Exicon sells test equipment (testers) that screens whether finished semiconductors work properly. Its main products are memory testers that quickly check DRAM and NAND and SSD test equipment, which it supplies to large memory makers, so its revenue swings heavily on whether customers build new lines or switch to next-generation products. Because it wins and delivers equipment one unit at a time, its revenue shows a pronounced seasonality that concentrates in the fourth quarter. In 2026 a run of single supply contract disclosures in March, May, and June gave an advance view of volume to come, the May quarterly report confirmed first-quarter results, a May IR laid out the business situation, and March brought a regular shareholders' meeting and a change of CEO. What stands out lately is that even as memory conditions recover, revenue leaves the loss zone and grows quickly, and the order book fills again, the forward P/E is distinctly lower than peers (in the 44x-88x range) and the P/B of 1.31x is a light burden. On the other side, the core operating margin is still thin at 0.1%, the first quarter posted an operating loss, and last year's net profit included non-operating contributions, so checking how fast core-business profit normalizes each quarter is the key.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- Revenue rose 108.9% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: mixed).
- Net profit swung from a loss a year earlier back into the black (a turnaround).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 411.9% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 4.6% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 0.1%.
- The P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Choi Myung-bae 14.48% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 37.86%
With the controlling bloc holding 38%, the ownership structure is stable.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Exicon sells test equipment (testers) that screens whether finished semiconductors work properly.
- Its mainstays are memory testers that check memory chips such as DRAM and NAND at high speed and in bulk, and SSD test equipment that stresses finished SSDs across varying temperatures and voltages.
- In other words, it is not a company that makes the chips or storage devices itself; it earns money by supplying test equipment to the large memory makers that do.
- Revenue therefore swings heavily on whether customers order equipment when they build new lines or move to next-generation products (for example, high-capacity SSDs or new DRAM standards).
- Because it wins and delivers equipment one unit at a time, quarterly revenue is uneven, and delivery and revenue recognition concentrate especially in the fourth quarter, giving it a pronounced seasonality.
- The latest close is ₩15,270 and the market cap is ₩199.3 billion.
- The price sits below its 20-day line (₩21,320) and below its 60-day line (₩28,532).
- Trading beneath both the short- and medium-term moving averages, the trend is on the soft side.
- The RSI (a supplementary gauge that scores upward versus downward momentum over the last 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 31.0, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is -39.2%, the three-month change is -39.9%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -62.5%.
- Relative strength against the KOSDAQ is 77 (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).
- That places it around the top 22% for strength among all stocks.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 23.5%.
- Chart readings are best viewed together with volume and the dates of disclosures.
- On a confirmed annual (2025) basis, the P/E ratio (how many times a year's net profit the share price is) is 22.23x and the P/B (how many times book net assets the share price is) is 1.02x.
- A P/B of 1.31x is only slightly above book net assets, so it is hard to call the price very expensive relative to asset value.
- One piece of context is that last year was the first year of turning from loss to profit, so net profit (₩9.0 billion) is still thin and the operating margin came in at just 0.1%.
- For a company that has only just passed an earnings inflection, a P/E calculated on the past year's profit tends to look higher than reality, and a forward P/E that reflects future profit is closer to the true picture.
- That forward P/E is distinctly lower than the companies that make the same semiconductor test and back-end equipment (P/E in the 44x-88x range).
- The balance sheet is also comfortable, with a current ratio of 320% and ample cash, and a debt ratio of 114.7%, leaving room in short-term funding.
- Revenue over five years ran ₩66.2 billion in 2021, ₩91.2 billion in 2022, ₩82.3 billion in 2023, ₩31.6 billion in 2024, and ₩66.0 billion in 2025, swinging with memory conditions.
- The key is that it bottomed and changed direction.
- Revenue halved in 2024 and fell to an operating loss (-₩15.9 billion), then recovered +108.9% year on year in 2025 with operating profit back in the black.
- On a quarterly view the recovery is clearer still: first-quarter 2026 revenue of ₩9.8 billion was up +411.9% from the same quarter a year earlier.
- This recovery is rooted in real demand, not vague hope.
- As memory makers again increased investment in high-capacity SSD and next-generation DRAM lines, orders for test equipment revived, and the result flowed through into the March, May, and June supply-contract disclosures and the surge in first-quarter revenue.
- The forward P/E, reflecting this year's profit, embeds the picture of that order and revenue recovery settling into profit through the year, and it is a lower figure than peer equipment stocks.
- Because this is a business with strong seasonality that concentrates revenue and delivery in the fourth quarter, gauging the full year from first-half numbers alone tends to understate it.
- There is currently no evidence that the period from next year onward will be lower than this year, and the point to watch is how quickly the revived orders settle into core-business profit as the quarters pass.
- The center of recent activity is supply-contract disclosures.
- Across March, May, and June of 2026, single supply contract disclosures came in succession (all classified as material disclosures), and given the nature of a company that wins and delivers test equipment, such contracts are an advance signal of volume that will be recognized as revenue later.
- That said, a disclosure alone leaves open when and how much will be recognized, so it is worth confirming whether it actually shows up in the next quarter's and the year-end results.
- In May, a quarterly report (for the period through March 2026) confirmed first-quarter results, and a May IR gave the company a venue to explain its business situation directly; March brought a regular shareholders' meeting and a change of CEO.
- A change of management can affect strategic direction, so it is worth watching the continuity of the messaging in subsequent IRs and disclosures.
- The strengths are clear.
