GS Global (001250) 🔎 In-depth
KOSPI · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
GS Global is a general trading company that buys and sells industrial goods such as steel and metals, oil and chemicals, coal, biomass, and machinery and plant worldwide. Its revenue (₩4.1 trillion a year) is large, but because it operates on an intermediation and distribution model, margins are thin; it also runs imported-car logistics, refinery and power-plant equipment manufacturing, and resource and renewable-energy development, and as a GS Group affiliate, intra-group transactions form one pillar of its business. In the Q1 provisional results on May 12, revenue rose but profit fell; a corporate-governance report followed on May 29 and a large-business-group status disclosure on June 1, and several disclosures related to affiliate intra-group transactions were filed in April and May. The notable point is that a P/B of 0.40x (less than half of book equity) reflecting asset appeal, a ₩4.1 trillion revenue base, and the stable transaction footing of a GS Group affiliate are strengths, while thin margins leave ROE at 3.7%, below peers, net profit swings from year to year, and interest coverage is not ample.
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30-second brief
Pulled directly from the computed values below — not a separately written opinion.
What do the SourceComputedEstimateReading tags mean?
Source filings and exchange data · Computed calculated from public data · Estimate our own unverified projection · Reading drafted automatically, then rule-checked. See AI & Automation.
Core valuation metric
This stock's effective sub-sector is “Trading Houses & Commodity Trading” (Retail, Consumer Goods & Food · Distribution & Wholesale/Retail), a type typically read first through P/E.
Trading houses earn margins by brokering and moving a wide range of goods, an asset-light model whose earnings recur period after period. That is why trailing P/E, based on actually earned profit, is the first lens.
Price against earnings alone becomes unstable when earnings swing. Reading it together with price against assets helps gauge the downside.
This note explains how each sector is typically valued and is educational context only, not investment advice.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Revenue rose 1.1% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 7.6% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 2.7% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 1.2%.
- A sector-metric and in-depth research verdict — see “Valuation vs peers” below for the basis.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder GS 50.7% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 50.78%
With the controlling bloc holding 51%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
GS Global is a general trading company that buys goods and resells them. In its largest trading and distribution segment, it buys and sells industrial goods worldwide such as steel and metals, oil and chemical products, coal, biomass (eco-friendly fuels such as wood pellets), machinery and plant, and cement. Transaction volumes are large, so revenue (₩4.1 trillion a year) is large, but because it intermediates and distributes others' goods, the profit (margin) left relative to revenue is inherently thin. On top of that, it has a logistics segment that inspects and transports imported cars before release at ports, a manufacturing segment that makes refinery and power-plant equipment, and resource and renewable-energy development businesses, so its results are driven not by a single product but by 'the volume and price of raw-material trading, plus exchange rates.' As a GS Group affiliate, intra-group transactions forming one pillar of revenue is also a defining feature.
The latest close is ₩2,875 and the market capitalization is ₩237.3 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩2,609) and below its 60-day moving average (₩2,954). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 56.7, a neutral level. The one-month change is +8.9%, the three-month change is -37.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -47.0%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 42 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 41% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 27.2%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
The P/B (how many times book equity the share price is) is 0.43x, trading at less than half of book equity. In other words, relative to the value of the company's assets, the share price sits clearly low. On a profit basis, the P/E (how many times one year of profit the share price is) is 11.92x on last year's confirmed results and 12.18x on a forward basis using this year's expected profit. Given a trading company's thin margins, the P/E swings year to year with profit, so the P/B, which reflects asset value, is the more stable yardstick for reading this company. On profitability, ROE (how much is earned on equity in a year) is 3.7%, the operating margin is 1.3%, and the net margin is 0.5% — transaction volumes are large, but the money left in hand is thin. The debt-to-equity ratio of 167.7% looks high, but a trading company constantly carries short-term borrowings from buying and selling goods in bulk, so this figure should be understood as an industry characteristic. That said, with the interest-coverage ratio (how many times operating profit covers interest) at 2.13x, coverage is not ample, so a point to watch is that a further drop in profit could raise the interest burden.
The top line is steady. Revenue rose each year — ₩3.92 trillion in 2023 → ₩4.07 trillion in 2024 → ₩4.11 trillion in 2025 — with the growth rate easing from 3.8% to 1.1%. Profit swings by year. Net profit jumped from ₩27.8 billion in 2023 to ₩54.2 billion in 2024 (+95%) before pulling back to ₩19.9 billion in 2025; since 2024 was an unusually strong year, this is largely a pullback off that base. In Q1 2026, revenue grew 7.6% as the top line kept expanding, while operating profit (-19.5%) and net profit (-57.5%) still trailed the prior year. The core business's strength is intact, however: annualizing Q1 operating profit (about ₩12.9 billion) tracks close to 2025 operating profit (₩52.3 billion), so operating-level earnings power itself has not collapsed; rather, net profit was pressed lower by items below it such as financial costs. That the forward-based P/E sits around 12.2x is in line with this flow, reflecting a picture where core revenue and margins are broadly maintained rather than profit sharply declining or rebounding. If raw-material trading volumes, prices, and exchange rates turn favorable, there is room for additional profit on top of thin margins, and where that recovery meets an asset-cheap share price is the point to watch for this stock.
