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South Korea's flag carrier airline, flying passengers and cargo worldwide from its Incheon hub.
South Korea's flag carrier airline, flying passengers and cargo worldwide from its Incheon hub.
Passengers and freight both carry the business, with freight tied to Korea's export trade. It completed its takeover of rival Asiana in December 2024. The group is controlled by the Hanjin family through Hanjin KAL, and also has an aerospace division and low-cost airline subsidiaries.
In one line: Korea's Delta Air Lines.
Moat: narrow (scale, brand, installed base). Dominant Incheon hub slots and fleet scale versus smaller domestic rivals.
Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea · Founded: 1969 · Employees: 18,318
Size KAL (003490.KS) is a South Korea Industrials company (Airlines) with a market value of $7.99B, the 52nd largest of 495 South Korea companies the cockpit tracks. Shares closed at ₩29,400 on 6 Nov 2026.
Performance Over six months the shares gained 19.8%, against +7.8% for the median peer and -24.5% for the South Korea market (cap-weighted) — 6th highest of 21 in its peer set.
Growth Revenue grew 20.7% over the last twelve months (peer median +10.2%); the operating margin is 2.4% (peer median 6.2%).
Valuation It trades at 21.1× forward earnings against a peer median of 10.9× (5th most expensive of 14).
Capital Return on invested capital runs 3.5 points below its cost of capital (5.0% WACC).
Next results Next results expected around 3 Feb 2027 (exchange calendar; dates can move).
| TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₩26.4T | ₩25.2T | ₩17.9T | ₩16.1T | ₩14.1T |
| Revenue growth | — | +41% | +11% | +14% | — |
| Gross profit | ₩3.03T | ₩3.50T | ₩3.67T | ₩3.16T | ₩3.76T |
| EBITDA | ₩3.59T | ₩3.97T | ₩3.88T | ₩3.51T | ₩4.47T |
| Net income | -₩252B | ₩788B | ₩1.32T | ₩1.06T | ₩1.72T |
| Free cash flow | -₩1.04T | -₩1.04T | ₩1.12T | ₩1.64T | ₩4.41T |
| Capital expenditure | ₩4.71T | ₩4.31T | ₩2.91T | ₩1.92T | ₩764B |
| Total debt | ₩24.6T | ₩22.5T | ₩19.4T | ₩10.9T | ₩11.1T |
The default views of Competitor Analysis ▸ Charts, drawn from the same data. Open them in the cockpit to change the axes, pin companies and read every value.
| Company | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAL 003490.KS | $7.99B | +20% | +21% | 2% | 21.1× | n/a |
| Asiana Airlines 020560.KS | $1.21B | +13% | -17% | -12% | n/a | n/a |
| Ana 9202.T | $9.77B | +24% | +17% | 8% | 13.1× | -10.0% |
| Japan Airlines 9201.T | $9.08B | +34% | +10% | 8% | 15.3× | -9.7% |
| Singapore Airlines C6L.SI | $17.2B | +11% | +5% | 12% | 30.1× | -11.0% |
Peer set: Industry: the same industry and sector in any market, nearest in size. This is the same default set the interactive Competitor Analysis opens with.
| Measure | 003490.KS | Peer median | Rank in peer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month return | -4.7% | +6.0% | 3rd lowest of 21 |
| 6-month return | +19.8% | +7.8% | 6th highest of 21 |
| Distance from 52-week high | -9.5% | -22.3% | 7th highest of 21 |
| Revenue growth (TTM) | +20.7% | +10.2% | 3rd highest of 21 |
| Operating margin | 2.4% | 6.2% | 9th lowest of 21 |
| Forward P/E | 21.1× | 10.9× | 5th most expensive of 14 |
| ROIC minus cost of capital | -3.5 pp | -0.1 pp | 4th lowest of 21 |
| EV / EBITDA | 8.4× | 4.9× | 3rd most expensive of 14 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 5.3× | 2.0× | 6th most indebted of 19 |
| Company | Market | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g | Delivered g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAL 003490.KS | South Korea | $7.99B | +20% | +21% | 2% | 21.1× | n/a | n/a |
| Hainan Airlines 600221.SS | China | $7.85B | -20% | +6% | -3% | 24.2× | 5.0% | +18.4% |
| American Airlines AAL | United States | $8.73B | -1% | +12% | 2% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Air China Cargo 001391.SZ | China | $7.12B | -21% | +10% | 9% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Eva Airways 2618.TW | Taiwan | $7.12B | +28% | +6% | 14% | 10.1× | -17.0% | +19.9% |
| Japan Airlines 9201.T | Japan | $9.08B | +34% | +10% | 8% | 15.3× | -9.7% | +33.1% |
| easyJet EZJ.L | United Kingdom | $6.96B | +90% | +10% | 5% | 68.9× | 4.8% | +27.4% |
| Ana 9202.T | Japan | $9.77B | +24% | +17% | 8% | 13.1× | -10.0% | +28.4% |
| Qantas Airways QAN.AX | Australia | $9.79B | +9% | +8% | 7% | 10.9× | n/a | n/a |
| Spring Airlines 601021.SS | China | $6.51B | -6% | +16% | 6% | 26.0× | n/a | n/a |
| China Eastern Airlines 600115.SS | China | $10.7B | -18% | +11% | -6% | n/a | 6.9% | +19.0% |
| Copa CPA | United States | $5.87B | +16% | +15% | 19% | 9.0× | n/a | n/a |
| Deutsche Lufthansa LHA.DE | Germany | $11.4B | +7% | +8% | -1% | 9.7× | n/a | n/a |
| Cathay Pacific Airways 0293.HK | Hong Kong | $11.7B | +19% | +20% | 11% | 8.1× | -12.4% | +20.0% |
| China Southern Airlines 600029.SS | China | $12.2B | -4% | +8% | -3% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Exchange Income EIF.TO | Canada | $4.77B | +13% | +33% | 11% | 24.6× | n/a | n/a |
| LATAM Airlines Group SA Sponsored ADR LTM | United States | $13.8B | -7% | +21% | 14% | 7.0× | -7.2% | +29.3% |
| Alaska Air ALK | United States | $4.35B | -5% | +8% | -1% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Air China 601111.SS | China | $15.3B | -7% | +9% | -7% | n/a | 10.0% | +19.8% |
| Air France-KLM AF.PA | France | $3.99B | +34% | +5% | 6% | 4.7× | -6.3% | +24.4% |
| Air Canada AC.TO | Canada | $3.95B | +10% | +13% | 2% | n/a | 14.3% | +30.8% |