Gabia sells the foundational services needed to use the internet: centered on Korea's number-one domain-registration agency, which manages more than 850,000 domains, it also offers web and server hosting and an IDC, its own 'g Cloud,' the 'Hiworks' groupware (number-one share in cloud groupware), and security (Xgate), giving it a high share of recurring subscription revenue. Preliminary results on May 13 confirmed a Q1 recovery with operating profit up +85.7% and net profit up +136.7%, and the January 2026 acquisition of Whois (20.2 billion won, 100% stake) enlarged its share in the core domain business. What stands out lately is that, given the value of its 36.3% stake in listed subsidiary KINX and its number-one position in the core business, a P/E of 19.0x on this year's earnings is not a heavy valuation burden; on the other hand, the seasonality that concentrates revenue and earnings in Q4 and governance variables such as management-control litigation should both be watched.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt far exceeds equity (debt ratio 354.8%).
- Revenue rose 18.9% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 10.4% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 8.9% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 12.1%.
- The forward P/E sits below the sector median.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Kim Hong-kuk 18.5% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 26%
With the controlling bloc holding 26%, control is maintained but the free float is relatively large.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Gabia sells the foundational services needed to use the internet.
- The first axis is domain (internet address) registration agency, where it is Korea's number-one operator, managing more than 850,000 domains.
- The second is web and server hosting plus IDC (placing and renting out servers in a data center), and the third is its own 'g Cloud' and the enterprise groupware 'Hiworks' (number-one share in cloud groupware).
- On top of this, the security business (firewalls and managed security) of Xgate, acquired in 2016, has grown into another revenue axis, and the subsidiary Gabia CNS handles shopping-mall and commerce solutions.
- Its industry classification is 'games and software,' but actual revenue has nothing to do with games, and with a high share of recurring subscription revenue such as domain and hosting renewals, results accumulate relatively steadily.
- The latest close is 31,150 won and the market cap is 418.1 billion won.
- The price sits above the 20-day line (30,602 won) and above the 60-day line (30,839 won).
- Above both the short-term and medium-term moving averages, the trend is on the favorable side.
- The RSI (a supplementary gauge that compares upward and downward force over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 52.8, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is +3.5%, the three-month change is +16.9%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -13.7%.
- Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 86 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with heavier weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 13% by strength among all stocks.
- Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 57.8%.
- It is best to read the chart alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- On a confirmed annual (2025) basis, the P/E (how many times the price is versus one year of net profit) is 26.47x and the P/B (how many times the price is versus net assets) is 2.36x.
- ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) is 8.9%, clearly above the sector average (5.0%), and the operating margin is 12.1%.
- The debt ratio (debt versus equity) is 354.8%, which looks high on the number alone, but hosting and domain businesses have a feature where advance payments from customers (payment for services not yet delivered) are booked as accounting liabilities, so this is different in character from interest-bearing borrowings.
- One more important point: the 25x P/E above is based on 'last year's confirmed earnings (trailing).' For a stock like Gabia whose earnings are rising again this year, the P/E comes down at the same price when measured on this year's earnings.
- In fact, the P/E on this year's earnings is 19.0x, which is not an unreasonable level versus infrastructure peers, so this is not a zone to be judged expensive on last year's numbers alone.
- Five-year revenue rose steadily from 199.5 billion won in 2021 to 335.7 billion won in 2025 (a +13.3% annual average), and the 2025 revenue growth rate of +18.9% was actually faster than the prior year's (+8.0%).
- Operating profit paused once in 2024 (-17.6%) but turned back to growth in 2025 with +15.3% operating profit and +8.0% net profit.
- The scale of the recovery is even clearer this year.
- Q1 2026 revenue was 85.0 billion won (+10.4%), while operating profit jumped +85.7% to 10.7 billion won and net profit jumped +136.7% to 9.0 billion won.
- Revenue growing single-digits while earnings grow two to three times means that operating leverage is at work: when more revenue lands on top of infrastructure already built out - domains, hosting, cloud - costs do not rise as much, so earnings thicken quickly.
- On top of this, the acquisition of domain competitor Whois (100% stake), completed in January 2026, further enlarges the core-business share and revenue base.
- The P/E of 19.0x on this year's earnings is derived to reflect this earnings recovery, and even accounting for the Q4-heavy seasonality, the quarterly results themselves directly show this year's earnings heading higher than last year's.
- Recent disclosures are useful for checking the core business.
- On May 13, 2026, a preliminary-results fair disclosure first confirmed the surge in Q1 earnings, and the May 15 quarterly report confirmed those numbers as they were.
- On May 27, an investor-relations (IR) event was held where the company directly explained growth axes such as cloud and security and the effect of the Whois acquisition.
- The self-share disposal result report on April 22 is a matter tied to shareholder returns and the use of resources.
- Meanwhile, litigation related to management control (appointment of an inspector, injunctions, etc.) around March is a point to watch on the governance side.
- The Whois acquisition (20.2 billion won, 100% stake) completed on January 2, 2026 is an event that enlarges the share of the core domain business.
- Gabia's strengths are clear.
- A base of recurring subscription revenue like domains, hosting, and groupware underpins results, and in Q1 2026 earnings recovered markedly with operating profit up +85.7% and net profit up +136.7%.
- On top of this, separate from the core business, the 36.3% stake in listed subsidiary KINX carries a distinct asset value that the consolidated P/E alone can obscure.
- On valuation too, the P/E of 19.0x on this year's earnings is lower than subsidiary KINX (about 32x) and sits mid-pack in the internet-infrastructure group, so given the core number-one position and the earnings recovery it is actually not a heavy position.
