PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩8,009 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
Korea Ratings has posted four consecutive years of revenue and operating profit growth within Korea's three-player credit rating oligopoly, while its earnings show a clear seasonal concentration in the second quarter of each year, tied to the annual regular review cycle.
2025 revenue reached KRW 109.8 billion and operating profit KRW 34.3 billion, marking four straight years of growth with an operating margin around 31 percent.
Operating profit in Q2 2025 and Q2 2026 reached KRW 20.8 billion and KRW 20.9 billion respectively, roughly four to five times other quarters, confirming a repeating seasonal pattern tied to the regular rating review season.
Korea's credit rating market is an oligopoly in which three full-license agencies account for the vast majority of the market by revenue, with high barriers to new entry.
The largest shareholder is global rating agency Fitch Ratings, which has underpinned a stable governance structure and dividend policy.
The issuer-pay fee structure remains a structural regulatory concern flagged by the financial supervisory authority for the industry as a whole.
Korea Ratings was founded in 1983 and adopted its current name in January 2003; it is listed on KOSDAQ and operates with two subsidiaries.
Its core business is credit evaluation of commercial paper, corporate bonds, financial bonds and asset-backed securities, complemented by an investment evaluation segment (E&I) covering business feasibility review and valuation, plus an information services segment covering data solutions and e-procurement.
The company has also entered the ESG certification evaluation business, applying differentiated ESG methodologies. Korea's credit rating market is an oligopoly in which three full-license agencies, including Korea Ratings, account for the vast majority of the market by revenue, making new entry effectively limited.
Key competitor Korea Investors Service is the Korean affiliate of Moody's, while NICE Investors Service is affiliated with S&P, meaning all three major domestic agencies operate through partnerships with global rating agencies.
Clients span a wide range of listed and unlisted companies issuing bonds or commercial paper, financial institutions, and structured finance issuers, with the scope of evaluation potentially extending to nearly any transaction involving credit extension.
The largest shareholder is global rating agency Fitch Ratings, which has held its stake since 2008 and underpins governance stability.
The business feasibility evaluation segment is notable for providing the feasibility assessments required for financing decisions in thermal and renewable power generation, as well as road, rail and port infrastructure projects.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩42.7B | ₩20.8B | 48.7% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩22.2B | ₩4.6B | 20.7% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩22.9B | ₩4.2B | 18.3% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩22.7B | ₩4.7B | 20.8% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩43B | ₩20.9B | 48.5% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩101.6B | ₩29.9B | ₩20.4B | 29.5% | 18.2% | 26.8% |
| 2023 | ₩95.6B | ₩25.8B | ₩20.4B | 27.0% | 19.2% | 28.2% |
| 2024 | ₩104.1B | ₩32.7B | ₩24.4B | 31.4% | 20.5% | 30.1% |
| 2025 | ₩109.8B | ₩34.3B | ₩25.2B | 31.3% | 19.1% | 28.4% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-17
Korea Ratings' revenue declined once from KRW 101.6 billion in 2022 to KRW 95.6 billion in 2023, before recovering to KRW 104.1 billion in 2024 and growing further to KRW 109.8 billion in 2025.
Operating profit followed the same pattern, falling from KRW 29.9 billion in 2022 to KRW 25.8 billion in 2023, then rising to KRW 32.7 billion in 2024 and KRW 34.3 billion in 2025, with the operating margin dipping to 29.5% in 2022 and 27.0% in 2023 before recovering to 31.4% in 2024 and 31.3% in 2025, reconfirming a high-margin structure.
Net income attributable to owners was KRW 20.4 billion in both 2022 and 2023, then rose to KRW 24.4 billion in 2024 and KRW 25.2 billion in 2025, showing a clear upward trend since 2023. Quarterly results reveal a pronounced seasonal concentration in the second quarter each year.
Q2 2025 posted revenue of KRW 42.7 billion, operating profit of KRW 20.8 billion, and owners' net income of KRW 13.7 billion, and Q2 2026 repeated a similar scale with revenue of KRW 43.0 billion, operating profit of KRW 20.9 billion, and owners' net income of KRW 13.5 billion.
In contrast, Q3 2025 (revenue KRW 22.2 billion, operating profit KRW 4.6 billion, net income KRW 3.8 billion), Q4 2025 (revenue KRW 22.9 billion, operating profit KRW 4.2 billion, net income KRW 3.7 billion), and Q1 2026 (revenue KRW 22.7 billion, operating profit KRW 4.7 billion, net income KRW 4.5 billion) all showed operating profit at roughly one-fourth to one-fifth of the Q2 level.
