KOSPIBiotech & Pharma207940

Samsung Biologics

₩1,365,000▼ 3.74%2026-10-02 close

Market Cap

₩62.7T

Turnover

₩69.5B

Volume

50,000 shares

Shares out.

46.3M

PER

33.8×

PBR

8.0×

EPS

₩42,866

Dividend Yield

0.00%

PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩0 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close

Report overview

Post Spin-Off Pure-Play CDMO: Utilization and Orders in Focus

After spinning off its biosimilar arm to become a pure-play CDMO, operating margins jumped into the 40s percent range, but falling utilization, a first-half slowdown in new orders and a 3 trillion won rights offering now sit on the other side of the ledger.

1
Consolidated operating profit for 2025 came in at 2.069 trillion won versus 1.320 trillion won a year earlier, lifting the operating margin from 29.0% to 45.4%. Revenue was essentially flat at 4.557 trillion won against 4.547 trillion won, largely because the equity spin-off changed how the biosimilar unit (Samsung Bioepis) is reflected.
2
In the first half of 2026, first-quarter revenue was 1.257 trillion won with operating profit of 580.8 billion won, followed by second-quarter revenue of 1.321 trillion won and operating profit of 586.4 billion won, keeping quarterly operating margins in the 40s percent range.
3
The company said it expects to reach the upper end of its 2026 annual revenue growth guidance of 15-20%, citing a larger contribution from Plant 5 and the Rockville site in the United States plus a favorable exchange rate.
4
The bearish side is equally visible. Average utilization slipped from 75.2% in 2024 to 70.9% in 2025 and 69.9% in the first half of 2026, while disclosed cumulative new orders in the first half were 570 billion won, about 17% of the 3.4 trillion won booked a year earlier.
5
On August 28, 2026 the board approved a 3.0009 trillion won rights offering with public subscription of forfeited shares; 2.7062 trillion won goes to acquiring Switzerland's PolyPeptide Group and 294.8 billion won to expanding the Songdo Bio Campus 2. The 2.27 million new shares equal a 4.904% increase in share count.

Business structure

Samsung Biologics is a CDMO offering contract manufacturing (CMO) and contract development (CDO) services centered on antibody drugs.

An extraordinary shareholder meeting in 2025 approved the equity spin-off that carved out the investment division into Samsung Epis Holdings, leaving the surviving entity to run only the CDMO business. The company said the purpose was to fully separate CMO from biosimilars and remove potential client concerns.

Production sites are Plants 1-5 in Songdo, Incheon plus the Rockville facility in Maryland, and last year's start-up of the 180,000-liter Plant 5 lifted Songdo capacity to 785,000 liters, while the March 2026 closing of the 60,000-liter Rockville deal took global capacity to 845,000 liters, the largest in the industry.

On the order side, disclosures show 115 cumulative CMO and 176 CDO contracts since founding, with cumulative order value of 21.7 billion US dollars. On the client mix, the industry often notes that 17 of the world's top 20 pharmaceutical and biotech companies are customers.

Almost all revenue comes from exports; IBK Investment & Securities noted in a June 2026 report that exports account for more than 92% of sales.

For coverage, the company plans a European sales office in Amsterdam in the third quarter of 2026, following New Jersey in 2023 and Tokyo in 2025, completing a network spanning the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Beyond antibodies, the portfolio is widening through mRNA and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) capabilities and a secured site for a third bio campus, and the July 2026 decision to acquire PolyPeptide Group for 1.46 billion Swiss francs (about 2.7 trillion won), the largest M&A deal ever in Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech sector, targets entry into peptide CDMO.

Earnings trend

Quarterly revenue · Operating profit

₩1.3T₩475.6B25Q2₩1.7T₩728.8B25Q3₩308.6B₩378.1B25Q4₩1.3T₩580.8B26Q1₩1.3T₩586.4B26Q2

RevenueOperating profit

Annual revenue · Operating profit

₩3T₩983.6B2022₩3.7T₩1.1T2023₩4.5T₩1.3T2024₩4.6T₩2.1T2025

RevenueOperating profit

Quarterly results · Last 5 quarters
Quarter	Revenue	Operating profit	Op. margin
2025Q2	₩1.3T	₩475.6B	36.9%
2025Q3	₩1.7T	₩728.8B	43.9%
2025Q4	₩308.6B	₩378.1B	122.5%
2026Q1	₩1.3T	₩580.8B	46.2%
2026Q2	₩1.3T	₩586.4B	44.4%

