Korea Investment & Securities posted operating profit of nearly 1 trillion won in the first quarter. It said major business divisions, including brokerage, wealth management, investment banking and trading, grew evenly.

Korea Investment & Securities said in a preliminary earnings filing on May 14 that its consolidated operating profit for the first quarter of 2026 rose 85.0 percent from a year earlier to 959.9 billion won. Net profit increased 75.1 percent to 784.7 billion won over the same period.

Korea Investment & Securities extended its growth trend in the first quarter after becoming the first securities firm in South Korea last year to post more than 2 trillion won in both annual operating profit and net profit.

In the first quarter, brokerage accounted for 33.3 percent of revenue, wealth management 9.0 percent, investment banking 18.6 percent and trading 39.1 percent. The company said a balanced revenue structure not reliant on any single division supported results.

In brokerage, related revenue rose 55.0 percent from the previous quarter, supported by a strong stock market and expanded convenience for non-face-to-face investing. Korea Investment & Securities is expanding artificial intelligence-based functions in its mobile trading system, "Korea Investment". Since early this year, it has carried out more than 50 feature revisions focused on investment information, wealth management, automated investing and customer retention functions.

It also strengthened collaboration with global financial firms. Through partnerships with JP Morgan and Guotai Haitong Securities, it expanded exclusive research supply within its mobile trading system and enhanced its investment information services.

In wealth management, sales commissions increased 71.6 percent due to higher sales of financial products such as bonds, promissory notes and beneficiary certificates. Individual clients' financial product balances expanded to 94.5 trillion won from 85.1 trillion won at the end of last year. That amounts to an average monthly inflow of 3.1 trillion won in individual client funds so far this year.

The investment banking business also grew. Korea Investment & Securities posted results up 14.7 percent from a year earlier as it showed deal-sourcing capabilities, including ranking first in fee income in the IPO and equity capital markets segments.

The company also cited the full-scale formation of the integrated managed account, or IMA, market as a future growth factor. Korea Investment & Securities is strengthening a business model that combines retail product supply capabilities with investment banking deal-sourcing capabilities.

The asset management and sales and trading division contributed to improved results based on performance that responded to market variables such as interest rates, exchange rates, equities and bonds.

At the end of the first quarter, its separate-basis equity capital stood at 12.7085 trillion won, maintaining the largest scale in South Korea's securities industry. Korea Investment & Securities is also expanding its role in supplying venture capital by managing 21.6 trillion won in promissory notes and 2.6 trillion won in IMA funds. Its return on equity also remained among the top levels in the industry, as it continues both expansion and improved profitability.

A Korea Investment & Securities official said, "We will continue to strengthen our foundation to leap beyond South Korea's securities industry and become a global-level financial investment company, based on a balanced revenue structure that is not swayed by any particular division or market conditions."