MK Electron is a materials company whose main products are bonding wire, which links a semiconductor chip to external terminals with fine metal wire, and solder balls, which attach components to a substrate. It uses precious metals such as gold, silver and copper as raw materials, so product prices move with metal prices, and it lowers costs by recovering precious metals at its Eumseong recycling center while growing solder paste and palladium alloys as new growth pillars. In February 2026 preliminary results showed net profit turning positive (pre-tax profit from -₩44.7 billion to +₩46.8 billion), and the Q1 report on May 15 confirmed a recovery in which operating profit exceeded last year's full-year figure in a single quarter, alongside a dividend of ₩120 per share and a corporate-value-enhancement plan. The notable point is that earnings recovery and the cost-and-growth pillars of new businesses and precious-metal recycling are strengths, while the debt ratio of 405.7% is high, the interest coverage ratio is below 1x, and the operating margin is a thin 1-something percent, so profit swings when raw-material prices move, and volume released from convertible and exchangeable bonds can weigh on supply-demand.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt far exceeds equity (debt ratio 405.7%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 98.5%).
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- Revenue rose 19.9% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: rising).
- Net profit swung from a loss a year earlier back into the black (a turnaround).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 58.7% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 0.4% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 1.0%.
- The P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Ocean B Holdings 23.24% (corporate)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 34.59%
With the controlling bloc holding 35%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- MK Electron is a materials company whose main products are bonding wire (a core connection material in semiconductor packaging) that links a semiconductor chip to external terminals with fine metal wire, and solder balls (tiny solder spheres) that attach components to a substrate.
- Bonding wire uses precious metals such as gold, silver and copper as raw materials, so its revenue scale is large, and to that extent product prices move with metal prices.
- The company operates a recycling center in Eumseong, Chungbuk to recover precious metals and lower costs, and is growing solder paste and palladium (Pd) alloy materials for semiconductor testing as new growth pillars (corporate-value-enhancement plan disclosed 2026-04-01).
- Separate (parent-only) revenue in 2025 was ₩795.4 billion, while consolidated revenue was ₩1.4 trillion, so it should also be viewed as a structure that includes several subsidiaries beyond the parent.
- The latest close is ₩14,960 and market capitalization is ₩361.9 billion.
- The price sits below the 20-day line (₩22,190) and below the 60-day line (₩25,453).
- Trading beneath both its short- and medium-term moving averages, the trend is on the soft side.
- RSI (a supplementary gauge comparing upward and downward momentum over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 32.8, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -32.3%, the three-month change is -7.9%, and the price stands -56.3% from its 52-week high.
- Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 92 (on a 1-99 scale, computed from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market), placing it in roughly the top 7% by strength across all stocks.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 0.3%.
- When reading the chart, it helps to look at trading volume and disclosure dates together.
- On a confirmed full-year (2025) basis, the P/E (how many times one year's profit the price represents) appears to be 272.00x, but this is a single year's figure where the denominator, controlling-shareholder net profit, shrank to ₩1.3 billion, near zero, so it does not show actual earning power.
- In a company recovering past a trough, last year's P/E balloons like this, so reading this figure as evidence that it is expensive is misguided.
- The estimated P/E reflecting recovered earnings is clearly lower than comparable semiconductor back-end materials peers (Haesung DS and Korea Circuit in the high 40x range), which is closer to an undervaluation signal.
- The P/B (how many times net assets the price represents) is 0.96x and the estimated P/B is 0.96x, on the low side versus peers.
- That said, there is a clear weak link in the balance sheet.
- The debt ratio (debt against equity) is a high 405.7%, the current ratio is 98.5% so debt due within a year and readily convertible assets are about even, and the interest coverage ratio is below 1x, so covering interest from operating profit is tight (2025 annual report).
- In sum, profit has entered a recovery track and the valuation is on the low side, but the debt burden is a point to watch together.
- Over five years revenue rose steadily from ₩958.0 billion in 2021 to ₩1.4 trillion in 2025 (a five-year CAGR of +10.0%, +12.1% over the recent two years), and the 2025 revenue growth rate of +19.9% shows the pace quickening.
- Operating profit fell for a year to ₩14.2 billion in 2025, but in the most recent quarter, Q1 2026, cumulative revenue of ₩450.1 billion (+58.7% year over year) and operating profit of ₩15.1 billion exceeded full-year 2025 operating profit (₩14.2 billion) in a single quarter.
