KB Financial Group is a financial holding company built around KB Kookmin Bank, with KB Securities, KB Insurance, and KB Kookmin Card among its subsidiaries. It earns money by combining the bank's net interest margin (the gap between deposit and loan interest) with fees from cards, securities, and insurance, and its 2025 net profit of ₩5.83 trillion makes it the largest of Korea's financial holding companies. The key point lately is that return on equity (ROE) of 9.9% is among the highest in the sector and its total shareholder-return ratio is the only one among Korea's four major financial groups to top 50%, giving strong dividend and buyback appeal — while, on the other hand, results are sensitive to interest rates and the lending cycle, so a larger rate cut or rising credit costs could slow the pace of profit growth.
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 9.9% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- The forward P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder National Pension Service 8.68% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 8.68%
With the controlling bloc holding 9%, ownership is dispersed, leaving room for control-related or activist dynamics.
Financial-group subsidiaries stake
| KB Life Partners | sub-subsidiary | 100% |
🔎 In-depth analysis
- KB Financial Group is not a company that runs a business itself but a holding company that owns and manages several financial subsidiaries.
- Most of its profit comes from its core subsidiary, KB Kookmin Bank.
- The bank takes deposits at low rates and lends at higher rates, earning that gap (the net interest margin) as interest income.
- Added to this are KB Securities (trading commissions and investment-banking fees), KB Insurance (insurance underwriting), and KB Kookmin Card (credit sales and fees), so it earns money on two axes: interest income and non-interest income (fee-centered).
- A hallmark of KB is that it is not concentrated in the bank alone — securities, insurance, and cards each contribute a balanced share of profit.
- The latest close is ₩171,400 and the market cap is ₩60.8 trillion.
- The price sits above its 20-day line (₩162,235) and above its 60-day line (₩158,800).
- Being above both the short- and mid-term moving averages, the trend looks favorable.
- The RSI (a gauge that scores the balance of up-moves against down-moves over the last 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 61.3, a neutral reading.
- It is up 11.3% over one month and up 16.8% over three months, and it stands 1.0% below its 52-week high.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 51 (on a 1-99 scale that weights the past year's return against the index with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 49% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 11.5%.
- Chart readings are best viewed alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- By banking standards, the valuation is unremarkable.
- The P/E ratio (how many times one year of earnings the share price is) is 10.42x, and the P/B (how many times book net assets the share price is) is 1.03x.
- Bank stocks usually trade below a P/B of 1x, but KB is the only one to edge just above 1x — meaning banking carries a premium here.
- The basis for that is profitability.
- ROE (how much the company earns in a year on its equity) of 9.9% is among the highest in the sector.
- The dividend yield is 2.55% (₩4,367 per share), with a payout ratio (the share of net profit paid out as dividends) of 27%.
- The debt ratio may look low, but a bank's deposits are themselves recorded as liabilities, so it should not be judged by an ordinary manufacturer's debt-ratio standard.
- A bank's soundness is measured not by the debt ratio but by the capital ratio (CET1).
- KB's CET1 is well above 13%, the highest level in the industry.
- Profit has trended steadily higher.
- Net profit rose from ₩4.59 trillion in 2023 to ₩5.08 trillion in 2024 and ₩5.83 trillion in 2025, an average of about 12.7% a year over two years, and the pace has quickened (from up 10.5% last year to up 14.9% this year).
- Operating profit rose step by step over the same period.
- In the first quarter of 2026, net profit of ₩1.92 trillion continued the growth, up 12.8% year on year.
- Full-year net profit this year is estimated at around ₩6.5 trillion.
- Because the first quarter is seasonally the strongest, simply multiplying it by four would overstate the year, so this is a conservative figure built by adding the recent growth rate onto last year's results.
- On this estimate, the forward P/E (on this year's expected earnings) is about 9.3x, below the 10.4x on last year's results.
- With profit growing, the valuation burden eases the further out one looks.
- The most notable trend is shareholder returns.
- KB Financial was the first in Korea to put out, as a formal plan, a value-up framework linking the capital ratio (CET1) to shareholder returns.
- Capital above a year-end CET1 of 13% is used in full, without limit, for shareholder returns, and if CET1 exceeds 13.5% during the year, the excess becomes additional funds as well.
- Under this principle, it has increased dividends and bought back and cancelled treasury shares (reducing the share count to raise per-share value).
- For fiscal 2025, the total shareholder-return ratio was 52.4%, the only one among Korea's four major financial holding companies to top 50%.
- It has recently continued holding investor briefings (IRs) and filing treasury-share notices, confirming the execution of this policy.
