Mirae Asset Life Insurance is a life insurer that sells policies covering death, illness and old age, collects premiums and invests that money in bonds, equities and alternative assets. Its two pillars are profit from high-margin protection-type insurance such as health and accident cover (about 93% of Q1 2026 new protection business) and investment gains and losses, and it is also growing the share of principal investment (PI) from its own capital. In the first half of 2026 it retired about 93% of its treasury shares in two rounds, cutting shares outstanding by about 31.8%, and its Q1 preliminary results confirmed net profit more than doubled. The point worth watching is that a protection-centered mix lifting margins and CSM together, an intense shareholder-return program that erased a third of shares outstanding, and capital backed by a K-ICS ratio in the 167% range are strengths, while a substantial part of net profit hinges on investment gains and losses that swing with rates and equities, the retirement raised the controlling shareholder's stake and shrank the free float, and after roughly doubling in six months a good deal of the expectation may already be priced in.
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.
- ROE is 5.3% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- P/B is low versus peers too, so it looks cheap on an asset basis as well.
Ownership & governance As of 2018-12-31
Largest shareholder Mirae Asset Daewoo 17.11% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 38.48%
With the controlling bloc holding 38%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Mirae Asset Life Insurance is a life insurer that sells policies covering people's death, illness and injury or old age, collects premiums, and invests that money (policy reserves) in bonds, equities and alternative assets.
- It earns money along two lines.
- One is profit from the insurance itself, where it has recently focused on growing high-margin protection-type policies such as health and accident cover (in Q1 2026, health and accident accounted for about 93% of new protection business).
- The other is investment gains and losses from managing accumulated premiums.
- On top of this, leaning on the investment capabilities characteristic of its asset-management group (Mirae Asset Group), the company is moving to grow the share of principal investment (PI) from its own capital.
- The latest close is ₩16,730 and market capitalization is ₩2.3 trillion.
- The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩23,426) and below its 60-day line (₩19,149).
- Trading below both the short- and mid-term moving averages, the trend is on the soft side.
- The RSI (an indicator that gauges upward versus downward momentum over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 38.9, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -26.0%, the three-month change is +3.3%, and the price sits -51.6% from its 52-week high.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 73 (on a 1-99 scale that weights recent returns against the index over the past year more heavily toward the recent period; higher means stronger than the market), placing it in roughly the top 26% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 18.9%.
- Chart readings are best considered alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- The P/E ratio (how many times a year's profit the share price represents) is 17.29x, which looks high on the number alone, but it should be noted that this uses 2025 results, a year of relatively weak net profit (-3.9% YoY).
- In a phase where earnings are turning up, a P/E based on the prior year tends to overstate the actual valuation.
- The P/B (how many times book equity the share price represents) is 0.92x and BPS (book value per share) is ₩18,110.
- ROE (how much is earned per year on equity) is 5.3%, a mid-tier level within the sector.
- Because an insurer's structure carries enormous policy liabilities to be returned to customers, the debt ratio and interest-coverage ratio should not be viewed against a general manufacturing yardstick; instead the capital-soundness metric K-ICS (the solvency ratio) applies.
- That ratio, in the 167% range, is well above the regulator's guidance threshold, providing the capital capacity to absorb large-scale treasury-share retirement.
- Viewing the earnings flow by year, operating profit went from ₩148.7 billion in 2023 to ₩122.1 billion in 2024 and ₩194.5 billion in 2025, jumping 59.3% in 2025 as the underlying business grew stronger.
- Net profit went from ₩101.4 billion in 2023 to ₩136.1 billion in 2024 and ₩130.8 billion in 2025, easing back slightly in 2025 on weaker investment gains.
- In Q1 2026, though, the mood shifted sharply: quarterly net profit was ₩53.4 billion (+115.4% YoY) and operating profit ₩68.4 billion (+73.8%), with insurance operations and investment gains improving at once.
- The reservoir of future profit - CSM on in-force policies (the remaining profit to be recognized from contracts going forward) - stands at ₩2,150.6 billion, and rising sales of high-margin protection business (protection APE +34.6%) keep refilling that reservoir.
- Reflecting this trajectory, this year's profit is on track to clearly exceed 2025's (₩130.8 billion), and while the prior-year-based P/E looks high, the burden eases considerably on this year's earnings.
- The central narrative of the first half of 2026 is large-scale treasury-share retirement.
- In two rounds the company retired about 93% of its treasury shares (about 62.96 million shares), cutting shares outstanding from about 198.14 million to 135.18 million, or roughly 31.8%.
- Fewer shares automatically lift EPS and BPS, a strong shareholder-return effect.
- That said, the retirement raised the related-party stake from around 65% to the low 82% range, shrinking the free float - a point to consider alongside.
