KakaoBank is an internet-only bank run entirely through an app with no branches, earning interest income from the spread between deposits and loans and non-interest income from platform, advertising and partnership businesses, with a digital structure of low branch and staffing costs that gives it high cost efficiency. At the end of 2025 it had roughly 26.7 million customers and a loan balance of ₩46.9 trillion, and lending to sole proprietors grew more than 60% in a single year to the ₩3 trillion range; on May 6 it confirmed a record quarterly net profit (₩187.3 billion) for the first quarter. The stand-out points lately are its overwhelming customer base, low-cost digital model, and non-interest income that has topped ₩1 trillion a year on the strength side; on the caution side, its P/B of 1.48x and P/E of 20.8x are markedly higher than traditional banking groups while its ROE (7.1%) is lower, so if growth slows the elevated multiples could come back as a burden.
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 rose 4.8% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 4.4% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 7.1% (total-net basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 21.0%.
- The forward P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Kakao 27.16% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 27.16%
With the controlling bloc holding 27%, control is maintained but the free float is relatively large.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- KakaoBank is an internet-only bank run entirely through an app with no branches.
- It makes money in two main ways.
- First, interest income: it takes deposits and lends them out as unsecured personal loans, jeonse/monthly-rent deposit loans, mortgages and loans to sole proprietors, earning on the spread between deposit and lending rates.
- Second, non-interest income: fees and platform revenue from loan and investment referrals (the platform business), advertising, opening securities accounts and partnerships.
- At the end of 2025 it had about 26.7 million customers and a loan balance of ₩46.9 trillion; lending to sole proprietors in particular grew more than 60% in a single year to the ₩3 trillion range and became a new growth axis.
- A digital structure with low branch and staffing costs gives it high cost efficiency, a feature that sets it apart from a traditional bank.
- The latest close is ₩21,600 and the market capitalization is ₩10.3 trillion.
- The price sits below its 20-day line (₩21,900) and below its 60-day line (₩23,071).
- Trading beneath both the short- and medium-term moving averages, the trend is on the subdued side.
- The RSI (an auxiliary gauge that scores the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0–100 scale) is 46.5, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -12.7%, the three-month change is -8.7%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -32.5%.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 17 (1–99; a recency-weighted conversion of return versus the index over the past year, with higher meaning stronger than the market).
- That places it around the top 83% of all listed names by strength.
- Over the past three months it has lagged the index by 30.0%.
- Chart reading is best done together with volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
- For a bank it is more accurate to look at P/B (how many times book equity the price represents) and ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) than at revenue or operating margin.
- KakaoBank's P/B is 1.48x and its ROE is 7.1%.
- For reference, the P/E (how many times one year of net profit the price represents) is 21.46x and the dividend yield is 2.2% (₩460 per share).
- With ₩6.75 trillion of equity and ₩480.3 billion of net profit, profitability is steady, but a 7.1% ROE is still lower than that of traditional large banking groups (typically 8–10%).
- Note that the high debt ratio (debt against equity) typical of a bank—with loan assets in the ₩76 trillion range—arises because deposits are counted as liabilities in accounting terms, which is different in character from the borrowing burden of an ordinary manufacturer.
- Profit has risen steadily.
- Net profit ran ₩354.9 billion in 2023 → ₩440.1 billion in 2024 → ₩480.3 billion in 2025 (+9.1% year over year), setting a fresh high for three straight years, and non-interest income topped ₩1 trillion a year for the first time in 2025 (₩1.0886 trillion, +22.4%).
- First-quarter 2026 net profit was ₩187.3 billion, up 36.3% year over year and a record for any quarter, driven largely by non-interest income surpassing ₩300 billion in a quarter for the first time.
- That said, operating profit in the same quarter fell 13.9% year over year, so it should be noted that the surge in net profit leaned considerably on one-off and non-interest items rather than the core interest business.
- Given the trend of net customer and loan growth and expanding platform revenue, the company sees room for 2026 net profit to grow by a mid-teens percentage over the prior year.
- With the loan balance rising by several trillion won each year and the product lineup broadening into sole-proprietor and auto finance, the interest and fee base is growing together.
- Recent disclosures center on results, shareholder returns and management.
- On May 6, 2026 a first-quarter operating (preliminary) results fair disclosure confirmed the record quarterly net profit (₩187.3 billion); on April 7 an earnings-schedule pre-announcement was issued, and on May 15 the quarterly report was filed in turn.
- Multiple notices of investor briefings (IR) went up in April and May, showing the company is active in investor communication.
- There were also personnel- and stake-related disclosures, including a stock-option grant filing for employees on April 29 and a report of a change in holdings by officers and major shareholders on June 5.
- The expanded product lineup the company has flagged, such as foreign-currency accounts, is another event to be tested through its own business.