- Net profit in the same quarter came to ₩11.5 billion, with profit scale expanding quickly on top of the turn from losses in 2023-2024 to positive net profit in 2025.
- This recovery was possible because semiconductor packaging demand revived, lifting bonding-wire shipments, and rising raw-material prices for gold and silver were reflected in product prices, growing both the top line and profit together (profit-structure change disclosed 2026-02-13).
- The company's official plans to expand bonding-wire capacity and to grow the solder paste and Pd alloy new businesses point the same way.
- The estimated P/E reflecting this year's profit is a figure grounded in the earnings recovery confirmed quarter by quarter, meaning it carries a lower multiple than peers.
- Recent disclosures read along three lines.
- First, results.
- The February 13, 2026 preliminary 2025 results showed net profit turning positive (pre-tax profit from -₩44.7 billion to +₩46.8 billion), and the May 15, 2026 Q1 report confirmed a recovery in which operating profit exceeded last year's full-year figure in a single quarter.
- Second, shareholder returns and growth plans.
- On February 13, 2026 it decided a cash dividend of ₩120 per share, and in the April 1, 2026 corporate-value-enhancement plan it stated policies to expand bonding-wire capacity, grow the solder paste and Pd alloy new businesses, and secure dividend resources; in late April it held an institution-facing IR to explain business conditions directly.
- Third, financing and volume.
- In August-September 2025 it issued convertible bonds and exchangeable bonds (exchange price ₩9,182), and as the share price rose above that price, conversion and exchange requests followed into 2026, so a flow of new and treasury shares reaching the market continues, a point to watch on the supply-demand side.
- The strengths are clear.
- Added to this are the company's official plans for solder paste and Pd alloy new businesses and precious-metal recycling as cost-and-growth pillars.
- The weakness to view together is on the balance-sheet side.
- The debt ratio of 405.7% is high and the interest coverage ratio is below 1x, so the debt burden is large; the 2025 operating margin is a thin 1-something percent, so profit can swing when raw-material prices move, and volume released from convertible and exchangeable bonds can weigh on supply-demand.
- In sum, this stock's core value shows best when quarterly earnings recovery carries through the year and new businesses add on, whereas if raw-material prices and the industry cycle wobble or bond volume is released at once, high debt and a thin margin can come to the fore as weaknesses.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
MK Electron's actual business is semiconductor packaging materials (bonding wire and solder balls); rather than a simple bundle of its base industry (electronic components and displays), the peers are companies making the same semiconductor back-end materials and parts — Duksan Hi-Metal, which also makes solder balls, is the closest peer, with Haesung DS in lead-frame and substrate materials and Korea Circuit in package substrates alongside, and the figures below are the site's own calculations (on a current-price basis).
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duksan Hi-Metal | — | 1.75x | -56.04% |
| Haesung DS | 37.40x | 1.58x | 4.22% |
| Korea Circuit | 35.58x | 3.82x | 10.74% |
The P/E on last year's confirmed results (509x) is a figure produced when the denominator, net profit, shrank almost to zero at an inflection, so it is no basis to declare it expensive (a limit of trailing). Meanwhile the P/B of 1.79x sits below solder-ball and packaging-materials peers, reading as a discount on an asset basis. But that discount also reflects weaknesses — a high 405% debt ratio, a thin 1-something percent operating margin, and bond-volume burden. The forward basis, lacking official company figures, leans on a DART seasonality approximation of confirmed quarterly results (2026 full-year operating profit of roughly ₩95.8 billion), so until it is confirmed that the earnings recovery actually holds through the year, the verdict declares neither undervalued nor overvalued and remains inconclusive.
Earnings outlook company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | ₩517.1 billion | ₩38.4 billion | — |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩14,960 and the market capitalization is ₩361.9 billion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩22,190) and below its 60-day moving average (₩25,453). 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 32.8, a neutral level. The one-month change is -32.3%, the three-month change is -7.9%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -56.3%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 92 (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 93% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 0.3%. 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 -0.32% / 6M +102.38% / 12M +84.54%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 272.00x is above the sector median (18.61x). The P/B of 0.96x is below the sector median (1.63x). That said, this P/E is based on last year's (trailing) results. With recent quarterly earnings up sharply, the trailing P/E can look higher than it really is, so a precise read is best done on this year's expected (forward) earnings.
