KOSDAQSemiconductors319660

Psk

₩152,000▼ 6.11%2026-10-02 close

Market Cap

₩4.4T

Turnover

₩71.7B

Volume

470,000 shares

Shares out.

29M

PER

29.3×

PBR

6.0×

EPS

₩4,313

Dividend Yield

0.54%

PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩680 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close

Report overview

A front-end equipment upcycle and the durability of 30% margins

The global leader in dry strip equipment has pushed quarterly operating margins to around 30% amid a broad customer capex expansion, and the question now is whether that profitability carries into the 2027 investment cycle.

1
Second-quarter 2026 revenue reached KRW 167.5bn with operating profit of KRW 50.3bn, a 30.0% operating margin; first-half operating profit of KRW 97.4bn already exceeds the KRW 88.5bn recorded for full-year 2025.
2
Its core dry strip tools hold roughly a 40% global market share, competing with Lam Research, Mattson Technology and Hitachi.
3
New tool lines such as bevel etch and new hard mask strip are being added to the mix; the bevel etch market has been effectively dominated by Lam Research and Applied Materials and is estimated at KRW 300bn to 500bn annually.
4
Downstream investment intensity is high: SK hynix plans to expand 2026 semiconductor capex to the high KRW 40 trillion range, up roughly 60% year on year, while semiconductor equipment market revenue is expected to grow about 11% in 2026.
5
Quarterly margin volatility is real, however: fourth-quarter 2025 revenue of KRW 142.7bn was then a quarterly high, yet the operating margin came in at just 15.3%.

Business structure

PSK was established through a spin-off from PSK Holdings in 2019 and listed on KOSDAQ, and it operates five overseas subsidiaries and nine overseas branches.

Its core business is the manufacture, sale and technical servicing of front-end semiconductor equipment and parts, with dry strip and selective material removal tools as its main products.

Dry strip uses plasma to remove photoresist residue left on the wafer after lithography, and the company maintains roughly a 40% global share in this niche. The product portfolio is moving beyond a single strip axis.

It has developed dry cleaning tools for dry-type cleaning and new hard mask strip tools for higher-layer NAND, converted its bevel etcher into volume production to improve yields at the wafer edge, and is expanding into etch with products such as etch back that etch without lithography.

The revenue mix combines tool sales with recurring aftermarket sales: as of the first quarter of 2026, product revenue (process equipment) was KRW 85.7bn, or 54.8%, while parts and service fees and other items were KRW 70.8bn, or 45.2%, and the export ratio in the same quarter was 66.8%.

The customer base spans Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Micron and Intel in North America, and major foundry and memory makers in Taiwan and China, blending domestic memory with overseas logic and Greater China.

Competition is head-to-head with global toolmakers including Lam Research of the United States, Mattson Technology of China and Hitachi of Japan, and in new etch categories it must displace incumbent near-monopolists.

Affiliate PSK Holdings is a separately listed company covering back-end and packaging equipment, so the business scopes are distinct.

Earnings trend

Quarterly revenue · Operating profit

₩108.5B₩20.6B25Q2₩104.1B₩23.4B25Q3₩142.7B₩21.9B25Q4₩156.6B₩47.2B26Q1₩167.5B₩50.3B26Q2

RevenueOperating profit

Annual revenue · Operating profit

₩460.9B₩91.8B2022₩351.9B₩54.1B2023₩398.1B₩83.9B2024₩457.2B₩88.5B2025

RevenueOperating profit

Quarterly results · Last 5 quarters
Quarter	Revenue	Operating profit	Op. margin
2025Q2	₩108.5B	₩20.6B	19.0%
2025Q3	₩104.1B	₩23.4B	22.5%
2025Q4	₩142.7B	₩21.9B	15.3%
2026Q1	₩156.6B	₩47.2B	30.1%
2026Q2	₩167.5B	₩50.3B	30.0%

Annual results
Year	Revenue	Operating profit	Net income (parent)	Op. margin	ROE	Debt-to-equity
2022	₩460.9B	₩91.8B	₩77.4B	19.9%	21.9%	33.8%
2023	₩351.9B	₩54.1B	₩52.5B	15.4%	13.4%	25.9%
2024	₩398.1B	₩83.9B	₩79.1B	21.1%	16.8%	20.7%
2025	₩457.2B	₩88.5B	₩78.5B	19.4%	14.6%	19.8%

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

Annual results track the cycle directly. Revenue fell 23.7% from KRW 460.9bn in 2022 to KRW 351.9bn in 2023, then recovered for two straight years to KRW 398.1bn in 2024 and KRW 457.2bn in 2025.

Operating profit dropped from KRW 91.8bn in 2022 to KRW 54.1bn in 2023 before rebounding to KRW 83.9bn in 2024 and KRW 88.5bn in 2025, with operating margins tracing 19.9% in 2022, 15.4% in 2023, 21.1% in 2024 and 19.4% in 2025.

