GS is an operating holding company that makes money through dividends, brand fees, and consolidated results from stakes in its core group subsidiaries. Its central axis is the wholly owned GS Energy and the refiner GS Caltex, in which GS Energy holds 50%, alongside GS Retail, GS EPS, GS Power, and GS P&L. For GS Caltex, crude prices and refining margins are the key earnings variables; in Q1 2026 an earnings rebound of +56.7% operating profit and +183.6% net profit was confirmed, and the company continued shareholder returns by canceling its entire treasury stock through profit retirement (about ₩1.87 billion, small in scale). Two points stand out: the strength of a clear recovering-cycle, undervalued, high-dividend holding-company profile, with a P/B of 0.44x and P/E of 8.1x combined with a dividend yield in the 4% range, treasury-stock retirement, and a sharp earnings rebound; and the caution that if refining margins turn down, earnings volatility follows, and narrowing the holding-company discount requires confirmation that the return policy is sustained.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- For financial companies, debt and interest costs are large by the nature of the business, so the debt ratio and interest coverage cannot be read on the same yardstick as an ordinary company.
- Revenue fell 0.3% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 9.9% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 5.4% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 11.7%.
- Valued against the net asset value (NAV) of its listed holdings rather than a consolidated P/E — see the in-depth valuation for the detailed basis.
Ownership & governance As of 2017-12-31
Largest shareholder Huh Chang-soo 4.75% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 6.86%
With the controlling bloc holding 7%, ownership is dispersed, leaving room for control-related or activist dynamics.
Net asset value (NAV) assessment Fairly valued
💡 How to read a holding company · A holding company owns stakes in several subsidiaries. Its P/E swings with equity-method gains and losses on those stakes, so read it only as a rough guide. P/B is more meaningful because subsidiary stakes sit in equity, but book value carries them at low historical cost (so P/B looks higher than reality). The most accurate view is the price against the market value of those stakes (NAV) ↓
Valued against the net asset value (NAV) of its listed holdings rather than a consolidated P/E — see the in-depth valuation for the detailed basis.
Listed subsidiaries ownership
| GS Retail | 58.62% |
| GS P&L | 58.62% |
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Rather than a company that makes and sells products directly, GS is an operating holding company that earns through dividends, brand fees, and consolidated results from stakes in its core group subsidiaries.
- The central axes of its enterprise value are the wholly owned GS Energy and the unlisted refiner GS Caltex, in which GS Energy holds a 50% stake.
- GS Caltex is a leading Korean private refiner that buys crude and refines it into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and petrochemical products; crude prices and the refining margin (the gap between crude prices and product prices) are the key earnings variables.
- To this are added listed subsidiary GS Retail, which runs the GS25 convenience stores and GS The Fresh supermarkets; GS EPS and GS Power in power and LNG; GS P&L, which holds the Parnas Hotel; and GS Global in trading and logistics.
- For reference, GS E&C, maker of the 'Xi' apartment brand, is not a consolidated subsidiary of GS Holdings but an affiliate directly controlled by the owner family.
- So GS's enterprise value comes less from any one division's revenue than from which subsidiaries it holds and how much, especially the results of its refining subsidiary.
- The latest close was ₩75,600 and market cap is ₩7.0 trillion.
- The price sits above the 20-day line (₩71,790) and above the 60-day line (₩73,895).
- Above both its short- and mid-term moving averages, the trend is favorable.
- RSI (an auxiliary gauge that weighs upward versus downward strength over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 53.7, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is +4.1%, the three-month change is +17.0%, and the price sits -7.9% below its 52-week high.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 53 (on a 1-99 scale that weights recent returns against the index over the past year more heavily; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 47% by strength among all stocks.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 11.2%.
- Chart reading is best done alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- On confirmed last-year (2025) results, the P/E ratio (how many times one year's earnings the price represents) is 8.79x and P/B (how many times book net assets the price represents) is 0.48x, trading at less than half of net assets.
- Compared with similar holding companies, which generally trade around net asset value (P/B 0.6-2x) or above, that is a notably low position.
- ROE (the rate earned in a year on shareholders' equity) is 5.4% and the operating margin is 11.7%.
- The debt ratio is 242.9%, high by the number alone, but GS consolidates subsidiaries with heavy assets and large borrowings such as refining and power, so it is hard to judge by the same yardstick as ordinary manufacturers (an interest coverage ratio of 6.1x means operating profit amply covers interest).
- One point to note is that this P/E is on last year's confirmed earnings.
