Kona I (052400) 🔎 In-depth
KOSDAQ · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
Kona I earns money in two ways: it operates the local-currency (Kona Card) systems for more than 60 municipalities across Korea and collects payment and settlement fees as a local-currency platform, and it manufactures metal cards that it supplies to Visa, Mastercard, and Amex. Cumulative users have passed 15 million and transaction volume processed in 2025 topped ₩12 trillion, and because fixed costs barely rise as volume grows, profit builds quickly on operating leverage. First-quarter earnings disclosed in April confirmed a sharp jump in profit, and in June the company approved a treasury-share buyback and stated it would cancel the shares; in March it also received a favorable ruling in a terminal-related lawsuit. What stands out is that despite a 28.8% ROE, a net-cash balance sheet, and an 18.9% cash-generation yield, the P/E sits around 9x, lower than peers, while treasury-share cancellation and dividends strengthen shareholder returns. The caution is that a large share of revenue comes from operating local-currency programs, so government and municipal budgets and policy, contract renewals with specific municipalities, and fee-rate changes can swing results considerably.
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 “Financial IT & Payments” (Internet, Platforms & Software · Software), a type typically read first through P/E.
Financial IT and payments build fairly steady revenue and profit off transaction volumes and fee-based models. With results this stable, profits can be set directly against the price, so trailing P/E — based on realized earnings — is the first metric.
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 30.8% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: mixed).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 32.0% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 33.6% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 30.8%.
- The forward P/E sits below the sector median.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Cho Jung-il 34.27% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 39.42%
With the controlling bloc holding 39%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
Kona I makes money on two legs. The first is its local-currency payment platform. It operates the local-currency (Kona Card) systems of more than 60 municipalities across Korea, collecting operating and settlement fees when residents pay with the card. Cumulative users number 15 million, and transaction volume processed in 2025 exceeded ₩12 trillion. Because server and operating costs do not rise much even as users grow, this business has 'fixed-cost leverage': profit builds quickly as transaction volume expands. The second leg is card manufacturing. In particular, its metal cards are supplied to global card networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and Amex, and by units sold the company holds more than 10% of the world market.
The latest close is ₩43,200 and the market capitalization is ₩629.1 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩40,458) and below its 60-day moving average (₩47,547). 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 53.3, a neutral level. The one-month change is -3.8%, the three-month change is -22.2%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -39.2%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 55 (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 55% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 11.2%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Profitability is top-tier. ROE (how much the company earns in a year on its equity) is 28.8% and the operating margin is 28.7%, both well above peers. On valuation, the P/E (how many times a year's earnings the share price is) is 8.44x and the P/B (how many times book equity) is 2.38x. The balance sheet is in a net-cash position. Net debt (total borrowings minus cash; negative means net cash) is -₩201.6 billion, meaning cash far exceeds debt. As a result, the measures that also reflect debt look even more attractive: EV/EBIT (enterprise value divided by operating profit, a debt-adjusted P/E equivalent) is just 5.3x and EV/Sales (enterprise value divided by revenue) is only 1.5x. The FCF yield (the ratio of actual cash generated to market cap; higher means more cash-generative) is very high at 18.9%. The 116% debt ratio includes operating liabilities such as local-currency settlement balances, so given the net-cash structure the real financial burden is low.
The earnings recovery is clear. 2025 revenue was ₩309.1 billion, up 30.8% year on year, while operating profit jumped 2.7-fold to ₩88.9 billion (+166%) and net profit rose 2.5-fold to ₩74.5 billion (+146%). This followed local-currency transaction volume expanding from the ₩9 trillion range to the ₩12 trillion range, which brought fixed-cost leverage into full effect. The momentum carried into the first quarter of 2026: revenue of ₩77.0 billion (+32%), operating profit of ₩24.8 billion (+95%), and net profit of ₩23.4 billion (+160%). The ₩23.4 billion of quarterly net profit is about a third of the entire prior year's net profit, showing that this year's earnings power has stepped up from last year. Revenue growth itself will moderate as local-currency transaction volume growth stabilizes, but with margins rising in step-changes, profit is expanding faster than revenue. On that trajectory, this year's net profit is likely to exceed last year's ₩74.5 billion. In that case, measured against this year's expected earnings the share sits at roughly 8x profit, below the 9x implied by last year's confirmed results. In other words, with profit rising and the price held down, it looks cheaper still on a forward basis.
Recent disclosures come down to shareholder returns and earnings. April's fair-disclosure results confirmed the first-quarter surge in profit, and in late April the company held an investor briefing. In June it approved a treasury-share buyback to enhance shareholder value and stated it would cancel the acquired shares; cancelling treasury shares reduces the outstanding share count and raises per-share value. Dividends are also on a strengthening path. On top of this, in March the company received a ruling in its favor in a terminal-related lawsuit, reducing one legal risk tied to the local-currency business. That said, the local-currency business depends heavily on government and municipal budgets and policy direction, so changes in issuance scale or the outsourcing structure remain variables to watch.
