DB (formerly Dongbu CNI) makes money in three ways: an IT business that builds and operates computer systems for financial, manufacturing, and public-sector clients; a trading business that buys and sells steel, metals, and chemical products; and a brand and talent-development business that manages the "DB" trademark and oversees group advertising and training. In 2025 it posted revenue of ₩643.5 billion and operating profit of ₩41.6 billion as earnings recovered strongly, with last year's P/E of 7.6x and P/B of 0.8x, and its stakes in affiliates such as DB Insurance and DB HiTek add an asset cushion separate from its operating value. What stands out lately is that its forward P/E, derived from rising earnings, sits below both its pure-IT comparison group and even its own prior-year figure, giving it a clear undervaluation appeal, while a large share of revenue comes from the thin-margin trading business, which structurally lowers the profit margin, and a debt ratio of 220% with a current ratio of 68% leaves financial headroom tight.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt is somewhat higher than equity (debt ratio 220.3%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 68.0%).
- Revenue rose 9.5% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 17.5% higher than a year earlier.
- Even versus the prior quarter (Q4 2025), revenue was 13.2% lower.
- ROE is 10.9% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 6.5%.
- The P/E sits below the sector median.
Ownership & governance As of 2023-12-31
Largest shareholder Kim Nam-ho 16.83% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 43.8%
With the controlling bloc holding 44%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- DB (formerly Dongbu CNI) has a short name but does three things.
- First is the IT business, which builds computer systems (SI) for financial, manufacturing, and public-sector clients and takes on their operation and maintenance (ITO).
- Second is the trading business, which buys and sells steel, metals, chemical products, and the like, some of it in transactions tied to group affiliates.
- Third is the brand and talent-development business, which manages the "DB" trademark and oversees group advertising, PR, and employee training.
- The bulk of revenue comes from the high-ticket trading operation, while the relatively higher-margin IT business supports profit.
- So the operating margin (6.5%) looking low relative to the revenue scale (₩643.5 billion in 2025) simply reflects the large weight of thin-margin trading.
- DB also holds stakes in group affiliates such as DB Insurance, DB HiTek, and DB Financial Investment, so it is a stock worth examining for the value of those holdings alongside the money earned from operations.
- The latest close is ₩1,471 and the market cap is ₩295.9 billion.
- The price sits below its 20-day line (₩1,770) and below its 60-day line (₩1,927).
- Trading below both its short- and mid-term moving averages, the trend is on the depressed side.
- The RSI (a supplementary gauge that weighs upward versus downward strength over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 29.6, close to oversold territory.
- The one-month change is -20.7%, the three-month change is -9.2%, and the price stands -38.7% from its 52-week high.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 25 (on a 1-99 scale that converts return versus the index over the past year, weighting recent performance more heavily; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 75% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 29.9%.
- It is best to read the chart alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- On last year's confirmed results, the P/E (how many times one year's earnings the price is) is 6.02x and the P/B (how many times net assets the price is) is 0.66x, both in the low range around 1x.
- Trading below net assets, these figures read less as a burden and more as a sign the price is depressed.
- ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) of 10.9% is healthy, exceeding the sector average for capital efficiency.
- More important is that the forward P/E, derived as this year's earnings grow, comes in far below both the pure-IT comparison group (around 20x) and last year's 7.6x.
- This is a spot that can be read as an undervaluation signal, with the price clearly cheap versus earnings compared with peers.
- On the financial side, a debt ratio of 220.3%, a current ratio (assets that can be turned into cash quickly against debt due within a year) of 68.0%, and an interest-coverage ratio (how many times operating profit covers interest) of 2.2x are not especially comfortable, but the company is covering interest with operating profit and staying profitable.
- Over five years, revenue rose steadily from ₩326.9 billion in 2021 to ₩643.5 billion in 2025, an average annual growth rate of 18.4%.
- Operating profit also recovered clearly in 2025, rising 40.4% year on year to ₩41.6 billion.
