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KT Corporation

KT
55
Telecommunications Services · Communication Services
Price
$18.90
+0.23 (+1.23%)
Market Cap
$9.11B
Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
Winston Score
55
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Weak
Growth
Good
Cash Flow
Strong
Stability
Good
Valuation
Exceptional
Dividends
Strong

Share count rising — dilution

+6.9% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 471.4M (2021) → 504.1M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

KT Corporation is South Korea's largest fixed-line telephone company and one of its biggest mobile carriers. It provides phone calls, internet service, and cable TV to millions of homes and businesses across South Korea. KT also offers cloud computing, data center services, and artificial intelligence tools to corporate customers.

KT makes money by charging monthly fees for mobile plans, home internet, and TV subscriptions, plus selling services to businesses like cloud storage and managed networks. It operates almost entirely in South Korea, generating roughly $20 billion in annual revenue. Its deep infrastructure — including fiber-optic cables and mobile towers built over decades — makes it hard for new competitors to enter the market. However, South Korea's telecom market is mature and heavily regulated, meaning subscriber growth is slow, and KT must invest heavily in 5G networks and enterprise technology to find new sources of revenue.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-8.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

-36.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

₩149M/ year

Rising (+5% vs prior year)

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (12%)

R&D investment increasing — building for the future

Insider Activity

11.3%ownership

Insiders own a meaningful stake in the company

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

₩14.8T cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue declining

KT Corporation's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
0.0%
Thin — 0.0% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
9.7%
Modest — 9.7% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
7.0%
Weak — 7.0% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+0.5%
Nearly flat sales (+0.5% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+41.3%
Earnings growing fast (+41.3% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
5/8 quarters
Mixed — about half the quarters showed growth

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
373%
Turns 373% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
7.4%
Modest free cash flow (7.4%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.62
Moderate — manageable debt (0.62)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
7.50x
Adequate interest coverage (7.5x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
9.2x
Attractive valuation — P/E 9.2

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+3.2
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (9.2 → 6.0)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
4.48%
Healthy income — 4.48% yield

Generous yield. Worth checking whether the payout is sustainable.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+4.2%
Dividend growing modestly (4.2% YoY)

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