- As shown below, Q1 earnings this year grew sharply, so the forward-earnings valuation based on this year's expected earnings (see the forecast below) is considerably lower than the last-year basis.
- In other words, rather than last year's P/E and P/B being a burden, the forward-earnings basis is closer to the actual picture in an earnings-recovery phase.
- On top of this, a dividend yield of about 4.3%, a dividend per share of ₩3,000, and a payout ratio (share of net profit paid as dividends) of 35.6% add shareholder-return appeal.
- Over five years, revenue jumped from ₩20.2 trillion in 2021 to ₩28.8 trillion in 2022 when crude spiked, then settled in the ₩25 trillion range at ₩25.9 trillion in 2023, ₩25.2 trillion in 2024, and ₩25.2 trillion in 2025.
- Operating profit also came down from ₩5.0 trillion in 2022 to ₩2.9 trillion in 2025, which is more naturally seen not as poor performance but as abnormally high refining margins returning to normal.
- And in the most recent quarter the trend clearly changed.
- Q1 2026 revenue was ₩6.8 trillion (+9.9% year on year), operating profit ₩1.26 trillion (+56.7%), and net profit ₩0.83 trillion (+183.7%), a sharp earnings rebound.
- It is a phase where earnings strength is recovering as the core refining margin revives and subsidiary results provide support.
- The forward-earnings valuation reflecting this year's expected earnings comes out lower than the last-year basis precisely because it captures this earnings recovery.
- That said, refining results have a business character of swinging quarter to quarter with crude prices and margins, so rather than the recovery continuing at the same pace each quarter, there may be variation depending on the margin trend, which is worth keeping in mind.
- Recent disclosures cluster around shareholder returns and results confirmation.
- The May 13 provisional-results fair disclosure and the May 15 quarterly report confirmed the Q1 earnings rebound (operating profit +56.7% year on year, net profit +183.6%) in formal financial statements, and the provisional and final figures matched, underpinning results credibility.
- On May 8, the company decided to retire all held treasury stock (19,883 common shares and 5,150 preferred shares, about ₩1.87 billion) through profit retirement (eliminating treasury stock to reduce share count) and completed the retirement on the 14th, continuing a return that raises per-share value (the scale itself is small).
- On April 30, an investor-relations (IR) session was announced, providing a venue for the company to explain its business and results directly.
- The May 29 corporate governance report, the June 1 large-scale enterprise group status disclosure, and the June 4 large-holding report are periodic disclosures that confirm group governance and stake changes.
- All were compiled from the company's own filings to the exchange and DART, not from press articles.
- GS trades at less than half of net assets (P/B 0.44x) and at eight times last year's earnings (P/E 8.1x), both metrics lower than similar holding companies.
- Add a return that combines a dividend yield in the 4% range with treasury-stock retirement, plus a sharp Q1 earnings rebound (net profit +183.7%), and the profile of an undervalued, high-dividend holding company in an earnings-recovery phase is clear.
- That the forward-earnings valuation reflecting this year's earnings comes out lower than the last-year basis points in the same direction.
- The variable that defines its character is the core refining business.
- While refining margins hold up, earnings and dividend capacity grow together and the undervalued appeal shows well; conversely, if crude prices and margins turn down, earnings volatility follows.
- Holding companies also structurally carry a 'holding-company discount' where subsidiary value is not fully reflected in the share price, so whether the return policy is sustained is the key to narrowing that discount.
- In sum, it is strong under conditions where refining margins and shareholder returns hold, and weak under conditions where crude prices and margins cool quickly.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Undervalued
The peer set is domestic operating holding companies whose core subsidiaries are in refining and energy, chosen not by simple industry code but by the business reality that subsidiary stakes are the core of enterprise value.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| SK | 27.68x | 1.76x | 6.34% |
| HD Hyundai | 15.54x | 1.48x | 9.52% |
| LG Corp | 21.19x | 0.54x | 2.57% |
| CJ Corporation | 27.91x | 0.77x | 2.75% |
GS is lower on both P/B and P/E than the operating holding companies compared, so the outward discount is large. But it is risky to read that gap straight as 'cheap.' First, ROE at 5.4% is lower than HD Hyundai (9.5%) and SK (6.3%), so a lower P/B is to some extent justified. Second, the last-year P/E of 8.1x is a trailing figure reflecting a period when refining margins were normalizing and earnings were at a trough, so if the Q1 earnings rebound (operating profit +56.7%) carries into the full year, this P/E could fall further on a forward basis (see the DART seasonal approximation in the forecast below). Conversely, if margins turn down again, the undervalued case weakens. So rather than 'structurally undervalued,' it is better seen as a zone where the return is strong and the P/B discount is large, but appeal hinges on whether the earnings cycle is passing a trough.
