KOSPI breaks through 7,000 points, securities firms' first-quarter performance hits a new record high

The KOSPI Index closed at 7,384.56 points on May 6, 2026, breaking through the 7,000-point threshold. Against this backdrop, the securities industry has shown a rare trend of improved performance since the first quarter, driven by a surge in trading value. If the index rises sharply in the short term, investors’ trading activity will become more active, enabling securities firms to earn more commission fees from delegated buy/sell orders—and in this rally, this effect has quickly translated into earnings.

In fact, among the five major securities firms, NH Investment & Securities and Kiwoom Securities, which were the first to release earnings, both reported results exceeding market expectations. NH Investment & Securities recorded first-quarter sales of 8.8976 trillion won, operating profit of 636.7 billion won, and net profit for the period of 475.7 billion won, achieving the best quarterly performance on record. Sales increased by 88.8% year over year, while net profit reached 46% of last year’s full-year net profit of 1.0315 trillion won within just one quarter. Kiwoom Securities also posted first-quarter operating profit of 621.2 billion won and net profit for the period of 477.4 billion won. Operating profit grew by 90.9% year over year, exceeding the market forecast of 558.3 billion won by 11.3%. Sales reached 9.396 trillion won, up 156.7%.

The core driver behind securities firms’ performance is the brokerage business—handling investors’ stock orders on their behalf and earning commission fee income from delegated buy/sell transactions. The KOSPI Index has risen 64.61% from the beginning of the year to May 4. In March, despite the impact of the U.S.-Iran war, the closing price on March 31 briefly fell to 5,052.46 points, shaking the 5,000-point level. However, after the middle of April, as expectations for ceasefire negotiations heated up, the index rebounded sharply again. During this process, trading volume surged: NH Investment & Securities’ brokerage commission fee income in the first quarter reached 349.5 billion won, up 197% from the same period last year, and commission fees from financial product sales also reached 491 billion won, up 90%. Kiwoom Securities’ stock brokerage fee income similarly reached 311.5 billion won, up 120.8%.

For large securities firms that have not yet released their earnings, the market also holds high expectations. Mirae Asset Securities is scheduled to announce its results on May 12, and Samsung Securities on May 11. Korea Financial Holdings also plans to disclose its performance in the near term. Based on the results of forecasts for the past three months compiled by Infomax, the consensus forecast for Mirae Asset Securities’ first-quarter operating profit this year is 1.3552 trillion won, which is expected to be up 291.45% compared with the same period last year. Korea Financial Holdings is forecast at 834.8 billion won, up 57.64%; Samsung Securities at 511.6 billion won, up 52.9%. The consensus forecast for operating profit for the five securities firms in the second quarter is 3.0338 trillion won, and for full year is 11.8687 trillion won—up 42.8% and 36.3%, respectively, compared with the same period last year.

These expectations are immediately reflected in stock prices as well. On the 6th, in the listed securities market, the securities industry index rose 13.49%, ranking first among all sectors. Mirae Asset Securities closed at 83.8k won, up 19.20%, and at one point during the trading day it climbed to 87.8k won, setting a new all-time high. Kiwoom Securities rose 14.67%, Korea Financial Holdings rose 11.26%, Samsung Securities rose 8.41%, and NH Investment & Securities rose 5.49%. Hyundai Motor Securities rose 11.07%, SK Securities rose 8.67%, Daishin Securities rose 5.63%, Eugene Investment & Securities rose 7.02%, and other small- and mid-sized securities firms also moved up in tandem. However, earnings growth is mainly concentrated in brokerage business, which could be a variable that further widens the gap within the industry. Large securities firms benefit more in an upward trend because individual investors’ trading share and market share are higher, while the earnings upside potential of small- and mid-sized firms may be relatively limited. Although some market views suggest that if AI- and semiconductor-related stocks remain strong and foreign capital continues to flow in, there is a possibility that both the stock market and securities stocks could rise further, whether earnings concentration will intensify is also becoming a key factor to watch in determining the industry’s future direction.