KOSDAQMachinery098460

KohYoungTechnologyInc

₩34,400▲ 1.03%2026-10-02 close

Market Cap

₩2.3T

Turnover

₩53B

Volume

1.6M

Shares out.

68.2M

PER

38.6×

PBR

5.1×

EPS

₩722

Dividend Yield

0.50%

PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩140 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close

Report overview

AI Server Inspection and Medical Robots: Two Axes Under Test

Koh Young's core 3D inspection equipment business has posted four consecutive quarters of growth on AI server and optical module demand, setting record quarterly figures; the next thing to verify is whether new businesses such as its brain surgery robot begin contributing revenue in earnest from the second half.

1
Second-quarter 2026 revenue reached KRW 88.8bn with operating profit of KRW 14.6bn, both record quarterly levels, lifting the operating margin into the 16% range (per confirmed financials).
2
Profitability, compressed to a 1.6% operating margin in 2024, recovered to 7.5% in 2025 and moved into double digits in the first half of 2026 - the key change in the earnings profile.
3
The growth driver has shifted toward AI infrastructure inspection demand - servers, optical modules and ASICs - while automotive electronics and industrial demand have also shown recovery.
4
The brain surgery robot has secured US FDA and Japanese approvals and is pursuing Chinese clearance; brokerage reports relay that the company maintains an annual shipment target of about 20 units.
5
In August 2026 the company disclosed a KRW 29.4bn expansion of its second Yeoju production center, targeting completion in August 2027, to add capacity for inspection equipment and medical robots.

Business structure

Founded in 2002, Koh Young is a 3D precision measurement and inspection equipment maker whose core products detect defects in the surface-mount technology (SMT) process for printed circuit boards using three-dimensional measurement.

Its main product lines include 3D SPI for solder paste inspection, 3D AOI for component mounting inspection, 3D MOI for machined-part appearance inspection, and 3D DPI for transparent and semi-transparent materials.

The company has held the global number one share in 3D SPI since 2006 and in 3D AOI since 2016 after launching the product in 2010, and is reported to supply equipment to roughly 3,400 customers worldwide.

Its customer base is broadly diversified across electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firms, handset and auto-parts makers, and semiconductor substrate manufacturers.

By product, a February 2026 Eugene Investment report tallied 2025 revenue at roughly KRW 118.8bn for 3D AOI, KRW 84.5bn for 3D SPI and KRW 29.3bn for other products, meaning AOI has overtaken SPI in the mix.

Added to this is the ZenStar family of semiconductor inspection tools, which check bumps and mirror-surface components in advanced packaging processes, serving as a new growth axis.

In medical devices, the company supplies a brain surgery robot combining 3D vision and robotics - sold as KYMERO in Korea and Geniant Cranial abroad - used in demanding procedures such as stereo-EEG electrode placement, deep brain stimulation and brain tissue biopsy.

Competition is global, against Japanese, US and Taiwanese inspection equipment vendors, and the company has sought differentiation by bundling process-optimization software built on inspection data rather than selling hardware alone.

Earnings trend

Quarterly revenue · Operating profit

₩52.1B₩2.5B25Q2₩60.3B₩4.7B25Q3₩69.1B₩6.9B25Q4₩72.7B₩9.9B26Q1₩88.8B₩14.6B26Q2

RevenueOperating profit

Annual revenue · Operating profit

₩275.4B₩44.3B2022₩225.6B₩20.4B2023₩202.5B₩3.3B2024₩232.6B₩17.3B2025

RevenueOperating profit

Quarterly results · Last 5 quarters
Quarter	Revenue	Operating profit	Op. margin
2025Q2	₩52.1B	₩2.5B	4.8%
2025Q3	₩60.3B	₩4.7B	7.8%
2025Q4	₩69.1B	₩6.9B	10.0%
2026Q1	₩72.7B	₩9.9B	13.5%
2026Q2	₩88.8B	₩14.6B	16.4%

Annual results
Year	Revenue	Operating profit	Net income (parent)	Op. margin	ROE	Debt-to-equity
2022	₩275.4B	₩44.3B	₩39.3B	16.1%	12.9%	28.3%
2023	₩225.6B	₩20.4B	₩21.9B	9.0%	7.2%	20.3%
2024	₩202.5B	₩3.3B	₩21B	1.6%	6.5%	16.9%
2025	₩232.6B	₩17.3B	₩14.8B	7.5%	4.4%	22.4%

Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-04

Earnings analysis

On confirmed financials, revenue fell for two straight years from KRW 275.4bn in 2022 to KRW 225.6bn in 2023 and KRW 202.5bn in 2024, then rebounded to KRW 232.6bn in 2025.