- Two things to weigh alongside: one is the seasonality that concentrates revenue and earnings in Q4, so it is worth checking whether the year's flow carries through quarter by quarter; the other is governance variables such as management-control litigation.
- In short, it is strong in a phase where the earnings recovery carries through by quarter, the Whois acquisition shows up in domain revenue, and the subsidiary stake value is recognized together, and relatively weaker when a seasonality give-back or governance noise comes to the fore.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Instead of the base 'games and software' classification, listed internet-infrastructure companies (domains, hosting, IDC, cloud, commerce platforms) whose businesses actually overlap were selected directly for comparison, with subsidiary KINX (IDC, CDN, cloud) also included as a reference peer; the P/E, P/B, and ROE below are computed on the site's current price.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| KINX | 38.13x | 3.19x | 8.37% |
| Cafe24 | 10.14x | 1.49x | 14.69% |
| NHN | 38.68x | 0.85x | 2.19% |
(a) Position versus the peer set: on confirmed last-year results, the P/E of 26.3x is higher than Cafe24 (12x) and lower than KINX (32.7x) and NHN (40.9x), placing it mid-pack in the internet-infrastructure group. Taken together with a P/B of 2.35x and ROE of 8.9%, the position is not excessively stretched relative to profitability. (b) Premium/discount: the core number-one position and recurring-revenue structure are premium factors, but the KINX stake, which makes up a substantial part of Gabia's value, is not well captured by the consolidated P/E alone, so a simple P/E comparison has its limits (see sector_view). (c) Limits of trailing figures and the forward basis: because Q1 2026 was an inflection with surging earnings, the last-year P/E can look higher than reality, and while a DART seasonality approximation puts annual operating profit at about 59.1 billion won, this is an unverified approximation rather than an official company outlook. It is therefore appropriate to leave this as inconclusive rather than declaring it cheap or expensive, and to confirm both the subsidiary stake value and forward earnings.
Earnings outlook company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | approx. ₩90.7 billion | approx. ₩13.4 billion | approx. ₩18.7 billion |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩31,150 and the market capitalization is ₩418.1 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩30,602) and above its 60-day moving average (₩30,839). It holds above both its short- and medium-term moving averages, so the trend looks healthy. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 52.8, a neutral level. The one-month change is +3.5%, the three-month change is +16.9%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -13.7%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 86 (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 87% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 57.8%. 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 +57.77% / 6M +14.00% / 12M +20.40%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 26.47x is above the sector median (13.30x). The P/B of 2.36x is above the sector median (1.58x). 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 8.9%, above the sector average (5.0%). The operating margin is 12.1%. The debt ratio is 354.8%, so the financial structure is somewhat high.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $173.4M | $187.2M | $222.5M | +18.86% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $28.2M | $23.3M | $26.8M | +15.31% ↑ faster |
| Net profit | $10.6M | $9.7M | $10.5M | +7.96% ↑ faster |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $132.2M | $158.5M | $173.4M | $187.2M | $222.5M |
| Operating profit | $22.3M | $27.3M | $28.2M | $23.3M | $26.8M |
| Net profit | $7.8M | $14.3M | $10.6M | $9.7M | $10.5M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 13.90% | ||||
Revenue rose 18.9% year over year (2023 ₩261.6 billion → 2024 ₩282.4 billion → 2025 ₩335.7 billion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Operating profit rose 15.3% year over year. Profit is growing at an accelerating pace. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 13.9%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 13.3%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 10.4% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
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.
- Revenue grew 18.9% year over year, a sign of growth.
Points to watch
- The figures shown are based on the last annual report as of the writing date, so it is best to review the latest quarterly results and filings alongside them.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-13EarningsFair disclosure of Q1 2026 consolidated preliminary results - revenue of 85.0 billion won, operating profit of 10.7 billion won (+85.7%), and net profit of 9.0 billion won (+136.7%), an earnings recoveryShort term: the earnings surge eases the last-year P/E burden. Medium term: given the heavy Q4 skew from seasonality, the key is whether the strong Q1 carries through for the full year. Source
- 2026-05-15FilingFiling of the Q1 2026 quarterly report - confirming the preliminary figures and reflecting the state of the business and subsidiariesShort term: confirms that preliminary and final figures match. Medium term: primary material for checking the segment mix (domains, hosting, cloud, security) and the subsidiary consolidation structure. Source
- 2026-05-27IRHolding of an investor-relations (IR) event - explanation of the state of the business and resultsShort term: an occasion for the company to explain its direction directly. Medium term: a channel to confirm the company's view on growth axes such as cloud and security and on the effect of the Whois acquisition. Source
- 2026-04-22Update[Correction] Self-share disposal result report - disclosure of the result of disposing of held treasury sharesShort term: a supply-demand and stake-change factor from the use of treasury shares. Medium term: a matter to view in connection with shareholder returns and the deployment of resources. Source
- 2026-03-18UpdateFiling/application of litigation (management-control litigation) - governance-related dispute underway, including appointment of an inspectorShort term: exposure to governance uncertainty. Medium term: depending on how the dispute progresses, it could affect management stability and capital policy. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-05-27Disclosure
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-13EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-05-13EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-04-22TreasuryTreasury-stock disposal decision (amended)
- 2026-04-02Litigation disclosure
- 2026-03-31Amended filing
- 2026-03-26Disclosure
- 2026-03-26Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-24Disclosure
- 2026-03-24Litigation disclosure
- 2026-03-18Litigation disclosure
📖 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.