The strengths are clear. Despite 28.8% ROE profitability, a net-cash balance sheet, and a high 18.9% cash-generation yield, the P/E is around 9x, lower than payment and fintech peers. Measured against this year's expected earnings, now higher, the valuation drops further. Shareholder returns are also strengthening, from treasury-share buybacks and cancellations to dividends. The cautions are equally clear. Because a large share of revenue comes from operating local-currency programs, government and municipal local-currency budgets and policy can swing results substantially. Renewals or losses of specific municipal contracts and fee-rate changes are also variables. In short, this is a stock that is strong when government local-currency issuance is maintained or expanded and metal-card exports continue, and weaker if local-currency budgets shrink or the outsourcing structure changes.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Undervalued
Compared against payment and fintech infrastructure companies (payment gateways, settlement, and card platforms); although Kona I's base classification is software, its substance is a payment platform and card business, so comparison with payment infrastructure firms rather than games or software is appropriate.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHN KCP | 11.61x | 1.75x | 17.11% |
| Hecto Financial | 27.48x | 1.45x | 7.33% |
Against payment and fintech peers such as NHN KCP (P/E 11.1x, ROE 15.4%) and Hecto Financial (P/E 27.4x, ROE 5.4%), Kona I trades at a lower 9.06x P/E while its 28.8% ROE is roughly double their profitability. It sits at a clearly low valuation relative to its earnings power. Even the roughly 9x P/E on last year's confirmed results is conservative given the surge in profit under way. On this year's expected results, which reflect the first-quarter earnings trajectory, it falls below 8x, making the undervaluation more pronounced on a forward view. That said, the high policy dependence of the local-currency business can be seen as partly reflected in the valuation.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩43,200 and the market capitalization is ₩629.1 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩40,458) and below its 60-day moving average (₩47,547). 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 53.3, a neutral level. The one-month change is -3.8%, the three-month change is -22.2%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -39.2%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 55 (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 55% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 11.2%. 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 +11.22% / 6M +3.66% / 12M -25.84%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 8.44x is below the sector median (11.94x). The P/B of 2.38x is above the sector median (1.10x). That said, this P/E is based on last year's (trailing) results. With recent quarterly earnings up sharply, the trailing P/E can look higher than it really is, so a precise read is best done on this year's expected (forward) earnings.
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.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 33.6%, above the sector average (1.0%). The operating margin is 30.8%. The debt ratio is 102.1%, so the financial structure is moderate.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $196.9M | $166.0M | $217.2M | +30.83% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $23.7M | $23.5M | $62.5M | +166.05% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $20.5M | $21.3M | $52.4M | +146.46% ↑ faster |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $136.6M | $170.1M | $196.9M | $166.0M | $217.2M |
| Operating profit | $33.8M | $34.3M | $23.7M | $23.5M | $62.5M |
| Net profit | $36.9M | $24.1M | $20.5M | $21.3M | $52.4M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 12.28% | ||||
Revenue rose 30.8% year over year (2023 ₩280.2 billion → 2024 ₩236.3 billion → 2025 ₩309.2 billion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Operating profit rose 166.1% year over year. Profit is growing at an accelerating pace. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 12.3%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 5.0%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 32.0% 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.
- ROE of 33.6% points to solid profitability.
- Revenue grew 30.8% year over year, a sign of growth.
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
- 2026-06-05UpdateApproved a treasury-share buyback. The purpose is to enhance shareholder value, and the company stated it would cancel the acquired shares.Reduces the outstanding share count, lifting per-share value. A sign of strengthened shareholder returns backed by net-cash capacity. Source
- 2026-04-30IRHeld an investor briefing (IR) to explain earnings and business conditions.Shared the company's view on local-currency leverage and metal-card growth. An occasion to check the medium-term direction. Source
- 2026-04-15EarningsFirst-quarter 2026 preliminary results via fair disclosure. Revenue ₩77.0 billion (+32%), operating profit ₩24.8 billion (+95%), net profit ₩23.4 billion (+160%).Confirms a phase in which profit growth far outpaces revenue on fixed-cost leverage. Grounds for a higher full-year earnings base. Source
- 2026-03-19FilingDisclosed the results of the annual general meeting. Approval of financial statements, dividends, and other agenda items were confirmed.Dividend policy confirmed. Confirms the continued shareholder-return stance. Source
- 2026-03-17UpdateDisclosed that it received a ruling or decision in the company's favor in a terminal-related lawsuit.Partly resolves legal uncertainty tied to the local-currency business. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-quarter 2026 revenue, operating profit, and net profit | revenue 769.6, operating profit 247.8, net profit 234.2 | revenue 770, operating profit 248(+95%), net profit 234 | Confirmed | link |
| Treasury-share buyback decision | base : 2026-06-05 | — | Confirmed | link |
| 2026 expected net profit (internal estimate) | approx. ₩86.0 billion(forward PER approx. 7.9x) | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings Source
- 2026-06-05TreasuryMaterial-fact report (amended)
- 2026-06-05TreasuryMaterial-fact report
- 2026-05-14PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-04-30Disclosure
- 2026-04-15EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-04-07OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-07OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-04-07OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-04-01OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-03-31Disclosure
- 2026-03-19Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-17Litigation disclosure
📖 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.