KOSPI200 PBR at 0.8 Times... Falls Short of Emerging Market Average

KOSPI's Overall PER Drops from 20.7 to 12.7 Times
Dividend Yield Rises to 2.2% Thanks to "Value-Up" Effect

The price-to-book ratio (PBR) and price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of the 200 leading companies listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) are significantly lower than the averages not only of advanced economies but also of emerging markets.

According to key investment indicators for the KOSPI, released by the Korea Exchange on May 7, 2025, and reflecting the 2024 year-end financial statements, the PBR of the KOSPI200 stood at 0.8 times based on the closing price of the previous trading day (May 2). This figure is well below both the 23-country average of 3.5 times and the emerging markets average of 1.8 times across 24 countries.

PBR is calculated by dividing the current share price by the book value per share. Typically, a PBR below 1 indicates that the market capitalization is undervalued to the extent that it does not reach the book value of net assets. The countries used for comparison were selected based on the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) market classification criteria.

By country, among advanced economies, the United States recorded a PBR of 4.8 times, while the United Kingdom and France each posted 1.9 times, and Japan recorded 1.5 times. Among emerging markets, India's PBR was 4.0 times, Taiwan's was 2.6 times, Brazil's was 1.7 times, and Thailand and China recorded 1.6 times and 1.5 times, respectively.

The PER, which shows the stock price level relative to the earnings of KOSPI200 companies, was also only 11 times, falling short of the average for advanced economies (21.3 times) and the average for emerging markets (15.2 times). The dividend yield of the KOSPI200 was 2.4%, higher than that of advanced economies (1.9%) but lower than that of emerging markets (2.8%).

Meanwhile, the PER of all listed KOSPI companies dropped sharply from 20.7 times last year to 12.7 times this year. This is because, although the net profit attributable to controlling interests of listed companies increased by 57.7% year-on-year to 160 trillion won, the market capitalization fell by 3.5% to 2,022 trillion won due to global political uncertainty and concerns over an economic downturn.

The PBR of all KOSPI-listed companies was reported at 0.9 times, a slight decrease from the previous year. The Korea Exchange explained that although market capitalization declined, the total equity attributable to controlling interests increased by 8.4% year-on-year to 2,336 trillion won, which helped limit the decline.

The dividend yield of all KOSPI-listed companies rose from 1.9% to 2.2%. The Korea Exchange evaluated that this was due to the "Value-Up" (corporate value enhancement) program, as the total dividends paid by KOSPI-listed companies last year increased by 11.9% compared to 2023, reaching 44 trillion won.