This appears to stem from the nature of the rating business, where fee revenue tied to the annual regular review cycle is concentrated at a specific point in the year.
Cumulative owners' net income over the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026) reached KRW 25.4 billion, exceeding the prior full-year 2025 figure of KRW 25.2 billion and indicating a continuing improvement trend.
On the balance sheet, the company maintained a stable financial buffer with a debt ratio of 28.4% and operating cash flow of KRW 31.9 billion at the end of 2025.
Korea's domestic credit rating industry is a regulated sector combining an issuer-pay fee structure with an oligopoly of a small number of operators; three fully licensed agencies and one partially licensed agency operate in the market, with the three major agencies continuing to split the market roughly evenly.
Regulators have flagged this structure as a persistent structural issue, noting that issuer dominance persists and market discipline remains weak, as the issuer-pay structure continues to give issuers greater bargaining power than rating agencies.
Competitor Korea Investors Service is the Korean affiliate of global rating agency Moody's and was the first of the three major domestic rating agencies to be established, and all three major domestic agencies feature partnerships with large global rating agencies as a governance characteristic.
On the business cycle, competitor Korea Investors Service noted in a July 2026 report that a high-rate environment and successive credit events, along with asset quality and liquidity concerns would be key monitoring factors for the financial sector in the second half, a theme that is also relevant to the credit rating industry broadly.
Korea Ratings itself addressed an analysis of first-half regular review results and a second-half outlook framed around whether an upgrade-biased trend can continue despite an unfavorable macro environment on its own site in July 2026.
It has also continued to publish regular sector research covering topics such as an AI-driven supercycle in the power cable industry and business expansion strategies of major domestic players, alongside coverage of the refining and securities industries, broadening the range of sectors under its analytical coverage.
In terms of market size, the rating industry is underpinned by growth in the corporate bond and commercial paper issuance market, but the number of issuers seeking ratings has remained largely flat, a point cited in support of the view that the industry has entered a mature phase.
Korea Ratings has continued to publish 2026 regular review results and second-half outlook research covering the financial sector broadly—including banks, insurers, securities firms, credit card companies, capital firms, savings banks and real estate trusts—as well as the corporate sector, including petrochemicals, construction, batteries, steel, automobiles, semiconductors and shipbuilding, maintaining broad coverage of the industries it rates.
It has also published a two-part research series examining how the growth of comprehensive investment banking is reshaping competitive dynamics among banking, insurance and securities groups, continuing its analysis of domestic financial group restructuring from a credit perspective.
While such sector-level research is not a direct revenue item, it illustrates the breadth of industries the company covers for rating and investment evaluation purposes.
In the corporate bond market, rating upgrades, downgrades and outlook changes across various issuers continue to occur, meaning that periods of frequent rating actions could correspond to greater evaluation demand.
The ESG certification evaluation business remains a relatively early-stage growth area, and its future expansion pace and earnings contribution warrant continued observation.
The business feasibility evaluation (E&I) segment is linked to energy and infrastructure project financing demand, so its earnings contribution may vary with the domestic power generation and infrastructure investment cycle.
Discussions of a credit rating fee structure overhaul flagged by regulators represent a variable that could affect industry-wide revenue structures, and the impact will need to be assessed once the specific timing and details are finalized.
The stock tends to trade at a level reflecting a meaningful premium to net asset value, which can be interpreted as reflecting the fact that the credit rating business, structured as a small oligopoly, has maintained stable cash generation and high operating margins over a long period.
The price-to-earnings ratio has historically formed around a similar range at prior fiscal year-ends, without showing a clear tendency to break sharply out of that band due to a single earnings surprise or shock.
On the dividend side, the governance characteristic of having a foreign rating agency as the largest shareholder is frequently cited in connection with a policy tendency to allocate a substantial portion of earnings to shareholder returns, a factor often raised in valuation discussions.
That said, since earnings themselves went through a temporary contraction in 2023 before recovering through 2024 and 2025, interpretation of valuation metrics should also take this earnings recovery phase into account.
The scarcity of comparable listed companies with a similarly oligopolistic position within KOSDAQ-listed financial services is another reason to exercise caution when making simple comparisons against industry averages.
PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are all calculated in-house (the same method as Naver and Toss) · Dividend yield = cash dividend per share from DART filings (supplemented by KRX) ÷ current price · As of 2026-08-17
Korea's domestic credit rating market is an oligopoly in which three full-license agencies account for most of the market, effectively limiting new entry. This has allowed Korea Ratings to maintain a high operating margin in the 27–31% range every year from 2022 through 2025.