Profitability swung far more sharply: operating profit dropped from KRW 44.3bn in 2022 (16.1% margin) to KRW 20.4bn in 2023 (9.0%) and just KRW 3.3bn in 2024 (1.6%), before recovering to KRW 17.3bn in 2025 (7.5%).

In 2024, despite operating profit of only KRW 3.3bn, net profit attributable to owners came in far higher at KRW 21.0bn, while in 2025 net profit of KRW 14.8bn sat close to operating profit - confirming that non-operating items amplify net income volatility. The quarterly trend shows clear improvement.

After second-quarter 2025 revenue of KRW 52.1bn and operating profit of KRW 2.5bn (4.8% margin) alongside a KRW 4.7bn net loss attributable to owners, the company posted KRW 60.3bn/KRW 4.7bn in the third quarter, KRW 69.1bn/KRW 6.9bn in the fourth, KRW 72.7bn/KRW 9.9bn in the first quarter of 2026 and KRW 88.8bn/KRW 14.6bn in the second - four consecutive quarters of growth in both lines.

The second-quarter 2026 operating margin in the 16% range matched the full-year 2022 level, and net profit attributable to owners of KRW 15.7bn followed KRW 15.7bn in the first quarter, marking two straight quarters above KRW 15bn.

The company said second-quarter 2026 revenue and operating profit rose 70.4% and 479.1% year on year to record quarterly highs, exceeding market consensus of KRW 75.2bn in revenue and KRW 10.8bn in operating profit.

As background, a brokerage analysis noted that first-quarter 2026 server segment revenue jumped 193.0% year on year to KRW 31.5bn and that gross margin reached 67.0%.

On the balance sheet, total liabilities stood at KRW 75.2bn against equity of KRW 335.2bn at end-2025, a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.4%, with operating cash flow of KRW 18.1bn.

Industry analysis

Demand for SMT inspection equipment is tied directly to the electronics production investment cycle, and 2023-2024 was a downturn as smartphone and automotive electronics investment slowed. Since the second half of 2025, AI data center investment has become the center of end demand.

The company attributed its strong second-quarter 2026 results to a surge in demand for 3D precision inspection equipment and its controlling software across AI infrastructure areas such as ASICs, optical communication modules and high-speed network switches.

In an April 2026 analysis, Kiwoom Securities noted that demand from global optical module and optical transceiver makers in the US and China - absent a year earlier - had newly joined the mix, and that short lead times raised visibility for the following quarter.

In advanced semiconductor packaging, rising demand for bump and mirror-surface inspection is extending the equipment's addressable scope beyond the traditional surface-mount process.

Competitively, the company has long held the top global position in the combined SPI and AOI market, yet inspection equipment remains a business whose quarterly results swing with customer capital spending decisions.

In medical robotics the potential market is broad - roughly 1,437 US tertiary hospitals capable of brain surgery and about 1,750 in Japan have been cited - but adoption pace depends on hospital-by-hospital decisions and reimbursement procedures.

Outlook

On confirmed facts, the key watch point for the second half of 2026 is revenue recognition from new businesses.

In a July 2026 report, Korea Investment & Securities relayed that after three initial medical robot shipments in the first half, revenue would be recognized in the second half, that the company was maintaining its annual shipment target of 20 units, and projected the annual new-business revenue share rising to 17.0% on expansion of packaging inspection tools and medical robots.

The same report said inspection equipment supply to an already-won global optical transceiver customer had resumed, that additional order opportunities beyond that customer were being identified, and that supply of SOCAMM2 memory module inspection equipment would proceed in the second half.

On regulatory milestones, the medical robot secured US FDA 510(k) clearance in January 2025 and Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approval in January 2026, and the company completed its filing with China's National Medical Products Administration in April 2026.

In May 2026 the company demonstrated Geniant Cranial's stereo-EEG workflow at the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (ASSFN) meeting, citing more than 800 surgeries performed in Korea and installations at US and Japanese hospitals.

On capacity, an August 6, 2026 disclosure announced KRW 29.4bn of investment - 8.8% of end-2025 equity - to expand the Yeoju production site, building a second center of roughly 12,800 square meters, the same floor area as the existing one, targeting completion in August 2027.