Annual results
Year	Revenue	Operating profit	Net income (parent)	Op. margin	ROE	Debt-to-equity
2022	₩3T	₩983.6B	₩798.1B	32.8%	8.9%	84.6%
2023	₩3.7T	₩1.1T	₩857.7B	30.1%	8.7%	63.2%
2024	₩4.5T	₩1.3T	₩1.1T	29.0%	9.9%	59.0%
2025	₩4.6T	₩2.1T	₩1.8T	45.4%	23.9%	48.4%

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

The annual path runs from 2022 revenue of 3.001 trillion won and operating profit of 983.6 billion won (32.8% margin), to 3.695 trillion won and 1.114 trillion won in 2023 (30.1%), 4.547 trillion won and 1.320 trillion won in 2024 (29.0%), and 4.557 trillion won and 2.069 trillion won in 2025 (45.4%).

The 2025 combination of flat revenue and roughly 56% higher operating profit is unusual, and reporting notes that the 2025 consolidated figures exclude Samsung Bioepis discontinued operations after the spin-off, so revenue still edged above the prior-year consolidated level even after removing roughly 1.5 trillion won of Bioepis sales.

Quarterly confirmed figures also need to be read with that basis shift in mind.

Second-quarter 2025 revenue of 1.290 trillion won with operating profit of 475.6 billion won and third-quarter revenue of 1.660 trillion won with 728.8 billion won were on a basis including biosimilars, while the fourth quarter showed revenue of 308.6 billion won against operating profit of 378.1 billion won and net profit attributable to owners of 510.0 billion won, an inverted pattern.

That quarter overlaps with the accounting presentation change tied to the split, so simple quarter-to-quarter comparison is not meaningful.

In 2026 the pure-play CDMO picture settled down: first-quarter revenue of 1.257 trillion won and operating profit of 580.8 billion won (46.2% margin), second-quarter revenue of 1.321 trillion won and 586.4 billion won (44.4%), for a first-half operating profit total of 1.167 trillion won.

The company attributed growth to full operation of Plants 1-4 and favorable currency, noting that the operating margin held in the 40s percent range even with early costs for Plant 5 and Rockville booked ahead of revenue recognition.

One-off factors included a five-day partial union strike from May 1 that disrupted production, with about 150 billion won of related revenue affected.

On cash and balance sheet, 2025 operating cash flow was 2.248 trillion won versus 1.659 trillion won in 2024, and the debt-to-equity ratio fell to 48.4% from 84.6% in 2022, while equity declined from 10.905 trillion won in 2024 to 7.451 trillion won in 2025 on the spin-off.

Industry analysis

The biologics CDMO industry is generally seen as structurally growing on wider outsourcing and rising pipeline complexity. The global CDMO market is projected to grow at a 15.4% compound annual rate through 2029, with the growth axis broadening from plain antibodies into ADCs, mRNA and peptides.

Notably, PolyPeptide Group projects the global peptide drug market to expand from 94 billion US dollars in 2025 at a 13.4% annual rate to 200 billion US dollars by 2031, driven by the spread of GLP-1 obesity drugs. The policy backdrop cuts both ways.

The United States signed a proclamation under Section 232 imposing tariffs of up to 100% on imported patented drugs, with Korea subject to a 15% rate under a trade agreement, while generics and biosimilars face high tariffs from 2028 after a grace period.

That said, the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization's bio-economy research center analyzed that drugs commissioned by US firms, made in Korea and shipped to the United States may still qualify for zero tariffs.

On competition, the entry into force of the US Biosecure Act restricting dealings with Chinese biotech firms has raised expectations that Korean CDMOs can absorb volumes as global pharma reshapes supply chains, and analysts point to WuXi AppTec's inclusion on the 1260H list as creating an environment favorable to non-Chinese CDMOs.

Domestically, draft enforcement decrees for the CDMO special act have been pre-announced and will take effect alongside the act on December 31. Rivals are moving too: Celltrion acquired a Branchburg, New Jersey plant from Eli Lilly's ImClone unit, and the race for onshore US capacity continues.

Outlook

The company's stated baseline is reaching the upper end of its 2026 revenue growth guidance of 15-20%.

The near-term swing factor is the pace of revenue recognition at Plant 5 and Rockville; reports say Plant 5 has finished trial runs and is producing validation batches, with revenue set to be booked in earnest from the third quarter.

