Neosem makes test equipment that screens semiconductor memory and SSDs before shipment to check that they work properly, supplying semiconductor manufacturers with SSD testers for the latest high-speed standards such as PCIe Gen5 and burn-in equipment that weeds out early memory defects. In 2026, single-sale and supply-contract disclosures came out one after another in April and May, showing that orders for inspection equipment are coming back in, while Q1 net profit rebounded, and on March 27 it voluntarily disclosed a corporate value-up plan. What stands out recently is that, against structurally growing demand for next-generation SSD and memory inspection, if a resumption of customer investment and new orders feed into quarterly profit, last year's P/E of 92x comes down to about 24x this year and the appeal revives; the offset is that revenue is tied to capital spending and thus highly volatile, and improving the Q1 operating margin is the key question.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Revenue fell 39.2% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 2.4% lower than a year earlier.
- ROE is 4.5% (total-net basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 6.3%.
- The P/E sits above the sector median, reflecting elevated expectations.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Yeom Dong-hyun 41.65% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 55.49%
With the controlling bloc holding 55%, control is very secure but the free float is thin.
🔎 In-depth analysis
- Neosem is a company that makes and sells 'test equipment' that screens semiconductor memory and SSDs before shipment to check that they work properly.
- Revenue runs along two main lines.
- The first is SSD testers, equipment that runs finished SSDs at real operating speed to catch defects, used especially to inspect enterprise and data-center SSDs on the latest high-speed standards such as PCIe Gen5.
- The second is burn-in equipment, inspection facilities that run memory components at high temperature and voltage for a set time to weed out early defects in advance.
- Its customers are domestic and overseas semiconductor manufacturers that mass-produce memory and SSDs, and as they increase investment in large-capacity SSDs and memory for AI servers, demand for inspection equipment grows in step.
- In other words, the company's results move on the interlock between the competitiveness of its own new products and its customers' capital-spending cycle.
- The latest closing price is ₩9,400 and the market cap is ₩412.4 billion.
- The price sits below its 20-day line (₩11,656) and below its 60-day line (₩14,734).
- Trading below both its short- and medium-term moving averages, the trend is on the subdued side.
- RSI (an auxiliary gauge that weighs up-days against down-days over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 31.9, a neutral reading.
- The one-month change is -24.2%, the three-month change is -36.3%, and the price is -54.5% from its 52-week high.
- Its relative strength versus KOSDAQ is 65 (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), placing it in roughly the top 35% of all stocks by strength.
- Over the past three months it lagged the index by 18.9%.
- Chart reading is best done alongside trading volume and disclosure dates.
- On last year's confirmed results (FY2025), the P/E ratio (how many times one year's profit the price represents) is about 92x and the P/B (how many times net assets the price represents) is 3.46x.
- Both are higher than the industry medians (P/E 19.1x, P/B 2.07x), but these figures are hard to read straight as expensive.
- 2025 was a trough in the business cycle, a year in which profit (the denominator) shrank greatly, so the P/E looks inflated and does not reflect the company's normal earning power.
- Indeed, the P/E on this year's expected earnings falls to about 24x, below even its closest peer Exicon (28.5x).
- In other words, on last year's numbers alone it looks expensive, but viewed as profit normalizes it is actually a spot where the burden is not heavy relative to peers.
- ROE (how much is earned in a year on equity) is 4.5%, similar to the industry average (5.0%), with an operating margin of 6.3% and a debt ratio (debt against equity) of 130.1%.
- With a current ratio of 654%, short-term liquidity is ample, so financial stability itself is on the sound side.
- Over five years, revenue ran ₩37.2 billion in 2021, ₩74.7 billion in 2022, ₩100.9 billion in 2023, ₩105.2 billion in 2024, and ₩63.9 billion in 2025 - built up through 2024 and then contracting 39.2% in the single year 2025.
- Operating profit likewise fell from ₩16.5 billion in 2024 to ₩4.1 billion in 2025.
