This year, the total revenue of companies listed on the KOSPI exceeded 2000 trillion won for the first time. Operating profit and net profit also surged compared to the previous year, largely due to the strong performance of semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Together, these two companies accounted for over 60% of the total operating profit. However, even excluding Samsung and SK Hynix, other companies saw their operating profit increase by more than 75%, indicating that the improvement in performance was not limited to large semiconductor stocks.
According to the '2026 Semiannual Settlement Results' released by the Korea Exchange on August 19, the combined revenue of 634 companies listed on the KOSPI reached 2000 trillion 1261 billion won, marking a 28.84% increase from the same period last year. Operating profit rose to 388 trillion 1532 billion won, a 254.15% increase, while net profit soared to 386 trillion 6740 billion won, up 333.30%.
The strong results were driven by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, whose combined revenue for the first half of the year was 437 trillion 2679 billion won, accounting for 21.86% of the total. Their combined operating profit reached 244 trillion 8781 billion won, and net profit was 253 trillion 1182 billion won, representing 63.09% and 65.46% of the total, respectively. Excluding these two companies, the revenue of other firms also increased by 15.01% compared to the previous year, with operating profit and net profit rising by 75.61% and 119.68%, respectively. While large semiconductor stocks clearly boosted overall performance, profitability improvements were widespread among other companies as well.
By sector, the electrical and electronics industry, which includes semiconductors, showed remarkable growth. Revenue in this sector reached 582 trillion 7473 billion won, an increase of 80.47%, while operating profit and net profit surged by 674.92% and 697.01%, respectively. Additionally, 14 sectors, including general services and medical & precision instruments, reported increases in operating profit, while six sectors, including entertainment & culture and transportation & warehousing, experienced declines.
The financial sector also demonstrated strong performance. Excluding six companies that submitted individual financial statements, the operating profit of 42 companies increased by 36.07% year-on-year, and net profit rose by 32.82%. Notably, brokerage firms reported an operating profit of 9 trillion 2066 billion won, a 163.37% increase, and net profit of 7 trillion 948 billion won, up 161%. The number of profitable companies increased to 519, up by 34 from the first half of last year, with the proportion of profitable firms rising to 81.86%, a 5.36 percentage point increase.
The KOSDAQ market also showed positive results. The combined revenue of 1264 companies analyzed reached 183 trillion 5753 billion won, a 27.17% increase, while operating profit rose to 9 trillion 4279 billion won, up 61.54%, and net profit skyrocketed to 9 trillion 7069 billion won, a 286.95% increase. The number of profitable companies increased to 800, up by 121, raising the proportion of profitable firms to 63.29%.
However, the rate of increase in debt outpaced that of capital, leading to greater financial burdens. As of the end of the first half, the total debt of KOSDAQ-listed companies reached 300 trillion 6154 billion won, a 17.94% increase, while total capital grew by only 6.28%. Consequently, the debt ratio rose from 113.58% at the end of last year to 126.04%, an increase of 12.46 percentage points. The company with the highest debt ratio was Bitmax, which recorded an alarming 8193.77%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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