SM Vexel, founded in 1961 (formerly Zico), is an auto-parts maker whose core business is supplying finished-vehicle makers with engine parts such as water pumps, oil pumps, and engine heads. After merging in a battery division in 2022 it added primary-cell, lithium-ion, and specialty-battery businesses, and it recently says it has secured lead-acid-based long-duration ESS technology; it is an affiliate of the SM Group. Recent disclosures have leaned more toward changes in ownership and governance among the largest shareholder than toward business content, and the key point is that in the May 15 Q1 report revenue, operating profit, and net profit all fell year on year. Recent points worth noting: leverage and liquidity are stable and the asset- and revenue-based valuation (P/B 2.6x, P/S 1.2x) is not heavy, with growth businesses in batteries, ESS, and defense-use cells layered on top. On the other hand, with core revenue and operating profit shrinking, profit has thinned, so the P/E screens high, and the growth businesses have not yet been sufficiently confirmed in the earnings numbers.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt ratio, current ratio and interest burden all look healthy.
- Revenue fell 12.9% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 13.2% lower than a year earlier.
- ROE is 2.4% (total-net basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 1.1%.
- The P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder SM Hi-Plus 50.57% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 87.57%
With the controlling bloc holding 88%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- SM Vexel, founded in 1961 (formerly Zico), is an auto-parts maker whose core business is supplying finished-vehicle makers with engine parts such as water pumps, oil pumps, engine heads (GV6), and front cases.
- By merging in a battery division in 2022, it added a battery business that makes primary cells, lithium-ion, and specialty batteries, and the company says it has recently secured long-duration, large-capacity ESS (energy storage system: equipment that stores electricity to use when needed) technology using lead-acid batteries.
- In short, it layers growth businesses in batteries, ESS, and defense-use cells on top of an old core of automotive engine parts.
- In terms of governance, it belongs to the Samra Midas (SM Group) affiliate structure and is included in large-business-group status disclosures.
- The latest close is ₩1,592 and the market cap is ₩177.1 billion.
- The price sits below the 20-day line (₩1,751) and below the 60-day line (₩2,002).
- Being under both the short- and mid-term moving averages, the trend is on the subdued side.
- The RSI (an indicator that gauges the strength of up-moves versus down-moves over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 32.6, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -23.3%, the three-month change is -20.8%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -48.0%.
- Relative strength against the KOSPI is 14 (on a 1-99 scale, calculated from the past year's return versus the index with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 87% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 37.5%.
- Chart reading is best done alongside volume and the dates of disclosures.
- Financial stability is on the sound side.
- The debt ratio (debt against equity) is low at 42.8%, and the current ratio (assets that can be turned into cash against debt due within a year) is 1.85x, so short-term funding pressure is not heavy.
- Profitability, however, is thin.
- ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) is 2.4% and the operating margin is 1.05%, on the low side.
- Last year's net profit (₩1.65 billion) rose from the prior year, but operating profit (₩1.57 billion) fell sharply, so the increase in net profit owes more to non-operating items than to the strength of the core business itself.
- The P/E (how many times one year's net profit the price represents) looking high at 111x is largely a result of the profit itself having thinned.
- One point to make: for a company with this little profit, it is hard to conclude expensive or cheap from the single P/E metric.
- In fact the P/B (how many times net assets the price represents) is 2.52x and the P/S (how many times one year's revenue the price represents) is 1.2x, so measured by asset and revenue scale, it is not as extreme as the impression the P/E gives.
- The core business is in a shrinking phase.
- Revenue fell for two straight years, from ₩202.7 billion in 2023 to ₩172.5 billion in 2024 and ₩150.3 billion in 2025 (annualized -12.9%), and operating profit fell even more steeply over the same period, from ₩9.5 billion to ₩5.2 billion to ₩1.6 billion.
- Q1 2026 likewise continued the decline, with revenue -13.2%, operating profit -41.8%, and net profit -48.3%.
- This is why the forward P/E, calculated on this year's expected profit, screens even higher than the trailing P/E, calculated on the past year.
- Normally the forward falls as profit rises, but with this company's core-business profit still shrinking, the reverse appears.
- In other words, the current growth driver lies not in the core business but in batteries, ESS, and defense-use cells, and how fast that part turns into actual orders and revenue will shape the profit picture ahead.
- That said, those businesses are still a direction the company has laid out and are not yet at a stage sufficiently confirmed in the earnings numbers.
- Recent disclosures lean more toward ownership and governance than business content.
- Since May, filings on changes in the largest shareholder's shareholdings and large-holding reports have appeared repeatedly, with continued changes in the major shareholder's stake, and in early June a large-business-group (SM Group) status disclosure and a corporate governance report were filed.
- On the regular-disclosure side, the May 15 Q1 report came out, and the key point is that revenue, operating profit, and net profit all fell year on year.
