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
YC Corp is an HBM wafer tester supplier heavily concentrated on Samsung Electronics, and while second-quarter 2026 revenue and operating profit jumped sharply, quarterly earnings volatility remains pronounced.
Q2 2026 revenue reached KRW 104.99 billion and operating profit KRW 15.05 billion, a sharp rebound from the prior quarter
Samsung Electronics is both the second-largest shareholder (11.7% stake) and the dominant customer, making customer concentration a structural feature
A competition for the second burn-in tester vendor slot at SK hynix is ongoing, making customer diversification a key point to watch
Owners' net income in Q4 2025 far exceeded operating profit, suggesting a meaningful non-operating contribution
A sizable non-controlling interest tied to a consolidated subsidiary creates a notable gap between consolidated net income and owners' net income
YC Corp, founded in 1991 and renamed to its current name in 2024, is a semiconductor test equipment maker focused on DRAM and NAND memory wafer testers. After acquiring a Japanese memory tester business in 2012, it became the only domestic maker of high-speed memory wafer testers.
Its core lineup includes the MT6133 and MT6122 models alongside the HBM wafer tester MT8311, which began shipping in 2024, with next-generation tester development also underway.
According to a Korea IR Council report, roughly 95% of total revenue is generated from sales to Samsung Electronics, which is also the company's second-largest shareholder, holding an 11.7% stake after investing KRW 47.3 billion in 2020.
This structure means the timing and scale of customer orders have a direct and immediate impact on results. A consolidated subsidiary, Sam C&S, supplies multilayer ceramic substrates used in probe cards, giving both the parent and subsidiary exposure to growth in the test equipment ecosystem.
In the high-speed test segment, Japan's Advantest is widely regarded as the long-standing global leader, while YC is positioned as a domestic player with its own proprietary technology addressing that niche.
The company has not yet signed a formal equipment supply contract with SK hynix, leaving customer diversification as an open variable for its future trajectory.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩80.4B | ₩4.4B | 5.4% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩66.6B | ₩4.9B | 7.3% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩86.7B | ₩9.2B | 10.7% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩33.3B | ₩4B | 12.0% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩105B | ₩15.1B | 14.3% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩285.3B | ₩36.4B | ₩26.1B | 12.8% | 8.9% | 46.4% |
| 2023 | ₩255.2B | ₩8.6B | ₩13.5B | 3.4% | 4.4% | 31.3% |
| 2024 | ₩211.2B | ₩10.6B | ₩11B | 5.0% | 3.4% | 37.9% |
| 2025 | ₩272.6B | ₩17B | ₩19.3B | 6.2% | 5.2% | 27.5% |
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
Annual results show pronounced swings.
After peaking in 2022 with revenue of KRW 285.27 billion and operating profit of KRW 36.41 billion (a 12.8% operating margin), the company saw both revenue and margins decline through 2023 (revenue KRW 255.18 billion, operating profit KRW 8.57 billion, margin 3.4%) and 2024 (revenue KRW 211.24 billion, operating profit KRW 10.60 billion, margin 5.0%).
In 2025, results turned upward again, with revenue of KRW 272.63 billion, operating profit of KRW 16.99 billion (6.2% margin), and owners' net income of KRW 19.29 billion.
On a quarterly basis, revenue fell from KRW 80.40 billion with operating profit of KRW 4.36 billion in Q2 2025 to KRW 66.57 billion in Q3, even as operating profit ticked up slightly to KRW 4.89 billion, before jumping to revenue of KRW 86.70 billion and operating profit of KRW 9.24 billion in Q4, lifting the operating margin to 10.7%.
Notably, owners' net income in Q4 2025 reached KRW 16.81 billion, far exceeding operating profit of KRW 9.24 billion for the same period, which points to a substantial non-operating contribution.
Revenue then dropped sharply to KRW 33.31 billion in Q1 2026 with operating profit of just KRW 3.99 billion, before rebounding strongly in Q2 2026 to revenue of KRW 104.99 billion and operating profit of KRW 15.05 billion, an operating margin of 14.3% that marks the highest of the recent quarterly run.
The sum of owners' net income over the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026) reached about KRW 31.18 billion, already surpassing the full-year 2025 figure of KRW 19.29 billion.
A recurring feature is the sizable gap between consolidated net income and owners' net income: in 2025, of the KRW 28.98 billion consolidated net income, only KRW 19.29 billion belonged to controlling shareholders, reflecting a significant portion attributable to non-controlling (subsidiary minority) interests.
The back-end semiconductor test equipment market is seen as being in a structural growth phase, driven by rising demand for AI-server HBM and the ongoing shift to DDR5.
As memory makers intensify competition to ramp fifth- and sixth-generation HBM production, the importance of wafer-level KGSD (Known Good Stacked Die) testing and high-speed test processes has grown.
At the same time, inventory adjustments in commodity memory and heavy investment in leading-edge process conversion have kept capacity expansion limited, constraining the pace of equipment orders.
In the competitive landscape, Japan's Advantest remains the long-standing technology leader in high-speed test equipment, while YC is cited domestically as the only maker with comparable high-speed memory wafer tester capability.
Both key customers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, are projected to post sharply higher revenue and operating profit in 2026 versus the prior year, suggesting a broadly favorable memory industry backdrop.
In this environment, equipment makers' results tend to hinge heavily on the timing of specific customers' line expansions and order volumes, meaning individual contract disclosures can have an immediate effect on both share price and reported earnings.
Throughout 2025, the company disclosed a series of semiconductor test equipment supply contracts with Samsung Electronics: KRW 51.1 billion in March (20.04% of 2023 revenue), KRW 20.09 billion in May (9.51% of 2024 revenue), KRW 29.5 billion in June (13.94% of 2024 revenue), and KRW 101.7 billion in July (39.85% of prior-year revenue), with the July contract reportedly covering supply of the MT8311 HBM wafer tester to Samsung's Pyeongtaek (P4) line.
