PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩1,554 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
iScream Media has posted clear revenue and profit growth on the back of its dominant elementary-school teaching platform and top textbook market share, but policy shifts around AI digital textbooks and a personal data leak have also surfaced as trust and regulatory risk factors.
Holds both the dominant 'i-Scream S' digital teaching platform used by most elementary teachers and the top market share in certified textbooks
2025 revenue of KRW 195.9bn, operating profit of KRW 61.8bn, and net profit of KRW 49.2bn all grew at double-digit rates year over year
Strong seasonality with revenue and profit concentrated in Q2 and Q4, while Q1 and Q3 typically post operating losses
A 2025 law amendment reclassified AI digital textbooks from mandatory 'textbooks' to optional 'educational materials,' removing compulsory adoption
A March 2026 personal data leak drew criticism from teacher unions and raised the need for expanded security investment
iScream Media is an edtech company specialized in elementary education, operating i-Scream S, a digital teaching-support platform used by roughly 90% of elementary school teachers nationwide during class time.
The platform holds more than 6.5 million pieces of educational content, supporting teachers' daily lesson preparation.
The company entered the elementary textbook publishing business in 2022, and starting in the 2026 school year it supplies 51 certified textbook titles across all subjects for grades five and six under the revised 2022 curriculum.
The number of subjects for which its certified textbooks were approved rose from three in 2023 to seven in 2024, and is set to expand to eight in 2026.
The company also operates iScream Mall, an online shopping platform for teaching materials and supplies, and iScream Training Institute, a remote teacher-training institute.
Unlike domestic competitors that spread across multiple grade levels, it has focused specifically on elementary education, holding the top market share in printed math, social studies, and science textbooks for grades three and four.
It is also named as a key participant in developing AI digital textbooks (AIDT), giving it a business structure spanning print textbooks, digital platforms, and AI content.
More recently, the company has expanded memoranda of understanding and exhibition participation to enter overseas education markets including Vietnam, India, and Japan.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩64.7B | ₩24.1B | 37.2% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩15.9B | -₩8.1B | −50.8% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩102B | ₩55.3B | 54.2% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩15.3B | -₩8.4B | −55.1% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩77.2B | ₩32.3B | 41.9% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ₩123.1B | ₩34B | ₩30.2B | 27.7% | 36.2% | 37.0% |
| 2024 | ₩152.2B | ₩46.1B | ₩31.1B | 30.3% | 17.0% | 21.6% |
| 2025 | ₩195.9B | ₩61.8B | ₩49.2B | 31.5% | 24.1% | 30.5% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-04
Consolidated 2025 revenue reached KRW 195.9bn, up sharply from KRW 152.2bn in 2024, while operating profit came in at KRW 61.8bn and net profit attributable to owners at KRW 49.2bn, both showing marked year-over-year growth. The operating margin improved steadily from 27.7% in 2023 to 30.3% in 2024 and 31.5% in 2025.
Operating cash flow also grew from KRW 30.1bn in 2023 to KRW 57.3bn in 2025, supporting the quality of reported earnings. Quarterly results, however, show pronounced seasonality.
After peaking at KRW 64.7bn in revenue and KRW 24.1bn in operating profit in Q2 2025, revenue fell sharply to KRW 15.9bn in Q3 with an operating loss of KRW 8.1bn, before Q4 delivered the year's strongest results with revenue of KRW 102.0bn and operating profit of KRW 55.3bn.
This pattern repeated in 2026, with a Q1 loss (revenue of KRW 15.3bn, operating loss of KRW 8.4bn) followed by a large swing back to profit in Q2 (revenue of KRW 77.2bn, operating profit of KRW 32.3bn).
The company's reported first-half 2026 figures—revenue of KRW 92.5bn, operating profit of KRW 23.9bn, and net profit of KRW 34.5bn—represented year-over-year increases of 18.5%, 64.5%, and 197.4% respectively, driven primarily by expanded textbook supply for grades five and six under the revised curriculum and a growing share of private-brand products at iScream Mall.
This seasonality stems from a business structure tied to textbook delivery and the school calendar, making single-quarter results an unreliable gauge of the annual trend.
South Korea's elementary edtech and education publishing market is being reshaped around two axes: implementation of the revised 2022 curriculum and AI digital textbook (AIDT) policy.
AIDT began with the Ministry of Education's June 2023 rollout plan and was first applied in March 2025 to math, English, and informatics for elementary grades three and four and middle/high school first years, but just one semester later, an August 2025 amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reclassified its legal status from mandatory 'textbook' to optional 'educational material.' As a result, compulsory adoption was eliminated, and each school now decides on adoption through its school steering committee, a direction reaffirmed in the Ministry's 2026 work plan, which refers to 'AI educational materials' with an emphasis on supporting voluntary school-level choice.
This adds policy uncertainty for edtech firms that had built growth expectations around nationwide, uniform rollout.
Within the elementary content and platform market, iScream Media holds an advantage built on high usage rates for its i-Scream S platform and leading textbook market share, a position attributed partly to a first-mover advantage despite entering the textbook market later than competitors.
However, following a ransomware incident at Kyowon Group (affecting roughly 5.54 million people) in early 2026, a personal data leak at iScream Media itself raised broader industry concerns about security oversight at private edtech firms operating in schools.
Such incidents are considered a factor that can directly affect trust given the B2G/B2B nature of the business, which serves schools and teachers.
The company revamped the main screen and core functions of its i-Scream S teaching platform in August 2026 and introduced a beta 'AI Worksheet' service that analyzes curriculum unit information to generate customized materials.
This service is initially offered for social studies and science units for grades three through six in the second semester, with plans to sequentially expand to additional grades and subjects.