Stated purposes include meeting AI data center and semiconductor customer demand, establishing production for new lines such as industrial X-ray inspection equipment, and preparing for global rollout of medical robots.

Still, because medical robot revenue is recognized with a lag after delivery, any gap between target unit counts and actual recognition timing must be verified directly in second-half results.

Valuation

PER

38.6×

PBR

5.1×

ROE

14.1%

EPS

₩722

BPS

₩5,479

Dividend per share

₩140

Measured against the last four quarters of earnings, the stock trades at a considerable premium to book value, and part of the reason multiples calculate high is that the denominator reflects an early stage of recovery from the 2024 earnings trough.

Dividends are paid mainly once a year as a year-end distribution, completed in April 2026, and the yield level is on the low side, as is typical for a name where earnings growth expectations are embedded in the price.

For reference, Korea Investment & Securities said in a July 2026 report that it had changed its applied earnings-per-share basis and cut its target multiple from 50 times to 41 times, lowering its target price from KRW 50,000 to KRW 40,000, while iM Securities presented a 12-month target price of KRW 50,000 in a June 2026 report.

Both figures are those brokerages' views, not KOSAI's judgment.

Ultimately, interpreting the current multiple depends on whether the 16%-range operating margin reached in the second quarter of 2026 is sustained or expanded and whether the new-business revenue share genuinely rises, so little beyond factual comparison can be asserted before second-half results are confirmed.

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 2026-09-04

Bull factors

AI infrastructure inspection demand has broadened the customer base

The company cited surging demand for 3D precision inspection across AI infrastructure - ASICs, optical communication modules and high-speed network switches - as the driver of strong second-quarter 2026 results.

A brokerage tally also showed first-quarter 2026 server segment revenue up 193.0% year on year to KRW 31.5bn. In an April 2026 analysis, Kiwoom Securities said demand from US and Chinese optical module and transceiver makers, absent a year earlier, had newly joined.

The bull case rests on this observable structural shift, adding a data center axis to legacy smartphone and automotive demand.

Operating leverage has shown up in actual numbers

The operating margin rose for five consecutive quarters, from 4.8% in the second quarter of 2025 to 7.8% in the third, 10.0% in the fourth, 13.5% in the first quarter of 2026 and about 16.4% in the second.

Over the same span revenue grew from KRW 52.1bn to KRW 88.8bn, numerically confirming that added sales flow through to margin under a fixed-cost structure. The second-quarter 2026 margin approached the 16.1% full-year level of 2022, when revenue was far larger. Room for further margin improvement depends on sales mix and the R&D expense ratio.

Regulatory gates for the medical robot have opened sequentially

Geniant Cranial obtained US FDA 510(k) clearance in January 2025, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approval in January 2026, and completed a Chinese NMPA filing in April 2026.

The company has cited experience across more than 800 brain surgeries in Korea and disclosed installations at hospitals in the US and Japan. At the ASSFN meeting in May 2026 it demonstrated a robot-based electrode insertion workflow via stereo-EEG. The bull argument is that a revenue stream different in character from inspection equipment is being added.

Bear factors

The track record of earnings volatility is not short

Operating profit shrank to about one-tenth in two years, from KRW 44.3bn in 2022 to KRW 3.3bn in 2024, with the margin collapsing from 16.1% to 1.6%. That profit fell far more than revenue (from KRW 275.4bn to KRW 202.5bn) means fixed-cost leverage works in both directions.

The margin expansion in the first half of 2026 is the same mechanism in reverse, and it can unwind quickly if end-market investment slows. Five good quarters alone are not enough to judge the durability of the cycle.

Net income is swayed by non-operating items

In 2024 there was a wide gap between KRW 3.3bn of operating profit and KRW 21.0bn of net profit attributable to owners, while in the second quarter of 2025 the company posted a KRW 4.7bn net loss despite KRW 2.5bn of operating profit.

Conversely, in the first quarter of 2026 net profit of KRW 15.7bn far exceeded operating profit of KRW 9.9bn. Under such a structure, net-income-based metrics swing sharply each quarter, complicating trend interpretation. Assessing earnings quality requires looking at operating profit and operating cash flow together.

Timing lags and target achievement in new businesses

Medical robot revenue is understood to be recognized with a lag after delivery, creating a gap between shipment-unit targets and accounting revenue.

