JS Corporation's core business is designing and producing handbags for global brands such as Tapestry, Guess, and Gap on an ODM basis, plus apparel OEM, with most sales exported in dollars; in 2023 it acquired the five-star Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel, so it now holds two axes of a different nature — manufacturing and hotel operations. The May 15 quarterly report confirmed Q1 results, and the core business — where revenue and operating profit have grown for years — an ROE of 14.5% above peers, a dividend yield of 5.2%, and both trailing and forward P/E in the 4x range along with a low P/B form an undervalued combination. The point worth watching now is that with the currency favorable, handbag and apparel orders continuing, and the hotel adding cash steadily, the phase where core operating-profit growth comfortably covers interest expense is strong — whereas the structure of a 343% debt ratio and interest burden from the hotel acquisition weighing on net profit is likely to persist for a while.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Debt far exceeds equity (debt ratio 343.0%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 86.3%).
- Revenue rose 15.3% year over year, and the pace is slowing (3-year trend: rising).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 4.9% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 14.5% (controlling-interest basis). It is above the sector average.
- Operating margin is 10.9%.
- The P/E sits below the sector median.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Hong Jae-sung 21.98% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 56.19%
With the controlling bloc holding 56%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- JS Corporation's core business is taking on handbags for luxury and mid-to-low-priced brands and designing and producing them on an ODM basis (carrying the client's brand while handling design and materials in-house) together with apparel OEM (contract production to order).
- It supplies global brands such as Tapestry (formerly Coach), Guess, Gap, and Walmart, producing at manufacturing bases in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia for export, so most of its revenue comes in dollars.
- In June 2023 it acquired the five-star Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel through a subsidiary, so it is now a company with two axes — manufacturing (handbags and apparel) and hotel operations.
- A hotel is an asset-heavy business in land and buildings, so this acquisition shifted a substantial part of the company's total assets into the hotel and increased debt along with it.
- Viewing two businesses of different character together — one dollar-exporting manufacturing, the other domestic real estate and services — is the starting point for understanding this company.
- The latest close is ₩11,730 and market capitalization is ₩340.4 billion.
- The price sits above the 20-day line (₩11,709) but below the 60-day line (₩12,444).
- With the short- and medium-term trends diverging, the direction should be read separately for each.
- The RSI (a supplementary gauge that weighs the strength of gains against losses over the past 14 days on a 0–100 scale) is 49.2, a neutral level.
- The one-month change is +1.5%, the three-month change is +6.5%, and the position versus the 52-week high is -23.7%.
- Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 33 (on a 1–99 scale, computed from returns against the index over the past year with more recent performance weighted more heavily; higher means stronger than the market).
- That places it in roughly the top 68% by strength among all stocks.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 19.0%.
- Chart readings are best viewed alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- On a confirmed annual (2025) basis, the P/E ratio (how many times one year's profit the share price is) is 4.45x and the P/B (how many times net asset value the share price is) is 0.65x, both on the low side.
- The forward P/E converted from this year's profit is similarly low, which means this is not an illusion where last year's figure happened to be good and then fell, but that on a current-year basis too the share price is cheap relative to profit.
- In that the forward P/E is below the peer median, the surface valuation leans toward undervalued.
- Add to this an ROE (how much it earns in a year on equity) of 14.5%, above the peer average, an operating margin of 10.9% that is also solid, and a payout returning 22.7% of net profit as dividends for a yield of 5.2%.
- One place to look at clearly, though, is the debt ratio (debt against equity), which is high at 343%.
- This is because it used a lot of debt for the hotel acquisition, and the current ratio (assets soon convertible to cash against debts due within a year) is also below 100% at 86%.
- In sum, it is a stock to be viewed as "cheap relative to profit and assets, with good profitability and dividends, but with the weight of debt increased by the hotel acquisition looked at alongside."
- Over five years, revenue grew from ₩987.0 billion in 2021 to ₩1.29 trillion in 2025, and operating profit grew from ₩61.0 billion to ₩140.5 billion over the same period.
- Revenue growth cooled somewhat from +29.5% in 2024 to +15.3% in 2025, and operating profit from +44.3% to +15.9%, but it continues to post double-digit growth.