- KB Financial's strengths are clear.
- It is the largest in size, its ROE is among the highest in the sector, and its total shareholder-return ratio is the only one among the four major financial groups to top 50%.
- These three together justify the only above-1x P/B premium among bank stocks.
- Profit has grown at a double-digit rate for two years running, and that continued in the first quarter.
- The value-up framework, tied to the capital ratio, underpins predictable shareholder returns.
- There are cautions, too.
- Bank profit is sensitive to interest rates and the lending cycle.
- A larger cut to the benchmark rate could narrow the net interest margin and squeeze interest income.
- If the economy worsens and delinquencies and bad loans rise, credit costs grow and profit can fall.
- With the share price near its 52-week high, near-term volatility is also something to keep in mind.
- In short, it is a stock supported by strong capital, shareholder returns, and profitability, but one whose direction is set by the interest-rate and credit cycles.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Fairly valued
Among Korea's financial holding companies, compared against the group whose bank-centered business structure is similar.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shinhan Financial Group | 10.02x | 0.86x | 8.58% |
| Hana Financial Group | 8.40x | 0.75x | 8.98% |
| Woori Financial Group | 7.06x | 0.61x | 8.67% |
| Industrial Bank of Korea | 6.03x | 0.45x | 7.44% |
KB Financial has the highest P/E (10.4x) and P/B (1.03x) in its comparison set, and it is the only bank stock with a P/B above 1x. But this is not a premium without basis. Its ROE of 9.9% is among the highest in the sector, and its shareholder-return ratio, linked to the capital ratio, is the only one among the four major financial groups to top 50%. For banks, it is normal for higher profitability (ROE) to command a higher P/B, so KB's premium is explained by its profitability and shareholder returns. The P/E of 10.4x on last year's results falls to about 9.3x on this year's basis as profit grows. It is not enough to call the stock outright undervalued, but given its qualitative edge, the premium is also hard to call excessive — a fairly valued range.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩171,400 and the market capitalization is ₩60.8 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩162,235) and above its 60-day moving average (₩158,800). 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 61.3, a neutral level. The one-month change is +11.3%, the three-month change is +16.8%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -1.0%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 51 (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 51% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 11.5%. 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 -11.52% / 6M -15.84% / 12M -37.34%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 10.42x is above the sector median (7.06x). The P/B of 1.03x is above the sector median (0.75x).
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 9.9%, in line with the sector average (9.0%). The debt ratio is 1248.3%, 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 | $6.3B | $6.7B | $7.2B | +7.84% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $3.0B | $3.4B | $3.9B | +14.87% ↑ faster |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating profit | — | — | $6.3B | $6.7B | $7.2B |
| Net profit | — | — | $3.0B | $3.4B | $3.9B |
Operating profit rose 7.8% 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
- —
Points to watch
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
- The price is near its 52-week high, so chasing it warrants caution around volatility.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-06-05IRNotice of an investor briefing (IR). The company held a briefing for investors to communicate results and strategy directly.A forum to inform the market directly of results and shareholder-return policy — positive for information transparency over the medium term. Source
- 2026-05-18FilingReport of changes in the holdings of the largest shareholder. Reflects the shift in ownership structure amid the flow of treasury-share purchases and cancellations.As buybacks and cancellations proceed, the shares outstanding fall, working favorably for per-share value. Source
- 2024-10-24FilingValue-up (corporate value enhancement) plan disclosed. Formalizes Korea's first framework linking the CET1 capital ratio to shareholder returns.With the principle of using all capital above 13% as funds for shareholder returns, it improves the predictability of dividends and buyback cancellations — a factor for medium- to long-term re-rating. Source
- 2026-06-10FilingReport on the holdings of specified securities by executives and major shareholders. A routine filing of insider-holding status.Limited near-term effect, but routine information for tracking insider-holding trends. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 net profit (controlling interest) | ₩5.83 trillion | 5,833,162 | Confirmed | link |
| First-quarter 2026 net profit (cumulative) | ₩1.92 trillion | 1,916,469 | Confirmed | link |
| 2025 total shareholder-return ratio | approx. 52% | 52.4% | Unverified | link |
| Forward P/E (2026 estimate) | approx. 9.3x | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings
- 2026-06-10OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report (amended)
- 2026-06-10OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-06-05Disclosure
- 2026-06-01OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-26Earnings disclosure
- 2026-05-22Disclosure
- 2026-05-22Disclosure
- 2026-05-20Disclosure
- 2026-05-20Disclosure
- 2026-05-18OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-05-18Amended filing
- 2026-05-18Amended filing
📖 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.
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