Recent disclosures are more routine and governance-oriented than new orders. The Q1 2026 provisional results (fair disclosure) on May 12 confirmed that revenue rose but profit fell; a corporate-governance report followed on May 29 and a large-business-group status disclosure on June 1. Meanwhile, several disclosures related to affiliate intra-group transactions were filed — a change in goods/services transactions with GS affiliates in late April, and a disposal of related-party shares in May — showing that one pillar of results is tied to intra-group transactions. No disclosure of a large new order or a company-provided results target was confirmed in this window.
This stock's most distinct feature is that its price is very low relative to assets. A P/B of 0.40x sits below half of book equity, similar to fellow trading company Hyundai Corporation (0.42x) and far below POSCO International (1.27x). It amounts to buying a large business base of ₩4.1 trillion in revenue and the stable transaction footing of a GS Group affiliate below asset value. Points to note are profitability and volatility: thin margins leave ROE at 3.7%, below peers, net profit swings year to year, and interest coverage is not ample — all to be weighed together. Overall, it is strong when raw-material volumes, margins, and exchange rates turn favorable and profit recovers on top of thin margins, bringing the asset-cheap value into focus, and weak when weak profit and financial-cost burdens persist, delaying the point where that asset value is confirmed by results. Rather than concluding one way, this is a case for watching asset appeal and the pace of a profitability recovery together.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Overvalued
Uses Hyundai Corporation and POSCO International — fellow general trading companies engaged in raw-material and industrial-goods trade — as the direct peer set.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Corporation | 4.06x | 0.49x | 10.30% |
| POSCO International | 15.87x | 1.45x | 10.20% |
On a price-to-profit basis there is some burden. The P/E of 12.5x is well above the most direct peer, Hyundai Corporation (3.8x), and below the larger POSCO International (16.1x). Yet GS Global's ROE of 3.7% is lower than Hyundai Corporation's (12.5%) and POSCO International's (9.2%), so it earns less while carrying a higher profit multiple. On an asset basis (P/B 0.46x) it clearly looks cheap, but on a profit basis it carries a premium versus peers. That said, the P/E of 12.5x is a trailing value on 2025 confirmed profit, so if 2025 net profit was a temporarily depressed bottom, the multiple could fall as profit recovers (the limit of trailing P/E at a profit inflection point). Asset value is appealing, but until a profitability recovery is confirmed, a profit-based valuation burden remains, so we view it as Overvalued.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩2,875 and the market capitalization is ₩237.3 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩2,609) and below its 60-day moving average (₩2,954). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 56.7, a neutral level. The one-month change is +8.9%, the three-month change is -37.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -47.0%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 42 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 41% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 27.2%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Relative performance stock vs index · start = 100
Excess return vs index · 3M -27.23% / 6M +0.45% / 12M -45.27%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 11.92x is in line with the sector median (10.99x). The P/B of 0.43x is below the sector median (0.62x).
Enterprise value (EV)
EV = market cap + net debt. It reflects cash and debt, so it captures the real cost of the whole business that market cap alone misses; lower multiples are cheaper relative to earnings or sales.
Intrinsic value (DCF estimate) Estimate
Model output — not a price target. This is what the formula returns under the assumptions below, not a view on where the share price should go.
DCF (discounted cash flow) estimate — discount rate 9.2%, initial growth 4.0%→terminal 2.0%, 10-yr forecast, earnings-based. A reference range that shifts materially with assumptions.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 2.7%, above the sector average (2.0%). The operating margin is 1.2%. The debt ratio is 173.6%, so the financial structure is moderate.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.8B | $2.9B | $2.9B | +1.05% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $53.8M | $54.7M | $36.7M | -32.84% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $19.5M | $38.1M | $14.0M | -63.27% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.7B | $3.6B | $2.8B | $2.9B | $2.9B |
| Operating profit | $27.3M | $49.5M | $53.8M | $54.7M | $36.7M |
| Net profit | $16.4M | $49.3M | $19.5M | $38.1M | $14.0M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 1.65% | ||||
Revenue rose 1.1% year over year (2023 ₩3.9 trillion → 2024 ₩4.1 trillion → 2025 ₩4.1 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. That said, the pace of growth slowed from the prior year. Operating profit fell 32.8% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 1.7%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 2.4%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 7.6% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Source Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators Computed
What stands out
- P/E and P/B are both low versus peers, so the price looks inexpensive relative to earnings and assets.