- As memory conditions revived, revenue left the loss zone and grew quickly, and with supply-contract disclosures coming in succession, the order base is filling again.
- Even so, the forward P/E reflecting this year's profit is distinctly lower than the same semiconductor test and equipment companies (in the 44x-88x range), and the P/B of 1.31x is a light burden relative to asset value, so for a recovery phase the price is set calmly.
- The share price is pressed down to roughly half of its 52-week high, which leaves room to argue that recovery expectations are not yet fully in the price.
- Points to weigh alongside: revenue has returned, but the core operating margin is still thin at 0.1% and the first quarter was an operating loss, and last year's net profit included non-operating contributions.
- In sum, this is a structure that is strongest when customer equipment investment continues, orders are confirmed in year-end results, and core-business profit normalizes in step with revenue, and weaker when memory investment cools or the move to profit is delayed.
- The key is not whether the price is expensive, but checking the pace of core-business profit normalization each quarter.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Exicon's real business is semiconductor test equipment (memory testers and SSD testing). Narrowing from its base industry code (machinery and equipment), the peer set is drawn from names that handle semiconductor back-end test equipment and parts. The on-site figures are current-price values checked with tools/peers.py.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leeno Industrial | 35.11x | 7.30x | 20.78% |
| TSE | 64.81x | 6.33x | 9.77% |
| Eugene Technology | 79.34x | 7.33x | 9.24% |
Looking only at the P/E and P/B numbers, Exicon appears lower than the peer set, but the reasons it is hard to conclude are clear. (a) The peers earn money steadily with ROEs of 9-21%, whereas Exicon has an operating margin of 0.1% and core-business profit has only just crossed into the black. (b) So the low P/B is arguably a reflection of still-low profitability rather than a discount. (c) Last year's trailing P/E of 44.9x is a value at the inflection point where profit had just turned from a loss, so whether the denominator is normal profit is uncertain. Forward figures have no official company number and are gauged only through a seasonality approximation (this year's revenue of about ₩54.3 billion); a profit approximation was not produced because it mixes in loss-making quarters. If core-business profit normalizes in step with the revenue recovery, the current P/B may look low, and if the recovery is delayed, the low P/B is justified. There is not enough basis to settle which way it goes, so judgment is held.
Earnings outlook company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | approx. ₩13.2 billion | — | — |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩15,270 and the market capitalization is ₩199.3 billion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩21,320) and below its 60-day moving average (₩28,532). 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 31.0, a neutral level. The one-month change is -39.2%, the three-month change is -39.9%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -62.5%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 77 (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 78% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 23.5%. 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 -23.50% / 6M +3.99% / 12M +42.59%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 22.23x is above the sector median (14.44x). The P/B of 1.02x is below the sector median (1.44x).
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.
Intrinsic value (DCF estimate)
DCF (discounted cash flow) estimate — discount rate 10.1%, initial growth 4.0%→terminal 2.0%, 10-yr forecast, earnings-based. A reference range that shifts materially with assumptions.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 4.6%, in line with the sector average (5.0%). The operating margin is 0.1%. The debt ratio is 114.7%, so the financial structure is moderate.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $54.5M | $21.0M | $43.8M | +108.87% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | $970,741 | -$10.5M | $53,104 | — |
| Net profit | $3.2M | -$900,583 | $5.9M | — |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $43.9M | $60.4M | $54.5M | $21.0M | $43.8M |
| Operating profit | $4.2M | $6.8M | $970,741 | -$10.5M | $53,104 |
| Net profit | $22.6M | $10.1M | $3.2M | -$900,583 | $5.9M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg -0.06% | ||||
Revenue rose 108.9% year over year (2023 ₩82.3 billion → 2024 ₩31.6 billion → 2025 ₩66.0 billion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is -0.1%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -10.4%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 411.9% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- Revenue grew 108.9% year over year, a sign of growth.
Points to watch
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-06-04UpdateSingle supply contract signed (material disclosure). A contract under which won test-equipment volume may flow into future revenue.In the short term it signals the order base is alive, but because the extent of the actual earnings impact depends on the timing of revenue recognition (next quarter or year-end), it must be checked together with subsequent quarterly results. Source
- 2026-05-15UpdateQuarterly report (for the period through March 2026) filed. First-quarter revenue of ₩9.8 billion (+411.9%) and an operating loss of ₩2.0 billion confirmed.Revenue left the prior loss zone and grew sharply, but operating profit is still a loss, showing that the recovery is at the intermediate stage of moving from revenue to profit. Source
- 2026-05-18IRIR (investor presentation) held. A venue where the company explains its results and business situation directly.An opportunity to confirm the context of the supply contracts and first-quarter results (customer investment trends, second-half delivery schedule) through the company's official channel; subsequent messaging affects earnings visibility. Source
- 2026-05-06UpdateSingle supply contract signed (material disclosure). Part of a run of consecutive orders alongside the June contract.That orders did not stop at one but continued is positive, but the real effect can only be gauged by seeing how the cumulative orders feed into the annual revenue seasonality (fourth-quarter concentration). Source
- 2026-03-26FilingChange of CEO. A change of management took place during the regular shareholders' meeting season.A change of management can affect the direction of business and investment strategy, so it is worth confirming the continuity of the strategic message in subsequent IRs and disclosures. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
Recent filings
- 2026-06-04Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-18Disclosure
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-06Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-03-26Disclosure
- 2026-03-24Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-16PeriodicAnnual business report
- 2026-03-16Audit report
- 2026-03-09Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-04Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-02-24Shareholders' meeting notice
📖 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.