- This was the result of a year in which the memory and SSD cycle and customer investment sank together, showing the volatility of a business - like inspection equipment - tied to customer capital spending.
- The important change appeared this year.
- Q1 2026 revenue was ₩14.5 billion, with the year-on-year decline narrowing to -2.4% and effectively coming to a halt, while net profit rose +31.2% to ₩2.3 billion, turning past the bottom into a recovery phase.
- The P/E on this year's expected earnings of about 24x means last year's trough profit returns toward a normal level.
- The grounds for this recovery are clear.
- As investment in large-capacity SSDs and memory for AI servers and data centers revives, demand for inspection equipment is rising, and that signal is showing up as actual orders in the run of supply contracts in April and May 2026.
- Because the PCIe Gen5 high-speed SSDs the company inspects are in a stretch of growing adoption as a next-generation standard, the demand-side support may extend beyond a single-year rebound.
- In 2026 the disclosure flow revived.
- On March 27 it voluntarily disclosed a corporate value-up plan, in which the company itself set out the direction of shareholder returns and growth, and in April and May single-sale and supply-contract disclosures came out one after another on April 3 and 14 and May 6, 27 and 28 (there was also an amendment to an existing contract on May 8).
- Successive supply contracts are a signal that orders for inspection equipment are coming back in, and since the timing at which contract amounts are booked as revenue and whether they are recognized in installments determine how fast they reflect in quarterly results, it helps to check the delivery dates and amounts in the original contracts.
- Meanwhile, the Q1 report on May 15 and the business and audit reports on March 18 are the official materials confirming the confirmed results.
- This company's strengths are clear.
- It is positioned in next-generation SSD and memory inspection, a field where demand grows structurally, and in 2026 supply-contract disclosures resumed while Q1 net profit rebounded.
- Liquidity is also ample.
- On valuation too, last year's P/E of 92x looks expensive, but this owes to profit being pressed down at the cycle trough, and on this year's expected earnings it falls to about 24x, below even its closest peer Exicon.
- Viewed as profit normalizes, it is not a spot that is excessively expensive relative to peers.
- The cautions should be viewed honestly too.
- Revenue is tied to customer capital spending, making quarterly volatility large, and if the cycle cools again as in 2025 the pace of profit recovery can slow.
- The Q1 operating margin is still low, so whether the net-profit rebound leads to improvement in the operating-line margin is the key question.
- In sum, this stock is strong 'when a resumption of customer investment and new orders feed into quarterly profit' and weak 'when the cycle slows again and order and revenue recognition is delayed.' The two key checkpoints are the speed at which supply contracts reflect in results and a recovery in the operating margin.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Peers were chosen by the actual business of 'memory and SSD inspection equipment' rather than by simple KSIC industry code. Exicon is the closest peer, making SSD and memory testers, and Techwing belongs to the same memory-test ecosystem with memory test handlers (including HBM inspection). Figures are the site's base calculations (at the current price).
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exicon | 22.23x | 1.02x | 4.58% |
| Techwing | 155.50x | 6.80x | 4.37% |
(a) Position versus true peers: for memory-test equipment makers, profit is pressed down at the cycle trough so P/Es are uniformly high, and Neosem sits between Exicon and Techwing. (b) Premium/discount: its P/B of 4.83x is higher than peer Exicon (1.84x) but lower than Techwing (10.53x), a middling premium on a net-asset basis. (c) Limits of the trailing P/E: 2025 was a profit inflection point (a sharp drop after a peak), so last year's confirmed P/E of 107x over-reflects the company's normal earning power. Conversely, the forward basis this year is only a seasonality approximation from DART's confirmed quarterly results rather than an official company outlook, and the reliability of the operating- and net-profit approximations is low, so future profit cannot be pinned down. With trailing overstated and forward uncertain, it is hard to settle firmly on cheap or expensive on either side, so the verdict is left inconclusive.