- This year too the core business's top line is positioned to grow: handbag and apparel orders from luxury and mid-to-low-priced brands are steady, most revenue comes in dollars so a favorable currency adds directly, and the manufacturing bases in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia have the capacity to absorb volume and hold share.
- The fact that the core business has seasonality — shipments concentrated in the second half (Q3) — is also a basis for this year's annual operating profit rising above last year's.
- What stands out, though, is net profit: even as operating profit grew, 2025 net profit was ₩76.5 billion, -21.4% year on year.
- Burdens below the operating line, such as interest expense increased by the hotel acquisition, weighed on net profit (interest coverage ratio 2.9x).
- Q1 2026 followed the same pattern — revenue ₩308.0 billion (+4.9%), operating profit ₩30.8 billion (+8.7%), net profit ₩12.2 billion (-14.3%) — "operating profit up, net profit weighed down by interest." So this year's picture hinges on how much the increase in core operating profit covers interest expense.
- At the center of the disclosure flow are matters related to the hotel and subsidiaries.
- The April 3 "acquisition decision of other-company shares and equity securities (a major management matter of a subsidiary), correction of entries" and the May 28 "two decisions on debt guarantees for others (voluntary disclosure)" are matters tied to the structure and funding of subsidiaries including the hotel, showing changes on the asset and financial side rather than the core business.
- Debt guarantees in particular are directly linked to financial burden in that a parent can take on a subsidiary's debt, so it is worth confirming the scale and target of the guarantees.
- Meanwhile, the April 30 "consolidated operating (preliminary) results fair disclosure" and the May 15 quarterly report are official materials that announce and confirm Q1 results — primary sources for verifying preliminary figures against confirmed financial statements and checking the segment (manufacturing and hotel) revenue and interest-expense structure.
- This stock's strengths are clear: a core business whose revenue and operating profit have grown for years, an ROE of 14.5% above peers, a dividend yield of 5.2%, and both trailing and forward P/E in the 4x range along with a low P/B.
- On surface valuation alone, it is a combination that reads toward undervalued — cheap relative to profit and assets, with a dividend on top.
- The point to view alongside is the debt increased by the hotel acquisition (a 343% debt ratio) and the resulting interest burden, so that even as operating profit grows, the structure of net profit being weighed down is likely to persist for a while.
- The strong conditions are a phase where the currency is favorable, handbag and apparel orders continue, the hotel adds cash steadily, and core operating-profit growth comfortably covers interest expense so that net profit too turns up.
- The weak conditions are a phase where global consumption slows and ODM volume falls, or where rates and the currency turn unfavorable so the interest burden eats into operating-profit growth.
- The conclusion is a stock to check quarter by quarter — whether the manufacturing core's margin and growth or the weight of hotel debt moves faster — while the strengths of a cheap valuation and high dividend are clear in themselves.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
The set combines stocks grouped in the same KSIC "leather and footwear" category with stocks whose business substance — handbag and apparel export manufacturing — is close; but because this company has a large hotel (asset-intensive) segment, a one-to-one comparison with pure manufacturers has limits.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chokwang Leather | 36.29x | 0.72x | 2.00% |
| Hwaseung Enterprise | — | 0.40x | -6.26% |
| SYTS | 6.75x | 0.36x | 5.28% |
(a) Versus the peer set (Kwang Jin Leather, Hwaseung Enterprise, SYTS), its P/E and P/B are low and its ROE is high, so on the surface the price is not heavy relative to profit and assets. (b) The peers, however, are pure manufacturers, whereas this company has a hotel segment taking a large share of assets, so even at the same P/B the nature of the assets differs (inventory and production equipment versus real estate). The key to whether a premium or discount applies is how the hotel debt is valued. (c) The confirmed prior-year P/E (trailing) is based on the profit of a year when net profit inflected downward, so it is hard to trust as is in a profit-inflection phase. Looking alongside the seasonality-approximated forward operating profit (about ₩198.1 billion), the core profit has room to grow, but the net profit left after covering interest expense is the crux — so rather than declaring it undervalued or fairly valued either way, the judgment is held as inconclusive.
