By Olena Hrazhdan
Copyright kyivpost
After debuting on the Nasdaq Stock Market a month ago, Ukraine’s largest telecom company and mobile operator Kyivstar saw its price fall by approximately four dollars per share.
Kyivstar’s share price was estimated at $13,28 on the first day of trading on Aug.15, peaking at $15.99 on Aug. 20 and falling to more than $10-11 per share in September, according to Nasdaq data from Aug. 15 to Sept. 17.
Investors are cooling down their expectations, but the company’s financial indicators keep an upward trend.
“Kyivstar is growing quickly and demonstrating impressive profitability. Markets always prefer growth stories. However, after the initial excitement came a more sober assessment. Analysts began to doubt whether the company could continue such rapid revenue growth,” ICU Investment Group trader Vitaliy Syvach told Kyiv Post.
Kyivstar’s Nasdaq debut: from IPO hype to sober market assessment
Before the Nasdaq opening bell ceremony, Kyivstar President Oleksandr Komarov said in a CNBC interview that shares in Kyivstar had risen by 20% since the company was listed, Kyiv Post previously reported.
The New York debut initially valued Kyivstar at about $2.6 billion. At the time of writing, the company is ranked at “high” Earnings Quality Ranking (EQR) for the 3rd consecutive week, according to Kyivstar’s Nasdaq portfolio.
Despite volatile performance and decreasing share price, the company’s financial performance remains robust.“In its latest report, Kyivstar recorded revenue growth of 20.9% year-on-year, reaching $284 million, while net profit totaled $82 million with a solid 29% margin. EBITDA rose to $165 million (+18.7%), and the EBITDA margin remained at 58%,” Syvach told Kyiv Post.
Kyivstar’s road to Nasdaq began in January, when it signed a memorandum of understanding with US investment firm Cohen Circle.
Over the next six months, the company expanded beyond its core telecom operations, most notably acquiring Ukraine’s largest ride-hailing service, Uklon, for $155.2 million.
From mobile operator to digital holding: How Kyivstar diversified its portfolio
Telecom and broadband remain Kyivstar’s core businesses, with a 47% share of Ukraine’s communications market and a place among the top three broadband internet providers. As of June 30, the company served nearly 23 million mobile customers and over 1.1 million fixed broadband users.
The Kyivstar Group portfolio also includes:
Kyivstar.Tech – 500 employees; $24.2 million revenue in 2024
Kyivstar TV – 2 million registered users by the end of 2024
Helsi (e-health platform) – 97.99% ownership; $5.1 million revenue in 2024
Big data & cloud services – $11.2 million revenue in 2024, almost triple 2023’s results
The company employs about 4,000 people, excluding Uklon. As of March 31, it held $712 million in cash and equivalents before completing the Uklon acquisition.
The strategy of being “not just telecom” helped increase the company’s value, as did the support from the parent company VEON Ltd., a company incorporated in the Netherlands with its headquarters in Dubai.
“Overall, the Kyivstar holding plays a significant role for its parent, VEON, representing about 28% of its asset base. VEON plans to invest roughly $1 billion into the Ukrainian economy by 2027 to develop its network and digital innovations. However, VEON also has a number of other holdings, including the Pakistani mobile operator Jazz,” Partner and Head of Research at Blackshield Capital Illia Kyslytskyi told Kyiv Post.
Kyivstar’s listing was approved after Cohen Circle shareholders greenlit a $2.2 billion merger on Aug. 12 between Kyivstar and the US-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Kyivstar signals Ukraine’s resilience to international investors
But what also made Kyivstar stand out on Nasdaq is its Ukrainian roots.
“Without delving into the nuances of fair-value assessment, the company addresses a key demand from international investors: which firm offers exposure to Ukraine’s recovery (especially as talks and negotiations around the war’s resolution begin),” Kyslytskyi explained.
“Kyivstar’s IPO is more than a capital markets event; it is a signal to international investors of resilience and determination — excellent timing from a business and investment perspective. … For Ukrainians, the IPO signals that the country is not only recognized in private markets but also matters in public capital markets. From a business valuation perspective, fair pricing is expected to stabilize based on demand from investors of various categories,” Kyslytskyi explained.
There is, however, one significant factor that might spoil the picture: failing ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, initiated by US President Donald Trump.
They will put pressure on Kyivstar’s share price and may cause a downward trend.
“Despite repeated promises by U.S. President Donald Trump to “increase pressure on the Kremlin,” markets want to see real action, not just statements,” Syvach told Kyiv Post.
Syvach believes more time should pass before one gives up on Kyivstar’s success.
“Currently, the company’s shares are under pressure. Yet the fundamentals remain strong. Kyivstar has one of the highest margins in the telecom sector, and if profits continue to grow, investors will be ready to re-rate the stock. The story is not yet finished — it may just require a little more time to fully play out,” he told Kyiv Post.