Earnings outlook company-stated · verified
| Type | Period | Revenue | Operating profit | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next quarter | Q2 2026 | ₩13.9 billion | ₩7.6 billion | ₩13.8 billion |
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩9,400 and the market capitalization is ₩412.4 billion. The price sits below its 20-day moving average (₩11,656) and below its 60-day moving average (₩14,734). 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 31.9, a neutral level. The one-month change is -24.2%, the three-month change is -36.3%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -54.5%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 65 (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 65% of all stocks. Over the past three months it lagged the index by 18.9%. 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 -18.85% / 6M -6.93% / 12M -0.72%
Key metrics vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 77.18x is above the sector median (14.44x). The P/B of 3.46x is above 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.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 4.5%, in line with the sector average (5.0%). The operating margin is 6.3%. The debt ratio is 130.1%, so the financial structure is moderate.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $66.9M | $69.7M | $42.4M | -39.25% ↓ slower |
| Operating profit | $5.4M | $10.9M | $2.7M | -75.37% ↓ slower |
| Net profit | $5.5M | $12.7M | $3.5M | -72.20% ↓ slower |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $24.6M | $49.5M | $66.9M | $69.7M | $42.4M |
| Operating profit | $3.2M | $5.5M | $5.4M | $10.9M | $2.7M |
| Net profit | $3.7M | $6.6M | $5.5M | $12.7M | $3.5M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 14.52% | ||||
Revenue fell 39.2% year over year (2023 ₩100.9 billion → 2024 ₩105.2 billion → 2025 ₩63.9 billion), and the three-year trend is 'mixed'. The rate of decline widened from the prior year. Operating profit fell 75.4% year over year. The decline widened. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 14.5%. The two-year revenue CAGR is -20.4%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 2.4% lower than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators
What stands out
- —
Points to watch
- Revenue fell 39.2% year over year (3-year trend: mixed).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-05-28UpdateSingle-sale/supply-contract disclosure. A new order for inspection equipment, where the contract amount and revenue-recognition timing are variables for subsequent quarters' results.In the near term a signal of order momentum; in the medium term, how fast the contract scale reflects into revenue drives the results. Source
- 2026-05-06UpdateSingle-sale/supply-contract disclosure. One of the successive supply contracts spanning April and May, showing that order flow is reviving.Successive orders are a clue to a resumption of customer investment, but the quarterly revenue contribution varies with delivery dates and whether recognition is in installments. Source
- 2026-03-27UpdateCorporate value-up plan (voluntary disclosure). An official plan in which the company itself set out the direction of shareholder returns and growth.In the medium term it shows a commitment to shareholder returns and growth, but the actual execution and whether results back it up need to be confirmed in subsequent disclosures. Source
- 2026-05-15UpdateQ1 2026 report filed. Confirmed results with revenue of ₩14.5 billion and net profit of ₩2.3 billion, the revenue decline halting and net profit rebounding.Official material confirming signs of an exit from the bottom, but operating profit is still weak, so a margin recovery is the next checkpoint. Source
- 2026-03-18Update2025 business report filed. Material confirming a sharp year-on-year contraction, with annual revenue of ₩63.9 billion and operating profit of ₩4.1 billion.A reference point confirming the depth of the 2025 cyclical slowdown, serving as the starting line for comparing subsequent recovery. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 annual revenue | ₩63.9 billion | ₩63.9 billion | Confirmed | link |
| Q1 2026 revenue and net profit | revenue ₩14.5 billion / net profit ₩2.3 billion | revenue ₩14.5 billion / net profit ₩2.3 billion | Confirmed | link |
| Latest closing price | ₩9,400 | — | Unverified | link |
| This year's seasonality-approximated results | revenue 607 / operating profit 121 / net profit 224 | — | Unverified | link |
Recent filings
- 2026-05-28Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-27Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-08Single supply/sales contract (amended)
- 2026-05-06Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-04-14Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-04-03Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-03-27Disclosure
- 2026-03-26Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-23Single supply/sales contract
- 2026-03-18PeriodicAnnual business report
- 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.