- Together with this, a May Q1 preliminary-results fair disclosure confirmed the surge in net profit, and in June disclosures related to the large business group and related parties followed.
- The observation points are clear.
- The strengths are that (1) with a protection-centered mix, margins and CSM are rising together, structurally improving earnings power, (2) an earnings inflection appeared as Q1 2026 net profit more than doubled, and (3) an intense shareholder-return program that erased a third of shares outstanding, backed by solid capital with a K-ICS ratio in the 167% range, supports this.
- The P/E on last year's results looks high in the low-20s, but with earnings rising, the burden eases considerably on this year's basis.
- The cautions are that (1) a substantial part of net profit hinges on investment gains and losses, so quarterly results can swing with rates and equities, (2) the treasury-share retirement raised the controlling stake and shrank the free float, and (3) after roughly doubling in six months, a good deal of the expectation may already be reflected in the price.
- In sum, it is strong when protection growth and shareholder returns continue, and weak when investment gains wobble or value-up momentum cools.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Fairly valued
We used domestic listed life insurers (with a similar business mix based on protection and investment gains) as the peer set.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Life Insurance | 28.31x | 1.04x | 3.67% |
| Hanwha Life Insurance | 5.75x | 0.27x | 4.62% |
| Tongyang Life Insurance | 9.29x | 0.75x | 8.04% |
By P/B, at 1.14x it is close to Samsung Life (1.23x) and sits higher than undervalued large and mid-cap peers such as Hanwha Life (0.27x) and Tongyang Life (0.72x). On book value, then, it is hard to call cheap. There is a reason for this premium, however: erasing nearly a third of shares outstanding - a substantive shareholder return - and protection CSM growth have lifted per-share value and the visibility of future profit. The trailing P/E of 21.4x looks high because it is on a weak 2025 base, but reflecting the trajectory of Q1 2026 net profit more than doubling, the multiple on this year's basis falls distinctly lower and the gap with peers narrows. The relative premium on book value and the earnings improvement plus shareholder returns thus offset each other, so we view the current level as within the 'fair' range. That said, the shrinking free float and the volatility of investment gains and losses are risk factors that should also be reflected in the valuation.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩16,730 and the market capitalization is ₩2.3 trillion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩23,426) and below its 60-day moving average (₩19,149). It is under both its short- and medium-term moving averages, so the trend looks subdued. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 38.9, a neutral level. The one-month change is -26.0%, the three-month change is +3.3%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -51.6%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 73 (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 74% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 18.9%. 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 -18.93% / 6M +11.29% / 12M +10.51%
Key metrics vs whole-market median
Valuation
The P/E of 17.29x is above the whole-market median (13.81x). The P/B of 0.92x is below the whole-market median (1.15x). 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.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 5.3%, in line with the whole-market average (5.0%). The debt ratio is 1344.8%, 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 | — | — | — | — |
| Operating profit | $98.6M | $80.9M | $128.9M | +59.27% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $67.2M | $90.2M | $86.7M | -3.92% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating profit | — | — | $98.6M | $80.9M | $128.9M |
| Net profit | — | — | $67.2M | $90.2M | $86.7M |
Operating profit rose 59.3% year over year. Profit is growing at an accelerating pace.
Latest quarterly results
No recent quarterly results confirmed from DART.
Technical indicators
What stands out
- P/E and P/B are both low versus peers, so the price looks inexpensive relative to earnings and assets.
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
- 2026-06-09FilingReport on changes in largest-shareholder holdings following treasury-share retirement. The reduction in shares outstanding raised the related-party stake (from the 65% range to the low 82% range).A strong shareholder-return effect through enhanced per-share value (higher EPS and BPS). At the same time, aspects of a shrinking free float and strengthened control also exist. Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsQ1 2026 consolidated operating (preliminary) results fair disclosure. Operating profit ₩68.4 billion (+73.8% YoY), net profit ₩53.4 billion (+115.4%), with insurance operations and investment gains improving together.An earnings-inflection signal. The basis for the prior-year P/E burden easing on this year's basis. Source
- 2026-05-15FilingFiling of the quarterly report as of end-March 2026. Discloses insurance-soundness and future-profit metrics such as in-force CSM and K-ICS.The remaining CSM and the capital ratio provide the basis for earnings durability and shareholder-return capacity. Source
- 2026-06-01FilingLarge business group status disclosure (annual, for Q1, individual company). Discloses the affiliate and related-party structure and equity holdings within Mirae Asset Group.Confirms the shareholding and equity-investment structure as a group affiliate. Basic material for judging governance and the free float. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-09OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-06-08OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-06-02OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-06-01Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-06-01Disclosure
- 2026-06-01Disclosure
- 2026-05-29OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-29PeriodicQuarterly report (amended)
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-15OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-05-15EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-05-15EarningsFair-disclosure notice
📖 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.