Among broker estimates, IBK Investment & Securities in a July 2026 report estimated 2026 consolidated revenue of 5.4729 trillion won and operating profit of 2.4548 trillion won, while Heungkuk Securities as of July 2026 forecast revenue of 5.4 trillion won in 2026 and 6.2 trillion won in 2027, with operating profit of 2.45 trillion won and 2.81 trillion won.

Medium-term plans center on capacity. Plants 6-8 of 180,000 liters each are to be built sequentially after Plant 5 at Songdo Bio Campus 2, taking total antibody capacity to 1.385 million liters, and Plant 6 is under review at 180,000 liters with total investment of 1.9 trillion won and a 2029 completion target.

However, the Plant 6 investment decision has been slower than expected as final board approval review drags on, prompting speculation that caution over global CDMO demand is at play.

On portfolio, the plan is to close the PolyPeptide Group acquisition this year, extending from antibodies, mRNA and ADCs into peptides while adding production sites in Europe, the United States and India.

On order recovery, Mirae Asset Securities analyst Kim Seung-min assessed the weak first-half order intake as a temporary effect of delayed client decisions, with a high chance of recovery in the second half.

Valuation

PER

33.8×

PBR

8.0×

ROE

19.9%

EPS

₩42,866

BPS

₩180,638

Dividend per share

₩0

The multiples on this stock have historically sat above the KOSPI average, and the premium to net assets is also substantial. That said, the trailing four quarters of earnings mix in accounting presentation changes from the spin-off, so the multiples need careful reading.

In particular, the fourth quarter of 2025 showed the unusual pattern of operating profit exceeding revenue, and total equity shrank sharply after the split, structurally raising net-asset-based multiples.

There is no disclosed cash dividend per share, so capital allocation is tilted toward growth spending such as capacity expansion and acquisitions rather than payouts.

On top of that, the rights offering issues 2.27 million new shares, a 4.904% increase in share count, which changes the base for per-share metrics, and new shares are scheduled to list on November 30 after the registration statement takes effect and subscriptions are completed.

In short, the multiples embed a good deal of growth expectation, and the metrics that will test that expectation are utilization recovery and a restart of new order flow.

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

Pure-Play CDMO Status and the Largest Capacity in the World

The spin-off separated the investment division, leaving the surviving entity with only the CDMO business. Separating biosimilars was seen as fully removing conflicts of interest with clients.

On capacity, global capacity of 845,000 liters ranks first in the biologics CDMO industry, and the largest capacity worldwide, a long approval track record and 17 of the top 20 global pharma firms as clients are cited as the basis of its order competitiveness.

Operating Margins in the 40s and New Sites Starting to Contribute

Operating margins held at 46.2% in the first quarter of 2026 and 44.4% in the second. The fact that margins stayed in the 40s even with costs for Plant 5 and Rockville booked ahead of full revenue recognition points to headroom in the cost structure.

Plant 5 revenue is set to be recognized in earnest from the third quarter, leaving room for improvement in utilization and margin metrics. The balance sheet also improved, with the debt-to-equity ratio at 48.4% in 2025 versus 84.6% in 2022.

Expansion Across Modalities and Geographies

In July 2026 the company decided to acquire PolyPeptide Group for 1.46 billion Swiss francs (about 2.7 trillion won), entering peptide CDMO.

The deal is meant to secure production sites in Europe, the United States and India to complete a global manufacturing network, while a European sales office in the Netherlands opening in the third quarter widens its commercial footprint.

On policy, the CDMO special act's new export-manufacturing registration system is expected to cut approval timelines from 12-18 months to about 6-9 months, another change in the operating environment.

Bear factors

Falling Utilization and Idle Capacity

Average utilization fell from 75.2% in 2024 to 70.9% in 2025 and 69.9% in the first half of 2026, down 2.6 percentage points from 72.5% a year earlier. Of 541 batches of first-half capacity, actual output was 378 batches, leaving 163 batches idle.

The company attributed this to business structure changes such as the Plant 5 ramp-up and the addition of Rockville, but critics note that with idle capacity still on hand, whether the pre-emptive expansion strategy including a possible Plant 6 start is backed by real demand is the key question.

Slowdown in New Orders

Disclosed cumulative first-half orders were 570 billion won, about 17% of the 3.4 trillion won a year earlier, and four of the five disclosures were increases to existing contracts while the fifth was a confirmed minimum purchase volume from a prior-year deal.

One cited cause is that rising uncertainty over US trade policy has forced global pharma firms to recalculate the cost of US versus overseas production. The company said contracts can cluster in particular quarters depending on client negotiations and final decision timing.

