Operating Profit of KOSPI-Listed Firms Jumps 50 Trillion Won in One Year

Operating profit at companies listed on the Stock Market Division of the Korea Exchange nearly reached 250 trillion won last year, increasing by close to 50 trillion won from a year earlier.
According to the "2025 Fiscal Year Settlement Results of December-Closing Corporations on the Stock Market Division" compiled by the Korea Exchange on the 2nd, operating profit at 714 listed companies that submitted consolidated financial statements, excluding financial firms and others, came to 244.7882 trillion won. This was up 25.39% (49.5706 trillion won) from 195.2176 trillion won a year earlier. Sales and net profit also surged, rising 6.08% (176.6104 trillion won) and 33.57% (47.5989 trillion won), respectively, to 3,082.7609 trillion won in sales and 189.3910 trillion won in net profit. The operating margin and net margin improved by 1.22 percentage points and 1.26 percentage points from the previous year, reaching 7.94% and 6.14%.
Even when excluding large-cap stocks Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, earnings still improved. Sales and operating profit on the Stock Market Division last year, excluding these two companies, increased by 4.45% and 10.76%, respectively. However, the number of profitable firms declined from a year earlier. Among 626 companies analyzed on a consolidated basis, 471 firms, or 75.24%, posted a net profit, down by 14 from the previous year’s 485 firms (77.48%).
By industry, sectors such as IT services, electrical and electronics, and pharmaceuticals saw year-on-year increases in sales, operating profit, and net profit. In contrast, industries including non-metallic minerals and paper and wood products recorded weaker results than the previous year.
Financial companies listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) also showed marked improvement last year. The combined consolidated operating profit of 42 financial firms reached 55.8550 trillion won, up 9.94% from 50.8072 trillion won a year earlier. Within the financial sector, securities firms posted the strongest gains in profitability. Their operating profit and net profit improved by 56.39% and 50.64%, respectively, compared with the previous year.