Points to watch
- Revenue rose 1.1% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-12EarningsQ1 2026 provisional results (fair disclosure): revenue rose year on year, but operating profit and net profit declinedShort term: profit declining despite revenue growth raises concern over a delayed profit recovery. Mid term: core operating profit holds at the prior-year level on an annualized basis, so the damage to earnings power is limited. Source
- 2026-05-29FilingCorporate-governance report disclosure: disclosing the operation of governance such as the board and shareholder rightsShort-term impact is limited, but it is mid-term reference material from the standpoint of shareholder returns and governance transparency. Source
- 2026-04-30FilingChange in goods/services transactions with the controlling person's investee affiliates (multiple items): adjustment of GS-affiliate intra-group transaction termsMid term: because a substantial part of revenue and profit is linked to intra-group transactions, changes in transaction terms could affect margins. Source
- 2026-06-01FilingLarge-business-group status disclosure (annual, for Q1): reporting the status of membership in the GS business groupA routine disclosure with little direct impact on results, but useful for understanding the group structure. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 results (revenue, operating profit, net profit) | revenue 1992, operating profit 128.5, net profit 37.5 | DART 1 (2026-05-12) (2026-05-14) | Confirmed | link |
| 2025 annual net profit | ₩19.9 billion | DART net profit | Confirmed | link |
| Business structure (general trading company, four segments) | /··· 4 | GS | Confirmed | link |
Recent filings Source
- 2026-06-01Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-14PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-12Disclosure
- 2026-05-12EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-04-30Disclosure
- 2026-04-30Disclosure
- 2026-04-30Disclosure
- 2026-04-30Disclosure
- 2026-04-01OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-04-01OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-01OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
📖 Plain-language glossary — expand if you are new to this
- P/E
- How many times a year's net profit the price is worth (lower is cheaper relative to earnings). The P/E here is on trailing (last full-year) results; for companies whose earnings swing fast (memory chips and other cyclicals/high-growth), a forward P/E on this year's expected earnings is more accurate.
- P/B
- Price relative to net assets (equity). Around 1x means it trades near book value; below 1x means below book.
- P/S
- Price relative to a year's revenue — useful for growth companies with thin earnings.
- Net debt / EV
- Net debt = interest-bearing debt − cash. Negative means more cash than debt (net cash). EV (enterprise value) = market cap + net debt, closer to what it would cost to buy the whole business.
- EV/EBIT · EV/EBITDA · EV/Sales
- Enterprise value against operating profit (EBIT), EBITDA, or revenue. Unlike P/E these reflect debt and cash; lower is cheaper relative to earnings power or sales.
- FCF / FCF yield
- Free cash flow = operating cash − capex, the cash actually left over. FCF yield = FCF ÷ market cap; higher means more cash generated per unit of market value.
- Intrinsic value (DCF)
- Future free cash flow (or, for some capex-heavy but profitable names, forecast earnings) discounted to today to estimate per-share value. Because it shifts a lot with the discount-rate and growth assumptions, it is shown as a bear/base/bull range, and the basis and assumptions are disclosed in one line beneath it.
- ROE
- How much profit the company earns in a year on its equity (%). Higher means better returns on capital.
- EPS / BPS
- Earnings per share / net assets (book value) per share.
- Operating / net margin
- Profit left from the core business / final profit after tax and interest, per unit of revenue.
- Debt ratio
- Debt relative to equity (%). Higher means more reliance on borrowing (norms vary by sector).
- Current ratio
- Assets convertible to cash within a year against debt due within a year. Above 100% leaves some short-term headroom.
- Interest coverage
- How many times operating profit covers the interest owed. Below 1x means operating profit alone struggles to cover interest.
- Dividend yield / payout ratio
- The year's dividend as a % of today's price / the share of earnings paid out as dividends.
- Revenue CAGR
- Multi-year growth expressed as a single yearly average (compound annual growth rate).
- RSI (short-term signal)
- Whether recent price action is overheated or beaten down. Above 70 is overbought, below 30 oversold.
- MA20 / MA60 (moving averages)
- The 20- and 60-day average price. Price above them signals a firmer short-term trend.
- vs 52-week high
- How far below the past year's peak the price sits now (%).
All figures are for reference only; how they read varies by sector and over time.
Sources: Korea FSC market-price API (data.go.kr), OpenDART, KRX/KIND — public data only.
Bong Stocks presents public-data-based information for reference only. It is not investment advice and contains no target prices, ratings, or buy/sell recommendations. Verify independently before making any decision.