In a March 2026 report, Yuanta Securities pointed to the rollout of new textbooks for grades five and six under the revised 2022 curriculum as a factor that would further consolidate the company's market dominance, and also noted strengthened platform competitiveness through AI education support features such as issamGPT and Kinderboard, unveiled in January.
Overseas business remains at an early stage, with memoranda of understanding signed with education institutions in Vietnam and participation in exhibitions such as Education Vietnam 2026 and EDIX Tokyo 2026 to promote digital education platforms and Korean-language learning materials, alongside donations of teaching materials for teachers and students in India.
However, these overseas activities are understood to be in an early phase with limited revenue contribution so far.
Under its shareholder return policy of paying out 40% of net profit as cash dividends, the company decided on an interim dividend of KRW 1,083 per share totaling KRW 13.8bn in early August 2026, alongside a KRW 5bn share buyback trust agreement.
CEO Hyun Jun-woo stated a direction to advance AI education services and new businesses in the second half to raise both growth and profitability.
The company's results have shown a pattern of profit recovery since 2023, with revenue and operating profit rising each year and net profit growth outpacing revenue growth.
Market observers have weighed this profit-improvement trend alongside the shareholder return policy of distributing 40% of net profit as dividends, with the dividend yield often referenced against the average for KOSDAQ-listed companies.
On a price-to-book basis, the stock has tended to trade at a certain premium or discount to net asset value, which can be interpreted as reflecting market expectations about the sustainability of profit growth.
However, given the highly seasonal earnings structure and uncertainty around AI digital textbook policy changes, valuation assessments warrant consideration of both quarterly volatility and policy risk.
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 2026-09-04
The company simultaneously holds i-Scream S, used by roughly 90% of elementary teachers nationwide, and the top market share in printed textbooks for grades three and four. The number of subjects for which its certified textbooks were approved has steadily grown from three in 2023 to an expected eight in 2026. Platform usage feeding into textbook adoption creates a virtuous cycle cited as a barrier to competitor entry.
Revenue and operating profit both grew every year from 2023 through 2025, with the operating margin improving from 27.7% to 31.5%. Operating cash flow also expanded significantly over the same period, supporting the cash conversion of reported profit. First-half 2026 net profit was also reported to have risen substantially year over year.
Under its policy of distributing 40% of net profit as cash dividends, the company decided on an interim dividend of KRW 1,083 per share totaling KRW 13.8bn in August 2026. It simultaneously entered a KRW 5bn share buyback trust agreement, continuing a return policy combining dividends and buybacks.
Operating losses were posted in both Q3 2025 and Q1 2026, while results repeatedly concentrate in Q2 and Q4. This stems from a business tied to textbook delivery schedules and the academic calendar, making it difficult to judge the annual trend from any single quarter's results.
The August 2025 law amendment reclassified AI digital textbooks from mandatory 'textbooks' to optional 'educational materials,' shifting to a school-by-school voluntary adoption structure. Policy could evolve along a path different from growth expectations premised on uniform nationwide rollout.
A March 2026 leak of teachers' personal information drew strong criticism from teacher unions and related organizations. Given the B2G/B2B nature of the business, erosion of trust is a factor that could affect future contracts and platform usage, and expanded security investment could also add to costs.
With AI digital textbooks reclassified as 'educational materials,' mandatory adoption has disappeared, potentially increasing revenue volatility depending on school-by-school adoption decisions.
Changes to education budget policy, including local education finance grants, could also directly affect a business structure with a high share of B2G revenue.
The March 2026 personal data leak drew strong backlash from teacher organizations, and any recurrence could further erode trust among schools and teachers. Expanded investment to strengthen security systems could also translate into a short-term cost burden.
The business structure specialized in elementary education is both a strength and a source of exposure to structural factors such as declining student populations. Results can be significantly affected by textbook adoption outcomes for specific grades and subjects or by changes to the school calendar.
The Q3 2026 quarterly report will show the scale of the seasonally weak third-quarter results and whether they improved from the prior-year period.
It will be worth confirming whether initial revenue actually materializes from overseas education markets such as Vietnam, and whether the scale is meaningful.
It will be important to check the outcome of the investigation into the March data leak, follow-up measures by education authorities, and whether enhanced security investment plans become concrete.
Progress on the actual execution of the KRW 5bn share buyback trust agreement signed in August can be tracked.
It will be worth confirming how the adoption results and price-increase effects of the new grade 5-6 textbooks and AI educational materials under the revised 2022 curriculum were reflected in full-year 2026 results.
iScream Media, built on a digital teaching-support platform used by most elementary teachers nationwide and the top market share in certified textbooks, showed steady growth in revenue and operating profit along with improving margins from 2023 through 2025.
First-half 2026 also saw revenue and profit rise significantly year over year, but the operating losses in Q3 2025 and Q1 2026 underscore that strong seasonality tied to the academic calendar remains a key variable in assessing performance.
The shareholder return policy combining a 40% net-profit dividend payout with share buybacks continues to strengthen, but the August 2025 reclassification of AI digital textbooks to optional 'educational materials' removing mandatory adoption, and the March 2026 personal data leak that drew backlash from teacher organizations, remain sources of policy and trust-related uncertainty.
Overseas expansion into markets such as Vietnam, India, and Japan is still at an early stage, with revenue contribution understood to be limited so far.
Overall, the company sits at a juncture where solid market positioning and improving profitability coexist with uncertainty from seasonality, policy change, and security concerns.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
This content is AI analysis of market data and web search results, provided for information only. It is not a solicitation or recommendation to invest. Investment decisions and their consequences are the investor's own responsibility. Data may be delayed or contain errors.