SL Corporation (005850) 🔎 In-depth
KOSPI · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
SL Corporation is an auto-parts maker whose core business is producing automotive lamps such as headlamps and rear lamps and selling them to carmakers (about 80% of total revenue), followed by electrification parts and mirrors and electronic components; its main customers are Hyundai Motor, Kia, and GM of the U.S., and it is in a phase where its customers and regions are widening as its Mexico and India plants ramp up and supply to a German premium maker begins at the end of 2026. In March 2026 it issued a corporate value-up plan targeting a payout ratio of 40% or more, and the actual 2025 payout ratio of 41.0% already meets that; its Q1 quarterly report in May confirmed the recovery. The key point to watch is that with the sector's highest ROE of 12.2% and a thick dividend yield of 4.7%, it trades at a trailing P/E of 8.73x, low versus peers - while, on the other side, its results are sensitive to tariffs, raw-material prices, and its main customers' production volumes, and early ramp-up costs at new plants and currency swings can shake quarterly earnings.
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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 “Automotive Electronics & Electrification Parts” (Automobiles & Parts), a type typically read first through forward P/E.
Automotive electrification and electronic components are growth-tilted businesses whose future results shift with the EV transition and new order wins, so expected profits explain the share price better than past earnings. That's why forward P/E — reflecting projected net income — comes before the trailing figure.
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
- Debt ratio, current ratio and interest burden all look healthy.
- Revenue rose 5.4% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 12.5% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 13.2% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 8.0%.
- 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 Lee Seong-yeop 26.46% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 62.93%
With the controlling bloc holding 63%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
SL Corporation's core business is making automotive lamps (headlamps, rear lamps, and the like) and selling them to carmakers. Lamps account for about 80% of total revenue, followed by electrification parts (motor and drive related) at about 11% and mirrors, molds, electronic components, and other items at about 9%. Its main customers are Hyundai Motor, Kia, and GM of the U.S., and it supplies globally through numerous affiliates (production and sales entities) at home and abroad. Recently, alongside a rising share of light-emitting-diode (LED) lamps, its Mexico and India plants are entering full operation, and large lamp supply to a German premium carmaker is scheduled from the end of 2026, so it is in a phase where its customers and regions are widening.
The latest close is ₩56,800 and the market capitalization is ₩2.6 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩53,928) and below its 60-day moving average (₩61,806). 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 52.3, a neutral level. The one-month change is -2.1%, the three-month change is -9.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -25.5%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 55 (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 55% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 5.4%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
With a P/E of 8.44x (how many times one year's earnings the share price is) and a P/B of 1.03x (how many times book net assets the share price is), the burden relative to earnings and assets is not heavy. On profitability, ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) of 12.2% is upper-tier within the auto-parts sector, with an operating margin of 7.8% and a net margin of 5.9%. The financials are stable, with a debt ratio (debt relative to equity) of 52.7% (low), a current ratio of 225%, and interest coverage of 27.9x. The dividend yield is high at 4.7% (a dividend of ₩2,770 per share). That said, 2025 net profit (₩310.8 billion) was down -15.6% from the prior year owing to tariffs and cost and development-expense burdens, so it should be kept in mind that the P/E based on this single year is calculated on a year in which earnings were depressed.
Revenue grew steadily over five years from ₩3.0 trillion to ₩5.24 trillion, and operating profit improved sharply from ₩110.5 billion to ₩407.1 billion. In 2025 revenue rose +5.4% and operating profit rose +3.0%, but net profit fell -15.6% owing to tariffs (estimated at over ₩10 billion), lamp-segment costs and development expenses, and a drop in high-margin regional volume. What matters is Q1 2026. On a cumulative basis, revenue rose +12.5%, operating profit +20.6%, and net profit +30.6%, with all three back to double-digit growth. With the Mexico and India plants ramping up, rising deliveries of electronics parts, and the start of supply to a German premium maker at year-end all overlapping, this year's earnings are seen on a recovery path that once again tops the prior peak of 2024 (₩368.4 billion). In short, the 2025 earnings decline was a single year of overlapping one-off costs, and 2026 is a phase in which those burdens lift and earnings return to a normal track.
The key disclosure is the corporate value-up plan voluntarily disclosed on March 27, 2026. It explicitly targets a payout ratio of 40% or more on controlling-interest net profit within the range of distributable earnings, and the actual 2025 payout ratio of 41.0% already meets this. It also qualifies as a high-dividend company under tax law. This is the company formally establishing a structure in which shareholder returns grow together with rising earnings. The Q1 2026 quarterly report filed on May 15 then confirmed the recovery in figures, and the 2025 annual business report on March 18 finalized the full-year results.