The market is also allowing for the possibility that full utilization of Plant 5 slips beyond the previous 2028 assumption, with the Plant 6 investment decision potentially linked to further Plant 5 orders.

The 3 Trillion Won Rights Offering and Integration Burden

Market reaction to the 3.0009 trillion won rights offering with public subscription of forfeited shares was cold, and the share price fell 6.78% from the prior session on the announcement day.

With a current ratio of 179.7% and a debt-to-equity ratio of 51.3% at the end of the first half, shareholders pushed back on the choice of equity over corporate bonds.

Process risk also remains: trillion-won-scale offerings undergo intensive review by the Financial Supervisory Service, and Samsung SDI, Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Solutions previously saw timelines slip and deal sizes shrink after repeated demands for amended filings.

The acquisition itself carries risk too, as the registration statement lists M&A delay or failure risk and inherent post-merger integration risk.

Risk factors

Policy and Trade Risk

The United States signed a proclamation imposing tariffs of up to 100% on imported patented drugs and ingredients, with Korea subject to a 15% rate. Given the CDMO model, tariffs are borne by clients importing finished goods, but analysts note that once tariffs apply, relative price competitiveness can erode.

The company itself listed US drug tariff risk and the risk of global pharma raising in-house production in its registration statement. The scope of any zero-tariff exemption and the pace at which clients shift to onshore production are the swing factors.

Financing and Execution Risk

The offering timeline runs from the registration statement taking effect on September 30, a record date of October 6, existing-shareholder subscription on November 9-10 and public subscription on November 12-13, with new shares listing on November 30.

Clearing the Financial Supervisory Service's intensive review is seen as the key hurdle, and any slippage would shift the timing of fund deployment. The largest shareholder and related parties hold 74.3%, and the joint lead managers will absorb all final forfeited shares, which cushions completion risk.

Labor and Operational Risk

A five-day partial union strike from May 1 disrupted some production, and the roughly 150 billion won of related revenue was understood to shift into the third quarter of 2026.

Analysts noted that about 150 billion won of second-quarter production was disrupted with part of the volume to be produced within the year, but labor negotiation outcomes could bring cost changes such as retroactive wage adjustments.

It is also confirmed that the company pre-emptively filed an injunction to bar industrial action on essential lines. Delays in certification and validation schedules for large new facilities are another factor that can move revenue recognition timing.

What to watch next

Late September 2026
The registration statement for the rights offering is scheduled to take effect on September 30. Watch whether the Financial Supervisory Service review brings amendment demands, timeline slippage or a change in deal size.
Late October 2026
Third-quarter results will show whether Plant 5 revenue, set to be recognized in earnest from the third quarter, the Rockville contribution and the deferred second-quarter volumes actually land. The direction of utilization, which fell to 69.9% in the first half, is the companion metric.
October-November 2026
The schedule includes an October 6 record date, existing-shareholder subscription on November 9-10, public subscription on November 12-13 and new share listing on November 30. Subscription rates, the size of forfeited shares and the final issue price will determine share count and proceeds.
Within 2026
The company has targeted closing the PolyPeptide Group acquisition within the year. Items to watch include the completion of regulatory clearances, whether the Plant 6 expansion decision the company said it would make later is disclosed, and any large new order announcements in the second half.
December 31, 2026
The CDMO special act takes effect on December 31, together with its enforcement decree and rules. It is worth checking how much the GMP conformity certification procedures and validity periods, plus new national certification for cell lines, vectors and active ingredients actually shorten approval timelines.

Overall view

Samsung Biologics is passing through its first year reorganized as a pure-play CDMO after completing the equity spin-off.

On confirmed numbers, 2025 revenue was 4.557 trillion won with operating profit of 2.069 trillion won and a 45.4% operating margin, a clear step up in both scale and margin, and the first half of 2026 kept margins in the 40s with operating profit of 580.8 billion won in the first quarter and 586.4 billion won in the second.

That said, the presence of a period with changed accounting presentation, especially the fourth quarter of 2025, means simple quarter-to-quarter comparisons are unreliable.

The bullish case rests on the largest capacity in the world, the removal of client conflicts of interest after the split, the start of revenue contribution from Plant 5 and Rockville, and portfolio expansion into peptides.

The bearish case rests on utilization that has dropped below 70%, first-half new orders far below the prior year, and the execution and integration burden of a 3 trillion won rights offering plus a large acquisition.

The next few quarters therefore hinge on whether orders return to fill the added capacity and whether the offering and acquisition processes close on schedule. This report is for information purposes and contains no buy or sell opinion and no 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.