PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩200 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
Aekyung Industrial posted a record quarterly revenue in the second quarter of 2026 on overseas expansion, but operating profit fell sharply year over year as marketing spending increased, extending the gap between top-line growth and profitability.
Q2 2026 consolidated revenue reached KRW 194.2 billion, a record quarterly high, with the overseas sales portion expanding to 42%.
Operating profit in the same period was KRW 4.5 billion, turning positive from the prior quarter's loss, but down 59.4% year over year.
The 2025 full-year operating margin was 3.2%, continuing a downtrend from 9.3% in 2023 and 6.9% in 2024.
The cosmetics segment is offsetting domestic softness and driving growth through market diversification into the US, Japan, and Russia.
In Q1 2026, despite an operating loss, net profit reached KRW 13.7 billion, up sharply year over year, suggesting a significant one-off impact.
Aekyung Industrial was founded in 1985 and listed on the KOSPI market in 2018, manufacturing and selling cosmetics and household products.
The cosmetics segment holds a brand portfolio including AGE20'S, LUNA, POINT, A'pieu Solution, and Two-Edit, and is recognized for pioneering the essence-foundation category to secure a niche position.
The household goods segment focuses on laundry detergents (Spark, Lecuse), hair care (Kerasys), and dental care (2080 toothpaste). A recent revenue breakdown shows cosmetics at roughly 36%, hair care around 15%, laundry detergent about 12%, and dental care near 8% of sales.
Subsidiaries include Onething and A-Tech Sejong, and in 2026 the company absorbed Onething to reorganize its brand lineup.
The competitive landscape is often compared with larger players such as Amorepacific and LG Household & Health Care, while the domestic cosmetics market has recently seen intensifying competition from new entrants and declining market share tied to shifting distribution channels.
Overseas, the company continues to diversify channels, expanding into Walmart and Olive Young in the US, drugstores and Qoo10 in Japan, and Gold Apple in Russia.
The household goods segment is pursuing growth through overseas personal-care channel expansion even as domestic competition intensifies from new market entrants.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩171.3B | ₩11.2B | 6.5% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩169.3B | ₩7.3B | 4.3% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩162.9B | -₩3.4B | −2.1% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩158.8B | -₩1.6B | −1.0% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩194.2B | ₩4.5B | 2.3% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩610.4B | ₩39B | ₩16.7B | 6.4% | 4.7% | 34.4% |
| 2023 | ₩668.9B | ₩61.9B | ₩48.6B | 9.3% | 12.6% | 24.4% |
| 2024 | ₩679.1B | ₩46.8B | ₩42.5B | 6.9% | 10.6% | 24.6% |
| 2025 | ₩654.5B | ₩21.1B | ₩15.2B | 3.2% | 3.8% | 24.7% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-21
Consolidated revenue in 2025 was KRW 654.5 billion, slightly down from KRW 679.1 billion in 2024, while operating profit fell sharply to KRW 21.1 billion from KRW 46.8 billion, pulling the operating margin down from 6.9% to 3.2%.
Net profit attributable to owners also declined from KRW 42.5 billion in 2024 to KRW 15.2 billion in 2025. Looking further back, 2023 revenue was KRW 66.89 billion with operating profit of KRW 61.9 billion (a 9.3% margin), meaning profit scale has contracted continuously through 2024 and 2025.
On a quarterly basis, after posting KRW 169.3 billion in revenue, KRW 7.3 billion in operating profit, and KRW 4.3 billion in net profit in Q3 2025, the company swung to an operating loss of KRW 3.4 billion and a net loss of KRW 5.3 billion in Q4 2025 on revenue of KRW 162.9 billion.
Q1 2026 again showed an operating loss of KRW 1.6 billion on revenue of KRW 158.8 billion, yet net profit jumped to KRW 13.7 billion, sharply higher than a year earlier, suggesting a meaningful non-operating one-off effect on the bottom line.
