Fact based stock research
Korean Air Lines (KOSE:A003490)

KR7003490000

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Korean Air Lines stock research in summary

koreanair.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 53 (better than 53% compared with investment alternatives), Korean Air Lines (Airlines, South Korea) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Korean Air Lines are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 89 (better than 89% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 55) but are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 4), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 53, is a buy recommendation based on Korean Air Lines's financial characteristics. As the company Korean Air Lines's key financial metrics exhibit excellent performance in two areas, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 89) and above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 55), it could be argued that the risk-taking in financing (Obermatt Safety Rank of only 4) indicates that the company is optimistic about the future and sees debt as an opportunity to boost returns. More debt means more shareholder returns if everything goes well. However, higher debt burdens are risky when interest rates rise or the business deteriorates in a crisis. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	89
Growth Rank	55
Safety Rank	4
Combined Rank	53

Country	South Korea
Industry	Airlines
Index	Low Emissions, Energy Efficient, KOSPI
Size class	XX-Large

15-May-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Korean Air Lines

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	21	90	83	89
GROWTH
GROWTH	100	21	36	55
SAFETY
SAFETY	23	67	23	4
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	100	88	88	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	75	88	88	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 15-May-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Korean Air Lines is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	21	90	83	89
GROWTH
GROWTH	100	21	36	55
SAFETY
SAFETY	23	67	23	4
COMBINED
COMBINED	53	82	85	53

Last update of combined financial performance: 15-May-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Korean Air Lines the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 89 (better than 89% compared with alternatives) for 2025, Korean Air Lines shares are significantly less expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators that are all above average for Korean Air Lines. Price-to-Sales is 82 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 82% of comparable companies, indicating a good value for Korean Air Lines's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price-to-Profits, more favorable than for 91% of alternatives, and this is also true for the Price-to-Book capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 65. Compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields of Korean Air Lines are expected to be higher than for 63% of all competitors (a Dividend Yield rank of 63). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 89, is a buy recommendation based on Korean Air Lines's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since all value metrics are above the industry average, there is no objection to investing in Korean Air Lines based on its detailed value metrics. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	40	76	72	82
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	50	91	89	91
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	28	59	55	65
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	1	71	64	63
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	21	90	83	89

Last update of Value Rank: 15-May-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Korean Air Lines; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 55 (better than 55% compared with alternatives), Korean Air Lines shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Korean Air Lines. Profit Growth has a rank of 53, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 53% of its competitors. This is a good sign for shareholders, which is confirmed by an above-average Stock Returns rank of 67 (above 67% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has a below the median rank of 36, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 64% of its competitors, and Capital Growth also has a lower rank of 33. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 55, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Because revenues and invested capital are the more solid growth indicators, the positive development on the profit side is less relevant. It may have been caused by cost-cutting, which may be a negative growth indicator. Finally, the above-average stock returns recently are a thing of the past and not a good indicator of future returns. Investors should be confident that the cost-cutting initiative leading to higher profits is to benefit the company's future. If not, there is little growth momentum, and investment is only advisable if the Value Ranks suggest a good investment timing for Korean Air Lines. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is mixed here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	65	90	24	36
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	82	29	51	53
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	100	1	36	33
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	65	27	55	67
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	100	21	36	55

Last update of Growth Rank: 15-May-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Korean Air Lines.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 4 (better than 4% compared with alternatives), the company Korean Air Lines has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Korean Air Lines is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with all three metrics below average for Korean Air Lines. Liquidity is at 26, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 74% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. Even worse, Leverage is at a rank of 7, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 93% of its competitors. Finally, Refinancing is at a rank of 4 which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 96% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 4 (worse than 96% compared with alternatives), Korean Air Lines has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. This combination is rather dangerous in most situations. Only very promising companies with bright future outlooks and stellar reputations can operate with such risky financing. Investors should look at Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks to confirm a very positive outlook or be careful with investing in stocks of Korean Air Lines because it may suffer significantly in case of future difficulties. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	6	46	46	7
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	21	47	21	4
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	52	56	79	26
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	23	67	23	4

Last update of Safety Rank: 15-May-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Korean Air Lines and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	97	100	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	91	75	38	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	76	68	82	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	81	35	78	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	100	88	88	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 15-May-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Korean Air Lines.
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