Korea Investment & Securities said in its July 2026 report that after three initial shipments in the first half, revenue recognition would come in the second half with the 20-unit annual target maintained - which can also be read as requiring substantial shipment concentration in the second half.

Hospital adoption decisions and country-by-country reimbursement procedures are variables largely beyond the company's control. If unit targets are missed, expectations for the new business could be reset regardless of strength in the core inspection equipment operation.

Risk factors

End-market capex cycle and customer concentration

Inspection equipment sales hinge on the timing of customer capital spending decisions, and the company's short lead times shorten the gap from order to revenue but also shorten visibility.

As a brokerage noted regarding a KRW 33.5bn supply contract signed with a North American customer at end-December 2025, a rising share of large single contracts widens the amplitude of quarterly results.

If AI data center investment decelerates, a simultaneous decline in revenue and profit similar to 2023-2024 could recur. Shifts in the regional mix of US and Chinese demand also feed straight through to results.

Medical device regulation and commercialization

The Chinese NMPA submission was at the filing stage as of April 2026, with approval timing and conditions undetermined. Even with US and Japanese clearances, hospital-level procurement reviews and reimbursement processes remain, making the pace of installation growth hard to predict.

Surgical robots are an area where safety issues or recalls arising in clinical use can immediately affect brand and sales. It should also be considered that well-capitalized incumbents already hold positions in the global medical robotics market.

Fixed costs and execution risk from expansion

The second Yeoju production center expansion disclosed in August 2026 amounts to KRW 29.4bn, equal to 8.8% of end-2025 equity, targeting completion in August 2027.

The company stated that the investment amount and period could change depending on permitting, construction progress and changes in the business environment. Because depreciation and headcount-related fixed costs will rise after completion, margins would be pressured if demand does not follow as planned. Funding is planned from cash on hand, limiting borrowing risk, but the pace of cash usage warrants monitoring.

What to watch next

Around late October 2026
Preliminary third-quarter 2026 results. Whether the 16%-range operating margin reached in the second quarter holds and whether server and optical module related revenue keeps growing will be the first evidence on the cycle's durability.
Fourth quarter of 2026
The start of medical robot revenue recognition, progress toward the roughly 20-unit annual shipment target, and whether the SOCAMM2 memory module inspection equipment supply slated for the second half proceeds. This is the first window in which new businesses convert into actual revenue.
Mid-November 2026
Third-quarter report filing. Revenue by product (3D SPI, 3D AOI, others) and by region, along with the new-business share, will appear as disclosed figures, allowing a check against brokerage projections for that share.
Around early February 2027
Preliminary full-year 2026 results and the year-end dividend decision. Points to verify include how close the annual operating margin comes to the 2022 level and whether dividend policy is adjusted to reflect the earnings recovery.
Targeted August 2027
Completion of the second Yeoju production center. The plan adds about 12,800 square meters of floor area for industrial inspection equipment, X-ray inspection tools and medical robots; any disclosure of construction delays or changes in investment amount should also be monitored.

Overall view

Koh Young's recent results sit on a recovery path from the 1.6% operating margin trough of 2024 to 7.5% in 2025 and double digits in the first half of 2026.

In the second quarter of 2026 it posted record quarterly revenue of KRW 88.8bn and operating profit of KRW 14.6bn, confirming five straight quarters of margin improvement, which the company attributed to surging demand for AI infrastructure related 3D precision inspection.

At the same time, a history of net income swinging widely on non-operating items and the experience of the sharp profit decline between 2022 and 2024 make it hard to assert that the current trend will persist.

The medical robot business has secured US and Japanese approvals and filed in China, and because revenue is recognized with a lag after delivery, it must be verified in second-half figures.

The KRW 29.4bn second Yeoju production center expansion disclosed in August 2026 is evidence of intent to meet demand, but it also carries the flip side of higher fixed costs after completion. The financial structure is stable, with a 22.4% debt-to-equity ratio at end-2025 and positive operating cash flow.

Ultimately, the task is to verify two axes - the durability of the core inspection equipment cycle and the actual conversion of new businesses into revenue - through upcoming disclosures; this report is for information purposes and contains no buy or sell opinion or target price.

Sources

Korea Exchange (KRX) — Prices · Market Cap · Volume
FSS electronic disclosure system (DART) — Financial statements · Dividend filings

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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.