In Q2 2026, revenue rose to KRW 194.2 billion, the highest of the trailing four quarters and a new quarterly record, with operating profit turning positive at KRW 4.5 billion versus the prior quarter's loss.
However, Q2 2026 operating profit fell 59.4% from KRW 11.2 billion a year earlier, an outcome attributed mainly to increased marketing investment tied to overseas expansion.
By segment, cosmetics revenue was KRW 75.3 billion (up 20.5% year over year) with operating profit of KRW 4.1 billion, while household goods revenue was KRW 115.2 billion (up 9.6%) with operating profit of KRW 0.4 billion.
South Korea's cosmetics exports appear to be in a structural growth phase. In 2025, Korean cosmetics exports rose 12.2% year over year to USD 11.4 billion, an all-time annual record, and the cosmetics trade surplus surpassed USD 10 billion for the first time.
In the first half of 2026, exports again set a record for the period at USD 7.0 billion, up 27.3% year over year, with the United States accounting for 20.7% of the total and remaining the largest market for a second consecutive year.
Some observers note that as the share of small and mid-sized exporters grows, the growth axis of K-beauty is shifting from large brands toward emerging indie brands.
Within this industry backdrop, Aekyung Industrial faces headwinds in its cosmetics segment from declining domestic market share and shifting distribution channels, while responding overseas by expanding sales networks into the US, Japan, Russia, and Central Asia.
The household goods segment likewise faces intensifying domestic competition from new entrants while seeking growth drivers through overseas personal-care channel expansion.
Relative to peers, while large cosmetics manufacturers are benefiting broadly across the ODM and packaging value chain, Aekyung, as a brand company, must simultaneously absorb the costs of overseas channel entry and marketing investment.
Aekyung Industrial has stated it will continue market-tailored strategies in the second half, centered on global market diversification, product portfolio expansion, stronger response to growth channels, and premium-based profitability enhancement.
In cosmetics, restructuring of the China business and reorganization of online and offline channels have shown signs of recovery, while in Japan the company expanded offline placements for its LUNA makeup brand and AGE20'S ranked first in three categories—base makeup, UV care, and point makeup—at a Qoo10 event.
In the US, AGE20'S and LUNA entered local Olive Young stores to step up offline efforts, with roughly 53 AGE20'S and 23 LUNA SKUs currently in operation.
In household goods, the Kerasys severely-damaged-hair specialty line entered 390 Walmart offline stores and online in the US simultaneously, while distribution has expanded to Poland and Germany in Europe, Brazil and Paraguay in South America, and Russia and the CIS region.
On the marketing front, the company has run local engagement activities such as a K-pop challenge in Brazil, a K-pop Star sponsorship in Kazakhstan, and participation in Cosmoprof Las Vegas.
Management reaffirmed its intent to keep entering major global distribution channels and discovering new markets to broaden its growth base.
However, the marketing cost burden from overseas channel expansion is weighing on near-term profitability, making the timing of simultaneous revenue growth and margin recovery the next point to watch.
The price-to-book ratio appears to trade at a discount to net asset value, while profit-based multiples sit closer to the upper end of the trading band observed over the past few years. This can be interpreted as reflecting a valuation formed against a backdrop of profit scale that has contracted relative to 2023-2024.
The company appears to have maintained a consistent level of annual cash dividends, but the absolute level of dividend yield has become lower than in the past given the recent contraction in earnings.
Since profitability moved from a loss back to a smaller profit through 2025, whether earnings recovery becomes evident in coming quarters is likely to be the key variable for interpreting valuation going forward.
No brokerage report with a target price issued within the past six months was identified, so a quantitative comparison against market consensus targets has not been included in this report.
PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are all calculated in-house (the same method as Naver and Toss) · Dividend yield = cash dividend per share from DART filings (supplemented by KRX) ÷ current price · As of 2026-08-21
In Q2 2026, the overseas revenue share expanded to 42%, up 7 percentage points year over year, driving a record quarterly top line. New distribution entries continue via Walmart and Olive Young in the US, Qoo10 in Japan, and Gold Apple in Russia. Cosmetics segment revenue rose 20.5% year over year, offsetting domestic softness.