The 2025 operating margin of 31.3% remained similar to the prior year's 31.4%. This stable profit structure also underpins the company's capacity for shareholder returns.
Revenue grew for two consecutive years, rising to KRW 104.1 billion in 2024 and KRW 109.8 billion in 2025 after a temporary dip to KRW 95.6 billion in 2023, while owners' net income expanded from KRW 20.4 billion in 2023 to KRW 25.2 billion in 2025.
Cumulative owners' net income over the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026) reached KRW 25.4 billion, already exceeding the full-year 2025 figure and indicating a continuing earnings recovery.
The debt ratio stood at 28.4% at the end of 2025, remaining in the low 26–30% range throughout the 2022–2025 period. Operating cash flow over the same period rose from KRW 24.4 billion in 2022 to KRW 31.9 billion in 2025, indicating improved cash conversion of earnings alongside profit growth.
The stable governance provided by largest shareholder Fitch Ratings has also supported the maintenance of financial soundness.
The number of issuers seeking credit ratings has remained flat, supporting the view that market growth will stay limited as the industry matures.
Revenue growth depends heavily on expansion of the corporate bond and commercial paper issuance market, meaning growth could slow during periods of rising interest rates or subdued issuance. Indeed, both revenue and operating profit declined year over year in 2023.
Earnings are structurally concentrated in the Q2 regular review season each year; operating profit ranged from KRW 4.2–4.7 billion in Q3 2025 through Q1 2026, compared with roughly KRW 20.8–20.9 billion in the Q2 quarters, a four-to-fivefold difference.
This seasonality makes it difficult to judge the annual trend from a single quarter's results and requires time to distinguish whether a given quarter's softness reflects a temporary factor or a structural shift.
Regulators have identified the issuer-pay fee structure as a structural challenge, noting that it gives issuers greater bargaining power than rating agencies and leaves market discipline relatively weak.
This structural concern remains a policy variable that could translate into future changes in fee structures or business conduct regulation.
A substantial portion of revenue depends on the size of the corporate bond and commercial paper issuance market and the number of new rating requests. Rising interest rates, capital market stress, or credit crunch conditions can reduce issuance volumes and, in turn, rating fee revenue. The 2023 decline in revenue and operating profit illustrates this sensitivity to issuance market conditions.
Amid ongoing regulatory concern over the issuer-pay fee structure, discussions of a credit rating fee system overhaul are underway.
Depending on the specifics, this could alter industry-wide revenue structures or competitive dynamics, and uncertainty remains since the exact timing and details have not yet been finalized.
The credit rating business can face ex-post controversy over rating adequacy and reputational risk if a rated issuer experiences a credit event such as default, court receivership, or a sharp rating downgrade after a rating has been assigned.
Several credit events in Korea recently, including a group affiliate's credit event and a retailer's court receivership process, have increased the monitoring burden across the related financial sectors.
The Q3 2026 quarterly report is expected around this time; it will show whether quarterly earnings return to the historical Q3 level of roughly KRW 4 billion in operating profit or whether the growth trend continues.
Full-year and Q4 2026 confirmed results along with the year-end dividend announcement are expected around this time, allowing confirmation of whether annual revenue and operating profit extend a five-year growth streak and whether the dividend policy continues.
If regulators disclose concrete timing and details for the previously flagged credit rating fee structure overhaul, it will be important to assess potential changes to industry-wide revenue structures.
It will be important to continuously monitor the size of the domestic corporate bond and financial bond issuance market, changes in the ratio of rating upgrades to downgrades, and whether credit events spread further in the real estate project finance, savings bank, and capital finance sectors.
Korea Ratings has moved past a temporary earnings dip in 2023 and continued a revenue and operating profit recovery through 2024 and 2025 within Korea's three-player credit rating oligopoly, maintaining a stable financial structure supported by an operating margin in the low 30% range and a low debt ratio.
Earnings show a clear seasonal concentration in the Q2 regular review season each year, so this seasonal factor should be considered when interpreting quarterly results.
The fact that cumulative owners' net income over the most recent four quarters has already exceeded the full-year 2025 figure can be viewed as a positive signal of continuing earnings improvement.
That said, the industry also carries bearish factors, including limited growth from a flat number of issuers and industry maturity, structural regulatory concern over the issuer-pay fee model, and sensitivity to the bond issuance market cycle.
On the diversification front, it remains to be seen whether the pace of expansion in ESG certification evaluation and the energy/infrastructure feasibility evaluation (E&I) segment can serve as a buffer for future earnings.
Before forming an investment judgment, it would be useful to track the upcoming Q3 earnings release, the confirmed annual results, and progress in discussions over the fee structure overhaul.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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