Kyivstar reaches $3 billion capitalization after listing on Nasdaq

Kyivstar has significantly increased its market value after its listing on the American Nasdaq stock exchange. Despite military events and foreign policy pressure, the Ukrainian telecom operator is demonstrating positive dynamics on the stock market.

Kyivstar President Oleksandr Komarov, in a comment to Mind, noted that as of October 20, the company’s capitalization had reached $3.13 billion. This confirmed the effectiveness of the listing process and investors’ interest in telecommunications operators in Ukraine.

A good start on the stock exchange

Even before the full-scale invasion, an agreement was concluded with the SPAC structure Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp., within the framework of which the company’s value was estimated at $2.3 billion. At the moment, the value of the securities is changing, but current quotes exceed the expected indicators included in the aforementioned agreement. The shares are currently trading at around $12.

Evaluating the figures for the half-year, Komarov highlighted several trends. Excluding the impact of the large-scale loyalty program that the operator launched after the cyberattack in December 2023, the organic growth of the business is 18% in annual terms. Profit before tax increased by 14%. At the same time, the head draws attention to the long-term trend of a gradual decrease in the marginality of the telecom market.

The company’s operating expenses related to ensuring the stability of the network in war conditions and other forced expenses have also increased noticeably. Komarov added that taking into account the consolidation of the Uklon service, which began in the second quarter of 2025, revenue growth is 23%, and profit before tax is 17%.

Komarov stated that this story is not reflected in the stock market dynamics. He recalled that in December 2024, all arrests were lifted from the company, and in order to enter Nasdaq, the operator had to go through strict compliance procedures that exclude the participation of discredited structures.

Next plans

The head of the largest Ukrainian telecommunications operator also noted areas that are considered promising for further inorganic growth. The company continues to study expansion opportunities in the traditional telecom segment, including infrastructure assets and fixed Internet operators for home users. Additionally, projects are being analyzed that can accelerate the transformation of Kyivstar into a digital services provider. Priority areas include transport services, e-commerce, fintech solutions and digital advertising.

It was previously reported that the operator is interested in investing in the largest Ukrainian cloud services provider GigaCloud and has sent a corresponding application to the Antimonopoly Committee to acquire a controlling stake.

According to the results of the first half of 2025, Kyivstar reported a 36.1% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year – to 22.6 billion hryvnias. In the second quarter, the figure reached 11.9 billion hryvnias, which is 25.8% higher than the result of April-June 2024.