The strength to watch is clear. Within the sector it has the highest profitability with an ROE of 12.2% and the thickest returns with a dividend yield of 4.7%, yet its trailing (last-year-based) P/E is 8.73x, actually low versus peers. Measured against a normalizing 2026, that gap widens further. The value-up plan formalizing a payout ratio of 40% or more is also supportive. The caution, conversely, is that results are sensitive to tariffs, raw-material prices, and the production volumes of its main customers (Hyundai Motor, Kia, and GM). Early ramp-up costs at new plants (Mexico and India) and supply to the German premium maker, plus currency swings, can also shake quarterly earnings. In sum, if customer and regional diversification and the earnings recovery proceed as planned, the low valuation and high returns come to the fore, while if tariff and volume variables grow, the pace of recovery may slow.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Undervalued
Among domestic listed auto-parts companies, those comparable in business and scale.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Mobis | 12.61x | 0.91x | 6.93% |
| HL Mando | 24.03x | 0.85x | 4.19% |
| Hanon Systems | 0.00x | 0.93x | -5.27% |
Against its peer set, SL Corporation has the highest ROE (12.2%) and dividend yield (4.7%), yet its trailing P/E of 8.73x is lower than Hyundai Mobis (12.26x) and HL Mando (22.58x). In other words, despite superior profitability and returns, the share price is actually discounted. Moreover, 2025 net profit was a year of overlapping tariff and cost burdens, so the P/E on that year is calculated on depressed earnings, and reflecting Q1 2026 net profit recovering +30.6%, the forward valuation on normalized earnings falls below the trailing figure. This combination is reasonably read as a signal of undervaluation rather than overvaluation.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩56,800 and the market capitalization is ₩2.6 trillion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩53,928) and below its 60-day moving average (₩61,806). 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 52.3, a neutral level. The one-month change is -2.1%, the three-month change is -9.6%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -25.5%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 55 (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 55% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 5.4%. 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 +5.41% / 6M -15.59% / 12M -19.34%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 8.49x is above the sector median (6.24x). The P/B of 1.02x is above the sector median (0.46x).
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.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 13.2%, above the sector average (5.0%). The operating margin is 8.0%. The debt ratio is 64.8%, so the financial structure is stable.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.4B | $3.5B | $3.7B | +5.36% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $271.3M | $277.6M | $286.0M | +3.02% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $235.7M | $258.8M | $218.4M | -15.62% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.1B | $2.9B | $3.4B | $3.5B | $3.7B |
| Operating profit | $77.7M | $139.0M | $271.3M | $277.6M | $286.0M |
| Net profit | $67.8M | $108.7M | $235.7M | $258.8M | $218.4M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 14.95% | ||||
Revenue rose 5.4% year over year (2023 ₩4.8 trillion → 2024 ₩5.0 trillion → 2025 ₩5.2 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Operating profit rose 3.0% year over year. Profit is growing at an accelerating pace. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 14.9%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 4.1%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 12.5% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Source Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators Computed
What stands out
- The dividend yield, at 4.9%, is on the high side.
- ROE of 13.2% points to solid profitability.
- The balance sheet is stable in terms of debt and liquidity.
Points to watch
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-03-27FilingCorporate value-up plan (voluntary disclosure) - explicitly targeting a payout ratio of 40% or more on controlling-interest net profit, qualifying as a high-dividend company under tax law (actual 2025 payout ratio of 41.0%)The company formalizes a floor for medium-term shareholder returns, clarifying a structure in which dividends grow in step with the earnings recovery. Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsQ1 2026 quarterly report - cumulative revenue of ₩1,388.0 billion (+12.5%), operating profit of ₩143.8 billion (+20.6%), net profit of ₩135.8 billion (+30.6%)Short term: confirms a recovery out of the 2025 earnings decline, with all three metrics back to double-digit growth. Source
- 2026-03-18Filing2025 business report - annual revenue of ₩5,239.9 billion (+5.4%), operating profit of ₩407.1 billion (+3.0%), net profit of ₩310.8 billion (-15.6%)Medium term: finalizes a year in which net profit was depressed by tariffs, costs, and development expenses. The baseline for the subsequent recovery. Source
- 2026-03-26DividendAnnual general meeting result - 2025 year-end dividend confirmed (₩2,770 per share, a dividend yield of about 4.7%)Medium term: confirms execution of the high-dividend policy. With a payout ratio of 41%, it meets the value-up plan target. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings Source
- 2026-06-01Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report (amended)
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-04-01OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-03-27Disclosure
- 2026-03-26Disclosure
- 2026-03-26Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-18PeriodicAnnual business report
- 2026-03-18Audit report
- 2026-03-11Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-05OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-02-25Amended filing
📖 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.