- The strengths are clear: an overwhelming base of 26.7 million customers, a low-cost digital model with no branches, and revenue sources broadened beyond interest into non-interest income (which topped ₩1 trillion a year).
- With net profit setting a record for three straight years, the direction of growth itself is solid.
- On the other side, the point to watch is valuation.
- A P/B of 1.48x and a P/E of 20.8x are markedly higher than traditional banking groups (P/B 0.6–1.0x, P/E 7–10x), yet its ROE (7.1%) is actually lower than theirs.
- In other words, the current price already embeds substantial expectations that platform and non-interest income will grow beyond the banking business.
- So this name justifies its premium if customers, non-interest income and sole-proprietor lending grow as planned and ROE climbs above 8%, but if growth slows the higher multiples versus banks could come back as a burden.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Overvalued
A comparison of return on equity (ROE) and price-to-book (P/B) against large domestic banking groups; although KakaoBank is an internet-only bank, its deposit- and loan-based profit structure makes a banking-industry comparison the substantively correct one.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| KB Financial Group | 10.42x | 1.03x | 9.88% |
| 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% |
KakaoBank trades at a P/B of 1.48x and a P/E of 20.8x, markedly higher than traditional large banking groups (P/B 0.59–0.96x, P/E 6.8–9.7x). Yet its return-on-equity metric, ROE, is 7.1%, actually lower than theirs (8.6–9.9%). In other words, the current premium rests not on present profitability but on expectations that customers, the platform and non-interest income will grow further. The record first-quarter 2026 net profit keeps the growth story going, but given that the surge in net profit leaned considerably on non-interest and one-off items (operating profit in the same quarter fell 13.9%), it is hard to judge on trailing P/E alone, and even on a forward basis the multiples run well above the banking average. The growth premium has a basis, but taken on current metrics alone the stock is clearly in an expensive range relative to peers.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩21,600 and the market capitalization is ₩10.3 trillion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩21,900) and below its 60-day moving average (₩23,071). 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 46.5, a neutral level. The one-month change is -12.7%, the three-month change is -8.7%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -32.5%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 17 (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 17% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 30.0%. 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 -30.00% / 6M -40.68% / 12M -69.02%
Key metrics vs whole-market median
Valuation
The P/E of 21.46x is above the whole-market median (13.81x). The P/B of 1.53x is above the whole-market median (1.15x).
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 7.1%, above the whole-market average (5.0%). The operating margin is 21.0%. The debt ratio is 1032.0%, 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 (separate)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.7B | $2.0B | $2.0B | +4.78% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $317.1M | $402.2M | $430.4M | +7.00% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $235.2M | $291.7M | $318.3M | +9.14% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | — | $1.7B | $2.0B | $2.0B |
| Operating profit | — | — | $317.1M | $402.2M | $430.4M |
| Net profit | — | — | $235.2M | $291.7M | $318.3M |
| Revenue CAGR | 2-yr avg 11.24% | ||||
Revenue rose 4.8% year over year (2023 ₩2.5 trillion → 2024 ₩2.9 trillion → 2025 ₩3.1 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. That said, the pace of growth slowed from the prior year. Operating profit rose 7.0% year over year. The pace of that profit growth is gradually easing. Over the 3 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 11.2%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 11.2%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 4.4% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- —
Points to watch
- Revenue rose 4.8% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-06EarningsFirst-quarter 2026 operating (preliminary) results fair disclosure — net profit of ₩187.3 billion, a record for any quarter (+36.3% year over year). Non-interest income topped ₩300 billion in a quarter for the first time. However, operating profit fell 13.9% year over year.Short term: the record net profit reaffirms the growth story. Medium term: because the surge in net profit leaned considerably on non-interest and one-off items, the trend in core interest income needs to be watched alongside it. Source
- 2026-05-15FilingFirst-quarter 2026 quarterly report filed — detailed financials such as the loan balance and the composition of non-interest income confirmed.Medium term: primary-source material for confirming the loan portfolio and shifts in the non-interest income mix. Source
- 2026-04-29FilingFiling (amended) on a stock-option grant to employees — a compensation-related disclosure aimed at attracting and retaining talent.Medium term: could become a future share-count increase (dilution) factor, so the issuance scale and exercise terms are worth checking. Source
- 2026-04-07EarningsEarnings-schedule pre-announcement — notice of the timetable for finalizing 2025 full-year results. Full-year net profit of ₩480.3 billion (a record) was subsequently confirmed.Short term: confirmation of the record full-year result reaffirms the profit-growth trend. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-05OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-05-29Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-14Disclosure
- 2026-05-08OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report (amended)
- 2026-05-06EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-05-04Disclosure
- 2026-04-29Amended filing
- 2026-04-14Disclosure
- 2026-04-07Disclosure
- 2026-04-07Disclosure
- 2026-04-07EarningsEarnings 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.