Earnings outlook company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | approx. ₩350.6 billion | approx. ₩42.6 billion | approx. ₩21.3 billion |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩11,730 and the market capitalization is ₩340.4 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩11,709) and below its 60-day moving average (₩12,444). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 49.2, a neutral level. The one-month change is +1.5%, the three-month change is +6.5%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -23.7%. Relative strength versus the KOSPI is 33 (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 33% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 19.0%. 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 -18.98% / 6M -39.03% / 12M -58.50%
Key metrics vs whole-market median
Valuation
The P/E of 4.45x is below the whole-market median (13.81x). The P/B of 0.65x is below the whole-market median (1.15x). 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 14.5%, above the whole-market average (5.0%). The operating margin is 10.9%. The debt ratio is 343.0%, so the financial structure is somewhat high.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $571.8M | $740.6M | $853.8M | +15.28% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $55.7M | $80.4M | $93.1M | +15.88% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $72.8M | $64.6M | $50.7M | -21.43% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $654.2M | $646.2M | $571.8M | $740.6M | $853.8M |
| Operating profit | $40.4M | $54.0M | $55.7M | $80.4M | $93.1M |
| Net profit | $32.0M | $42.8M | $72.8M | $64.6M | $50.7M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 6.88% | ||||
Revenue rose 15.3% year over year (2023 ₩862.8 billion → 2024 ₩1.1 trillion → 2025 ₩1.3 trillion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. That said, the pace of growth slowed from the prior year. Operating profit rose 15.9% year over year. The pace of that profit growth is gradually easing. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 6.9%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 22.2%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 4.9% 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.
- The dividend yield, at 5.1%, is on the high side.
- ROE of 14.5% points to solid profitability.
- Revenue grew 15.3% year over year, a sign of growth.
Points to watch
- Debt far exceeds equity (debt ratio 343.0%).
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 86.3%).
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-04-30EarningsQ1 2026 consolidated operating (preliminary) results fair disclosure — signaling the confirmed Q1 pattern of revenue and operating profit up but net profit downShort term: the core top line holds but a net-profit slowdown is confirmed. Medium term: a reference point to check whether the post-acquisition profit structure (operating profit up, net profit down) persists. Source
- 2026-05-15FilingMarch 2026 quarterly report — disclosing the Q1 confirmed consolidated financial statementsMedium term: a primary source to confirm preliminary results as confirmed figures and to verify the segment (manufacturing and hotel) revenue and interest-expense structure. Source
- 2026-05-28UpdateTwo decisions on debt guarantees for others (voluntary disclosure) — a matter of debt guarantees for subsidiaries and othersMedium term: if a parent guarantees a subsidiary's debt, the financial burden and contingent liabilities can grow, so the scale and target of the guarantees need to be confirmed. An item to view alongside the already high debt ratio (343%). Source
- 2026-04-03FilingAcquisition decision of other-company shares and equity securities (a major management matter of a subsidiary), correction of entries — a matter related to subsidiary stakes and equityMedium term: a matter tied to the structure and stake changes of subsidiaries such as the hotel, showing changes on the asset and financial side. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (confirmed) annual revenue | 1₩288.2 billion | 1₩288.2 billion | Confirmed | link |
| Q1 2026 operating profit | ₩30.8 billion(+8.7%) | (2026-04-30)·(2026-05-15) | Confirmed | link |
| Grand Hyatt Seoul acquisition (business-structure change) | 2023 6 | — | Unverified | link |
| 2026 seasonality-approximated annual operating profit | approx. ₩198.1 billion | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings
- 2026-05-28Disclosure
- 2026-05-28Disclosure
- 2026-05-28Corporate governance report
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-04-30EarningsFair-disclosure notice
- 2026-04-03Amended filing
- 2026-04-01OwnershipLargest-shareholder ownership change report
- 2026-04-01OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-01OwnershipOfficers'/major-shareholders' holdings report
- 2026-03-26Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-26Disclosure
- 2026-03-26Disclosure
📖 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.