- Core-business momentum disclosures such as single supply contracts or future-business plans were not prominent in this window.
- This stock's strengths are clear: leverage and liquidity are stable, the valuation measured by assets and revenue (P/B 2.6x, P/S 1.2x) is not heavy, and growth businesses in batteries, ESS, and defense-use cells are layered on top of the parts core.
- On the other side, the points to examine are that core revenue and operating profit are in a declining phase, that as a result profit is thin so the P/E screens high and the valuation swings widely on even small profit changes, and that the growth businesses have not yet been sufficiently confirmed in the earnings numbers.
- In short, this company leans toward reviving its appeal versus asset value when batteries, ESS, and defense-use cells turn into actual orders and revenue or the core-business profit turns around, and leans toward its profit metrics continuing to look heavy when the core decline persists and the new businesses stay in a cost stage.
- It is a stock whose assessment shifts depending on which condition you weight.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
We use parts makers of automotive engine and drivetrain components as the primary comparison set, with larger integrated parts makers as reference names. The base sector (entertainment) is unrelated to the substance and is excluded from comparison.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hwaseung Corporation | 1.68x | 0.46x | 27.54% |
| Hyundai Wia | 16.31x | 0.45x | 2.74% |
The auto-parts comparison set (Hwaseung Corporation at a 1.7x P/E and 0.46x P/B; Hyundai Wia at a 0.57x P/B) trades at P/Bs well below 1.0x, whereas SM Vexel is at a 3.03x P/B and 128.9x P/E, a spot far higher on a parts-maker basis. That said, the 128.9x P/E is calculated on last year's confirmed profit (trailing), and at an inflection where operating profit plunged -69.8% and profit thinned, the single P/E metric exaggerates the valuation. Even on this year's expected profit (forward), with Q1 profit falling further, the forward-basis burden does not ease either. Conversely, on a P/S of 1.4x and an asset basis, the asset value of the parts core provides some support. The core-business valuation looks expensive, but a large part of that premium hangs on battery and ESS expectations, so until those businesses are confirmed in the numbers, it is hard to conclude cheap or expensive.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩1,592 and the market capitalization is ₩177.1 billion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩1,751) and below its 60-day moving average (₩2,002). It is under both its short- and medium-term moving averages, so the trend looks subdued. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 32.6, a neutral level. The one-month change is -23.3%, the three-month change is -20.8%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -48.0%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 14 (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 13% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 37.5%. 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 -37.46% / 6M -60.79% / 12M -56.80%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 107.57x is above the sector median (26.72x). The P/B of 2.52x is above the sector median (1.93x).
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 2.4%, below the sector average (6.0%). The operating margin is 1.1%. The debt ratio is 42.8%, so the financial structure is stable.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (separate)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $134.4M | $114.4M | $99.6M | -12.91% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $6.3M | $3.5M | $1.0M | -69.83% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $455,576 | $739,238 | $1.1M | +47.99% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $48.4M | $90.7M | $134.4M | $114.4M | $99.6M |
| Operating profit | -$5.4M | $2.3M | $6.3M | $3.5M | $1.0M |
| Net profit | -$11.0M | $6.1M | $455,576 | $739,238 | $1.1M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 19.75% | ||||
Revenue fell 12.9% year over year (2023 ₩202.7 billion → 2024 ₩172.5 billion → 2025 ₩150.3 billion), and the three-year trend is 'falling'. That said, the rate of decline narrowed from the prior year. Operating profit fell 69.8% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 19.8%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -13.9%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 13.2% lower than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- The balance sheet is stable in terms of debt and liquidity.
Points to watch
- Revenue fell 12.9% year over year (3-year trend: falling).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-15EarningsQ1 2026 report filed. Revenue, operating profit, and net profit all fell year on year (revenue -13.2%, operating profit -41.8%, net profit -48.3%), with the core-business slump continuing.Negative in both the short and mid term. The three-year run of falling revenue and operating profit was confirmed again in Q1 this year, making the timing of a core-business profit recovery unclear. Source
- 2026-06-01FilingLarge-business-group status disclosure (individual company) filed. Officially confirms the company is an affiliate of the SM Group (Samra Midas).In the mid term it suggests possible group-level funding and business links. On its own, however, it does not directly affect earnings. Source
- 2026-06-05FilingFiled a report on changes in the largest shareholder's shareholdings and a large-holding report. Since May, major-shareholder stake-change disclosures have recurred.A signal of change on the short-term supply/demand and governance side. Separate from business fundamentals, but the frequency of major-shareholder moves is worth watching. Source
- 2026-05-29FilingCorporate governance report disclosed. Discloses the operating status of the board, audit, and other governance.Neutral. A regular disclosure on governance transparency, not directly connected to short-term earnings. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-05OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-06-05OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-06-01Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-29OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-05-29OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-29Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-22OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-05-22OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-19OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-05-19OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-13OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change 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.