Earnings outlook company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | approx. ₩6.47 trillion | approx. ₩0.87 trillion | approx. ₩0.40 trillion |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩75,600 and the market capitalization is ₩7.0 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩71,790) and above its 60-day moving average (₩73,895). It holds above both its short- and medium-term moving averages, so the trend looks healthy. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 53.7, a neutral level. The one-month change is +4.1%, the three-month change is +17.0%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -7.9%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 53 (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 53% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged 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 -11.25% / 6M -19.52% / 12M -34.80%
Key metrics vs whole-market median
Valuation
The P/E of 8.79x is below the whole-market median (13.81x). The P/B of 0.48x is below the whole-market median (1.15x). Both metrics are low versus peers, so the price is not expensive relative to earnings and assets. 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.
Intrinsic value (DCF estimate)
DCF (discounted cash flow) estimate — discount rate 9.8%, initial growth 10.0%→terminal 2.0%, 10-yr forecast, free-cash-flow basis, forward earnings power normalized 2.608x. A reference range that shifts materially with assumptions.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 5.4%, in line with the whole-market average (5.0%). The operating margin is 11.7%. The debt ratio is 242.9%, but for financial firms deposits and insurance liabilities count as debt, so it cannot be read on the same yardstick as an ordinary company.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $17.2B | $16.7B | $16.7B | -0.26% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $2.5B | $2.0B | $1.9B | -4.59% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $862.0M | $375.8M | $529.4M | +40.87% ↑ faster |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $13.4B | $19.1B | $17.2B | $16.7B | $16.7B |
| Operating profit | $1.8B | $3.3B | $2.5B | $2.0B | $1.9B |
| Net profit | $960.4M | $1.4B | $862.0M | $375.8M | $529.4M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 5.71% | ||||
Revenue fell 0.3% year over year (2023 ₩25.9 trillion → 2024 ₩25.2 trillion → 2025 ₩25.2 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'falling'. That said, the rate of decline narrowed from the prior year. Operating profit fell 4.6% year over year. That said, the decline narrowed. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 5.7%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -1.4%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 9.9% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- The dividend yield, at 4.0%, is on the high side.
Points to watch
- Revenue fell 0.3% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-15FilingQ1 2026 quarterly report filed — Q1 cumulative revenue ₩6.8 trillion, operating profit ₩1.26 trillion confirmedShort term: the Q1 earnings rebound (operating profit +56.7% year on year) confirmed in formal financial statements. Mid term: a starting point to check whether the refining-margin recovery carries into full-year results. Source
- 2026-05-13EarningsFair disclosure of operating (provisional) results on a consolidated basis — Q1 provisional operating profit improvedShort term: a disclosure that flagged the earnings improvement to the market ahead of the quarterly report. Mid term: the provisional and final figures matched, underpinning results credibility. Source
- 2026-05-08UpdateDecided to retire entire held treasury stock (19,883 common shares and 5,150 preferred shares, about ₩1.87 billion) through profit retirement, retirement completed May 14Short term: a shareholder return that raises per-share value by reducing share count (small in scale, so the supply-demand effect is limited). Mid term: whether the return policy continues alongside dividends is the crux of narrowing the holding-company discount. Source
- 2026-04-30IRNotice of investor-relations (IR) sessionShort term: a venue where the company explains its results and business status directly, easing information asymmetry. Mid term: an opportunity to confirm the company's official view on each subsidiary's conditions and return plans. Source
- 2026-06-01FilingLarge-scale enterprise group status disclosure — GS Group affiliate and governance structure disclosedShort term: a periodic disclosure confirming the group's overall affiliate structure. Mid term: reference material on the subsidiary-stake structure needed to value GS as a holding company. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E (on last-year confirmed basis) | 8.13x | 8.13x | Confirmed | link |
| Q1 2026 operating profit | ₩1.26 trillion | ₩1.26 trillion | Confirmed | link |
| Dividend per share / dividend yield | ₩3,000 / approx. 4.3% | DART ₩3,000 | Confirmed | link |
| 2026 full-year revenue approximation | approx. ₩27.0 trillion | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings
- 2026-06-04OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-06-01Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-06-01Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-06-01Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-14OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-13EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-05-08Disclosure
- 2026-05-07OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-04-30Disclosure
- 2026-04-30Disclosure
📖 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.