- Net profit fell from ₩92.3 billion in 2024 to ₩49.2 billion in 2025, but this was not a worsening of the business; it reflects a large one-off gain of the sort tied to affiliate revaluation or disposal that was booked in 2024 and then rolled off, while the underlying business flow itself stayed solid.
- By quarter, the first quarter of 2026 got off to a good start with revenue of ₩166.8 billion (+17.5% year on year), operating profit of ₩18.7 billion (+8.0%), and net profit of ₩29.7 billion (+39.8%).
- There are clear grounds for a picture in which this year's projected earnings grow beyond last year's.
- Trading, which drives the top line, is growing at a double-digit pace; the earnings-supporting IT business (SI and ITO) is being added steadily; and first-quarter net profit already jumped nearly 40% year on year.
- That said, this year's outlook does not mean a "cycle top." With multi-year revenue growth and IT's steady profit contribution continuing, there is no visible basis to expect this year's higher earnings to reverse immediately next year.
- Recent disclosures center on regular results and group governance.
- First-quarter results were officially confirmed via the May 7, 2026 preliminary-earnings fair disclosure and the May 15 quarterly report, and the 2025 annual results (revenue of ₩643.5 billion, operating profit of ₩41.6 billion) were finalized in the March 23 business report.
- In May, a filing of the largest shareholder's changed holdings and a large-holding report came out in succession, allowing shareholding flows to be checked, and the May 29 large-business-group status disclosure (for representative company and controlling person) shows DB's position as the group's designated representative company.
- Adding the June 1 corporate-governance report, one can see that DB is a stock with many disclosures of a "group holding/representative company" character rather than a single operating company.
- The strengths are clear.
- Revenue has grown steadily over multiple years, 2025 operating profit recovered strongly, and on top of last year's P/E of 7.6x and P/B of 0.8x, the forward P/E derived as this year's earnings grow sits below both its pure-IT comparison group and even its own prior-year figure.
- Add to that the stakes in affiliates such as DB Insurance and DB HiTek, and it also has an asset cushion separate from its operating value.
- It is a spot with clear undervaluation appeal, the price cheap versus both earnings and assets.
- The points to also weigh come from the business structure.
- A large share of revenue is thin-margin trading, so the profit margin itself is structurally low and sensitive to trade conditions and exchange rates; net profit swings year to year on one-off items; and a debt ratio of 220% with a current ratio of 68% leaves financial headroom tight.
- In sum, the undervaluation appeal shows best when the earnings of the core trading and IT businesses hold steady and the value of affiliate stakes comes into focus, and conversely, in years when trading margins wobble or one-off gains roll off, earnings volatility and financial burden stand out relatively more.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
The comparison group is listed system-integration (SI) firms closest to DB's IT (SI/ITO) business, with the caveat that DB is a diversified operating company including trading and brand, which limits a pure-IT multiple comparison; the P/E, P/B, and ROE are the site's internal (base) calculations.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung SDS | 19.18x | 1.47x | 7.66% |
| LG CNS | 15.75x | 2.35x | 14.93% |
| Hyundai AutoEver | 65.07x | 6.43x | 9.88% |
DB's P/E of 7.8x and P/B of 0.86x are less than half the level of the pure-SI comparison group, so on the surface it looks like a substantial discount. But (a) the comparison group is high-margin pure IT services while DB is a diversified structure with a large share of revenue in thin-margin trading, making the same yardstick hard to apply; (b) DB's low P/E also reflects discount factors such as trading's low margins, exchange-rate sensitivity, and a debt ratio in the 220% range; and (c) crucially, the P/E is based on last year's confirmed trailing net profit, and as the swing from ₩92.3 billion in 2024 to ₩49.2 billion in 2025 shows, one-off items weigh heavily, making a single year's figure low in reliability. Even allowing for this year's operating profit on a seasonality approximation (about ₩50.6 billion, not a company official forecast), the volatility of core earnings is large, so rather than declaring it cheap or expensive on current figures alone, it needs confirmation of what "normalized" earnings look like once trading margins and one-off gains are stripped out; hence it is left Inconclusive.
