion(self-estimate) | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings Source
- 2026-06-01Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-20Disclosure
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-08Disclosure
- 2026-05-07Disclosure
- 2026-05-07EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-05-07EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-04-30Disclosure
- 2026-04-30Disclosure
- 2026-03-24Dividend disclosure
- 2026-03-24Disclosure
📖 Plain-language glossary — expand if you are new to this
- P/E
- How many times a year's net profit the price is worth (lower is cheaper relative to earnings). The P/E here is on trailing (last full-year) results; for companies whose earnings swing fast (memory chips and other cyclicals/high-growth), a forward P/E on this year's expected earnings is more accurate.
- P/B
- Price relative to net assets (equity). Around 1x means it trades near book value; below 1x means below book.
- P/S
- Price relative to a year's revenue — useful for growth companies with thin earnings.
- Net debt / EV
- Net debt = interest-bearing debt − cash. Negative means more cash than debt (net cash). EV (enterprise value) = market cap + net debt, closer to what it would cost to buy the whole business.
- EV/EBIT · EV/EBITDA · EV/Sales
- Enterprise value against operating profit (EBIT), EBITDA, or revenue. Unlike P/E these reflect debt and cash; lower is cheaper relative to earnings power or sales.
- FCF / FCF yield
- Free cash flow = operating cash − capex, the cash actually left over. FCF yield = FCF ÷ market cap; higher means more cash generated per unit of market value.
- Intrinsic value (DCF)
- Future free cash flow (or, for some capex-heavy but profitable names, forecast earnings) discounted to today to estimate per-share value. Because it shifts a lot with the discount-rate and growth assumptions, it is shown as a bear/base/bull range, and the basis and assumptions are disclosed in one line beneath it.
- ROE
- How much profit the company earns in a year on its equity (%). Higher means better returns on capital.
- EPS / BPS
- Earnings per share / net assets (book value) per share.
- Operating / net margin
- Profit left from the core business / final profit after tax and interest, per unit of revenue.
- Debt ratio
- Debt relative to equity (%). Higher means more reliance on borrowing (norms vary by sector).
- Current ratio
- Assets convertible to cash within a year against debt due within a year. Above 100% leaves some short-term headroom.
- Interest coverage
- How many times operating profit covers the interest owed. Below 1x means operating profit alone struggles to cover interest.
- Dividend yield / payout ratio
- The year's dividend as a % of today's price / the share of earnings paid out as dividends.
- Revenue CAGR
- Multi-year growth expressed as a single yearly average (compound annual growth rate).
- RSI (short-term signal)
- Whether recent price action is overheated or beaten down. Above 70 is overbought, below 30 oversold.
- MA20 / MA60 (moving averages)
- The 20- and 60-day average price. Price above them signals a firmer short-term trend.
- vs 52-week high
- How far below the past year's peak the price sits now (%).
All figures are for reference only; how they read varies by sector and over time.
Sources: Korea FSC market-price API (data.go.kr), OpenDART, KRX/KIND — public data only.
Bong Stocks presents public-data-based information for reference only. It is not investment advice and contains no target prices, ratings, or buy/sell recommendations. Verify independently before making any decision.