Hanwha Investment & Securities noted in a May 2026 report that while part of the contract term was extended to June 30, 2026, causing a short-term earnings dip, it expected results to recover starting in the second quarter — a pattern broadly consistent with the sharp improvement in Q2 2026 revenue and operating profit versus Q1.
YC has reportedly been competing for the second burn-in tester vendor slot for HBM production at SK hynix's Cheongju M15X line, though as of September 2026 no formal supply contract has been confirmed through official disclosure.
The company is also said to be developing an HBM4 burn-in tester in preparation for supply to both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and whether it secures vendor status for this product is cited as a variable that could reshape its future revenue mix.
Because follow-on order volumes depend on decisions made by Samsung's internal equipment review committee, continued disclosure of contract renewals and additional supply agreements remains an indicator worth monitoring.
With results having turned from loss to profit and recent quarterly earnings expanding rapidly, the market appears to be pricing in much of this recovery already. The stock trades at a notable premium to net asset value, a valuation profile distinct from the lower levels seen during the company's weaker earnings years.
As no dividend is currently paid, the pace of earnings improvement and the flow of new contracts—rather than dividend appeal—are the key variables shaping how the shares are valued.
However, the wide swings in quarterly revenue and profit (for example, the sharp drop in Q1 2026 followed by a sharp rebound in Q2) mean earnings visibility remains limited, a factor worth weighing alongside any valuation read.
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
The MT8311 HBM wafer tester has begun contributing meaningfully to revenue through supply to Samsung's P4 line, and the company is expanding its lineup with HBM4 burn-in tester development. Success in the SK hynix second-vendor competition could diversify the customer base beyond its current reliance on Samsung.
The rise in Q2 2026 operating margin to 14.3% can be read as an early effect of this new-product revenue expansion.
The overlap of AI-server HBM demand and the DDR5 transition is expanding memory makers' capital spending capacity. Both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are projected to post substantially improved 2026 results versus the prior year, an environment in which capacity for test equipment orders could also grow. If this trend continues, further contract disclosures may follow.
Owners' net income over the trailing four quarters has already exceeded the full-year 2025 total, with Q2 2026 alone reaching KRW 10.53 billion. Compared with the declining earnings trend of 2022–2024, the pace of recovery stands out.
Whether this recovery reflects one-off factors or structural improvement, however, needs confirmation from subsequent quarterly results.
With the vast majority of revenue concentrated on a single customer, shifts in that customer's order timing can swing quarterly results significantly. The drop to KRW 33.31 billion in Q1 2026 revenue followed by a rebound to KRW 104.99 billion in Q2 illustrates this well. Under such a structure, stable earnings forecasting remains difficult.
The competition to become the second burn-in tester vendor for SK hynix has not yet been formally confirmed. Volume allocation could vary significantly depending on qualification test outcomes with competitors, and the possibility that entry ultimately does not materialize cannot be ruled out. In that scenario, expectations for customer diversification could be delayed.
The gap between Q4 2025 owners' net income and operating profit appears attributable to non-operating factors that may not recur every quarter.
The persistently large gap between consolidated net income and owners' net income also reflects a substantial non-controlling interest, meaning results assessed solely on an owners'-net-income basis could be misleading.
With the vast majority of revenue generated from a single customer, changes in that customer's investment plans or equipment delivery schedules could directly hit results. The fact that Samsung Electronics is also a major shareholder adds a layer of complex interrelated interests to consider.
Japan's Advantest holds long-standing technological leadership in high-speed test equipment, and failing to maintain competitiveness as standards move to HBM4, HBM5, and beyond could risk losing vendor status. In the SK hynix second-vendor competition, a rival's technical advantages could also come to the fore.
The company has taken on operating-fund borrowing to fulfill large contracts, and as contract sizes grow, working-capital burdens such as inventory and unbilled receivables could increase.
The debt ratio fell from 46.4% in 2022 to 27.5% in 2025, but the possibility of it rising again amid future large-scale capacity expansion or new line investment cannot be ruled out.
Check whether Q3 2026 revenue and operating margin continue the improving trend seen in Q2, and whether Q2's elevated owners' net income proves repeatable.
Watch DART disclosures for the outcome of the SK hynix M15X line second burn-in tester vendor selection and confirmation of a formal supply contract.
Monitor whether follow-on purchase order disclosures continue after the Samsung Electronics contract that expired on June 30, 2026, and how the scale and terms of any renewal compare.
Confirm whether actual mass-production supply of the HBM4 burn-in tester begins and whether the number of confirmed vendor customers increases.
YC Corp, operating within a structure heavily concentrated on Samsung Electronics, has shown an earnings recovery since 2025 helped by expanding supply of the MT8311 HBM wafer tester.
After peaking in 2022, annual results softened through 2023–2024 before both revenue and operating profit turned upward again in 2025, with Q2 2026 operating margin reaching 14.3%, the highest of the recent run.
That said, quarterly results remain volatile, as shown by the sharp Q1 2026 revenue decline followed by a sharp Q2 rebound, and non-operating factors appear to have heavily influenced owners' net income in periods such as Q4 2025, warranting close attention to earnings quality alongside the headline numbers.
The competition to become SK hynix's second burn-in tester vendor remains formally unresolved, and its outcome could shape the direction of customer diversification.
Valuation currently sits at a premium to net asset value, leaving the durability of the earnings recovery and the pace of new contract flow as the key variables likely to shape how the market assesses the stock going forward.
Ahead of any investment decision, it would be useful to track the upcoming Q3 results and any disclosure on the SK hynix vendor selection.
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.