Earnings outlook company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | approx. ₩174.9 billion | approx. ₩11.9 billion | — |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩1,471 and the market capitalization is ₩295.9 billion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩1,770) and below its 60-day moving average (₩1,927). 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 29.6, near oversold territory. The one-month change is -20.7%, the three-month change is -9.2%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -38.7%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 25 (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 25% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 29.9%. 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 -29.90% / 6M -42.26% / 12M -58.89%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 6.02x is below the sector median (19.18x). The P/B of 0.66x is below the sector median (1.93x). Both metrics are low versus peers, so the price is not expensive relative to earnings and assets.
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 10.9%, in line with the sector average (10.0%). The operating margin is 6.5%. The debt ratio is 220.3%, so the financial structure is somewhat high.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $303.9M | $389.3M | $426.5M | +9.54% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $24.5M | $19.6M | $27.6M | +40.41% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $13.4M | $61.2M | $32.6M | -46.74% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $216.7M | $266.0M | $303.9M | $389.3M | $426.5M |
| Operating profit | $15.6M | $15.6M | $24.5M | $19.6M | $27.6M |
| Net profit | $14.4M | $3.8M | $13.4M | $61.2M | $32.6M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 18.45% | ||||
Revenue rose 9.5% year over year (2023 ₩458.6 billion → 2024 ₩587.4 billion → 2025 ₩643.5 billion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. That said, the pace of growth slowed from the prior year. Operating profit rose 40.4% year over year. Profit is growing at an accelerating pace. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 18.4%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 18.4%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 17.5% higher than the same period a year earlier. Because quarterly results are relatively even in this industry, revenue also came in 13.2% lower than the prior quarter (Q4 2025), so the recent trend looks soft.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago + prior quarter
Technical indicators
What stands out
- P/E and P/B are both low versus peers, so the price looks inexpensive relative to earnings and assets.
- ROE of 10.9% points to solid profitability.
Points to watch
- Revenue rose 9.5% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-07EarningsFirst-quarter 2026 consolidated preliminary-earnings fair disclosure - revenue and operating profit confirmed up year on yearIn the near term, it makes official the strong first quarter (revenue +17.5%, operating profit +8.0%). Still, the seasonality of fourth-quarter cost concentration means a possible slowdown on an annualized basis should be weighed. Source
- 2026-05-15FilingFiling of the March 2026 quarterly report - first-quarter confirmed financial statements disclosedMaterial that confirms the preliminary results as final figures. A primary basis for reviewing results by segment (IT, trading, brand) and the cash-flow and borrowing structure. Source
- 2026-05-22FilingFiling of a report on changes in the largest shareholder's holdings and a large-holding report (general)A signal of changes in the holdings of the largest shareholder and large holders. Worth reviewing on governance and supply-demand grounds, but the direction and reason for the change require checking the original filing. Source
- 2026-05-29FilingLarge-business-group status disclosure (for representative company and controlling person) - discloses that DB is the group's designated representative companyShows that DB sits as the representative company of the large business group "DB" under fair-trade law. Supports the point that it is a group hub rather than a single operating company. Source
- 2026-03-23FilingFiling of the 2025 business report - annual revenue of ₩643.5 billion and operating profit of ₩41.6 billion confirmedKey material for confirming 2025 annual results, the composition of business segments (IT, trading, brand), and the status of affiliate stakes. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-01Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-29Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-29Large-business-group status disclosure
- 2026-05-22OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-05-22OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-07EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-03-31Disclosure
- 2026-03-31Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-23PeriodicAnnual business report
- 2026-03-18Large-business-group status disclosure (amended)
- 2026-03-18Audit 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.