Korean cosmetics exports hit a record in 2025 and grew a further 27.3% in the first half of 2026, indicating continued industry-wide growth. The US has remained the largest export market for two consecutive years, providing a favorable environment for brand companies expanding overseas channels.
This trend forms a backdrop that could align with Aekyung Industrial's overseas channel diversification strategy.
After posting operating losses in both Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, the company returned to operating profit of KRW 4.5 billion in Q2 2026. This suggests that top-line growth from overseas expansion is translating into some profit recovery.
However, the level remains well below the year-earlier figure, so the durability of this recovery needs further confirmation.
The annual operating margin fell steadily from 9.3% in 2023 to 6.9% in 2024 and 3.2% in 2025. That margin contraction occurred even without a major swing in revenue scale, suggesting rising cost pressures from expenses such as cost of goods and marketing. Investment costs tied to overseas expansion are constraining near-term margin recovery.
The cosmetics segment has been affected by declining domestic market share and shifting distribution channels, while the household goods segment faces intensifying competition from new market entrants. On a cumulative basis through Q3 2025, consolidated revenue fell 3.2% and operating profit fell 43.7% year over year. Structural challenges in the domestic business are acting as an offsetting factor against overseas growth.
The company posted operating losses in both Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, and in Q1 2026 net profit surged to KRW 13.7 billion despite the operating loss, indicating a large non-operating influence. This volatility in the earnings structure raises uncertainty for future performance forecasting. The underlying profitability trend, excluding one-off items, warrants continued monitoring.
If marketing expenditure tied to overseas channel expansion continues to rise, operating margin recovery could lag even as revenue grows. After the operating margin fell to 3.2% in 2025, a slow recovery pace could sustain earnings volatility.
The China business has shown a recovery through restructuring but remains a region with historically heavy weighting.
China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) plans to implement five new cosmetic ingredient standards starting May 2027, and tighter ingredient-level regulation could affect China export strategy.
The domestic cosmetics market faces intensifying competition from new entrants and shifting distribution channels, and the household goods segment is exposed to similar competitive pressure.
If the domestic revenue and profit base continues to shrink, overseas growth alone may not be sufficient to defend consolidated earnings.
At the Q3 2026 earnings release, it will be worth checking whether the overseas revenue share expands further and whether marketing cost pressure eases.
Sales performance in newly entered channels such as Walmart and Olive Young in the US and Qoo10 in Japan, along with progress in new markets like Central Asia and South America, should be monitored.
China's NMPA is scheduled to implement five new cosmetic ingredient standards, so it will be important to check how regulation on key ingredients such as Centella asiatica extract affects the China business.
The impact of business reorganizations such as the absorption of subsidiary Onething on earnings, and the underlying profitability trend excluding one-off items, should be further verified.
Aekyung Industrial posted its highest-ever quarterly revenue in Q2 2026, showing that its overseas diversification strategy is translating into top-line growth.
However, operating profit in the same period fell 59.4% year over year, and the 2025 full-year operating margin dropped to 3.2%, indicating profitability metrics remain at an early stage of recovery.
The swing back to operating profit in Q2 after consecutive operating losses in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 is a positive sign, but the durability of that recovery still needs further confirmation.
Intensifying competition in the domestic cosmetics and household goods markets, the continued weight of the China business, and the marketing cost burden from overseas channel expansion remain factors to watch.
Conversely, the fact that Korean cosmetics exports are in a structural growth phase, with ongoing new distribution entries in the US, Japan, and Russia, provides a backdrop that could further lift the overseas revenue share over the medium to long term.
Ultimately, whether revenue growth and margin recovery are confirmed simultaneously in subsequent quarters will likely be the key variable in assessing the company's earnings trajectory.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
This content is AI analysis of market data and web search results, provided for information only. It is not a solicitation or recommendation to invest. Investment decisions and their consequences are the investor's own responsibility. Data may be delayed or contain errors.