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 0.4%, below the sector average (7.0%). The operating margin is 1.0%. The debt ratio is 405.7%, so the financial structure is somewhat high.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $740.3M | $775.8M | $930.4M | +19.92% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $30.8M | $37.2M | $9.4M | -74.70% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | -$23.4M | -$17.8M | $881,486 | — |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $635.0M | $678.2M | $740.3M | $775.8M | $930.4M |
| Operating profit | $71.9M | $53.2M | $30.8M | $37.2M | $9.4M |
| Net profit | $22.1M | -$7.7M | -$23.4M | -$17.8M | $881,486 |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 10.02% | ||||
Revenue rose 19.9% year over year (2023 ₩1.1 trillion → 2024 ₩1.2 trillion → 2025 ₩1.4 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Operating profit fell 74.7% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 10.0%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 12.1%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 58.7% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- Revenue grew 19.9% year over year, a sign of growth.
Points to watch
- Debt far exceeds equity (debt ratio 405.7%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 98.5%).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-04-01UpdateCorporate-value-enhancement plan (voluntary disclosure): reviewing bonding-wire capacity expansion to meet the semiconductor upcycle, launching in earnest the solder paste and semiconductor-test Pd alloy new businesses, cutting raw-material costs via the Eumseong recycling center, and securing dividend resourcesOver the medium term, core-business expansion and new-material businesses could become growth pillars, but with no specific revenue or profit targets given, execution pace and capex burden must be viewed together. Source
- 2026-02-13Earnings2025 consolidated preliminary results: revenue ₩1,404.3 billion (+20.0%), operating profit ₩14.5 billion (-74.2%), net profit turning positive (pre-tax from -₩44.7 billion to +₩46.8 billion). Per the company, revenue growth and improved subsidiary results were the main causes of the turn to profitShort term, the turn to net profit is a positive signal, but with a thin 1-something percent core operating margin, the quality of profit is swayed by subsidiary and non-operating factors. Source
- 2026-02-13Dividend2025 year-end cash dividend decision: ₩120 per share, total dividend ₩2.58 billion, record date 2025-12-31, dividend yield of 1.5% at disclosure (based on an average price of ₩8,173)Shows willingness on shareholder returns, but at the current price (₩28,000) the dividend yield is about 0.4%, low, so the dividend appeal is limited. Source
- 2026-05-15UpdateQ1 2026 report: cumulative revenue ₩450.1 billion (+58.7% year over year), operating profit ₩15.1 billion, exceeding full-year 2025 operating profit (₩14.2 billion) in a single quarterAn official document confirming the short-term recovery. Whether it carries through the year depends on Q2-Q4 results and the durability of the industry cycle. Source
- 2025-09-02Filing16th unsecured private-placement exchangeable bond (EB) issuance decision: face value ₩10.68 billion, exchange price ₩9,182, exchange-target treasury stock 5.27%, use of proceeds ₩3.1 billion for facilities and ₩7.58 billion for operations. A separate convertible bond (CB) was also issued 2025-08-05Over the medium term, with the share price well above the exchange and conversion prices, requests followed into 2026, releasing new and treasury shares into the market — a volume (dilution) factor. Source
- 2026-04-23IRInvestor briefing (IR) held: 2026-04-27~30 in Yeouido, Seoul and elsewhere, face-to-face meetings with major domestic institutional investors, business-condition briefing and Q&A. IR materials posted on KINDA venue for the company to communicate business conditions and new-business plans directly, a signal of stronger investor communication. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 consolidated revenue | 1₩403.8 billion(base) | 1₩404.3 billion | Confirmed | link |
| 2025 consolidated operating profit | ₩14.2 billion(base) | ₩14.5 billion | Confirmed | link |
| Cash dividend per share | ₩120(base DPS) | ₩120 | Confirmed | link |
| 2026 full-year operating profit (seasonality approximation) | ₩95.8 billion | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings
- 2026-06-08OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-06-01OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-22Disclosure
- 2026-05-15OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-08PeriodicAnnual business report (amended)
- 2026-05-08Audit report (amended)
- 2026-05-04OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-30OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-23Disclosure
- 2026-04-17OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-15Disclosure
📖 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.