In 2025 revenue grew 14.9% but operating profit rose only 5.4%, and net profit attributable to owners slipped from KRW 79.1bn to KRW 78.5bn, showing that top-line expansion did not automatically translate into better margins. The quarterly path is far more clearly stair-stepped.

From second-quarter 2025 revenue of KRW 108.5bn and operating profit of KRW 20.6bn (19.0% margin), through KRW 104.1bn and KRW 23.4bn (22.5%) in the third quarter and KRW 142.7bn and KRW 21.9bn (15.3%) in the fourth, results scaled to KRW 156.6bn and KRW 47.2bn (30.1%) in first-quarter 2026 and KRW 167.5bn and KRW 50.3bn (30.0%) in the second.

Second-quarter 2026 operating profit was more than double the KRW 20.6bn of a year earlier, and first-half operating profit of KRW 97.4bn alone surpassed the KRW 88.5bn logged for all of 2025.

That said, the fourth quarter of 2025 delivered a then-record quarterly revenue yet only a 15.3% margin, whereas the first half of 2026 held near 30% for two consecutive quarters, indicating that product and regional mix plus fixed-cost leverage swing sharply from quarter to quarter.

Hana Securities, in a June 5, 2026 report, projected second-quarter revenue of KRW 162.2bn and operating profit of KRW 50.2bn; reported revenue came in above that figure while operating profit finished at a broadly similar level.

The balance sheet is lightly levered, with equity of KRW 539.0bn, liabilities of KRW 107.0bn and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.8% at end-2025, although 2025 operating cash flow of KRW 61.7bn trailed operating profit of KRW 88.5bn, pointing to working capital absorption during the growth phase.

Industry analysis

The downstream equipment market is in an expansion phase. In 2025, semiconductor manufacturing equipment supplier revenue rose 12% year on year to USD 143bn, and growth of roughly 11% is expected in 2026. Artificial intelligence is the demand axis.

Demand for advanced logic, high bandwidth memory and advanced packaging equipment increased sharply, and with HBM4 and HBM4E expected to account for 79% of total HBM shipments in 2027, a larger extreme ultraviolet share should lift demand for deposition, etch and process control tools as well.

Domestic investment plans are concrete. SK hynix has set out to expand 2026 capex to the high KRW 40 trillion range, up about 60% year on year, and is pulling forward tool move-in at idle space in the Cheongju M15X fab to secure DRAM capacity of 75,000 to 80,000 wafers per month.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix also plan to execute capex on NAND lines in China through next year, with SK hynix reported to be pursuing about 30,000 wafers per month at its second Dalian fab as move-in of core tools such as etch begins.

PSK's position within this flow is a narrow but deep hold on specific process steps: strip is used across both memory and logic, whereas newly entered categories such as bevel etch have been effectively monopolized by Lam Research and Applied Materials. Cycle risk nonetheless remains.

Industry-wide risks cited include infrastructure bottlenecks, geopolitical shifts and export controls, the technical complexity of the 2nm transition, and uncertainty over the timing of advanced-node volume production.

Outlook

The company does not publish standalone annual guidance, so the verifiable axes are customer investment schedules and new-product qualification progress.

Hana Securities said in a June 2026 report that new investment by domestic memory makers, 1c (sixth-generation 10nm class) conversion investment and Micron's investment were all proceeding smoothly.

The same report projected active equipment investment in 2027 and 2028, citing new fab start-ups at the three global memory makers, aggressive expansion by ChangXin Memory Technologies, and new foundry fab investment by Samsung Electronics and Intel.

On timing, SK hynix plans to open the cleanroom at its first Yongin cluster fab in the first quarter of 2027 and to build a 1c DRAM line from the second quarter, which serves as a practical checkpoint for order flow.

On products, volume deployment of the bevel etcher and of new carbon strip tools for hard mask removal is reported to be ramping, with a patent dispute against a global toolmaker that had been an obstacle described as resolved.

How much of this diversification away from a single strip product converts into revenue can be tracked through the product-segment breakdown in quarterly filings. Equipment revenue carries a lag between order and recognition, however, so whether the 30% margin regime holds may vary quarter to quarter with mix.

NAND deserves separate treatment: the possibility has been raised that NAND supply and demand, unlike DRAM, could turn to oversupply in 2027, meaning NAND-related equipment demand needs closer monitoring than DRAM and HBM tool demand.

Valuation

PER

29.3×

PBR

6.0×

ROE

22.5%

EPS

₩4,313

BPS

₩21,227

Dividend per share

₩680

The key to reading the valuation is how long the roughly 30% operating margin seen in the first half of 2026 persists.

Profit summed over the most recent four quarters now stands well above the confirmed full-year 2025 figure, so at any given share price the earnings-based multiple screens lower than it would using the annual audited number as the denominator.

The multiple against net assets, by contrast, sits at a far larger premium than the 1.8x mid-cycle price-to-book applied in brokerage target-price calculations in early 2024, during the downcycle.

A dividend is paid each year, but the yield tends to run below the market average, with most earnings recycled into new product development and capacity.

Reporting brokerage views strictly as facts: KB Securities said in a July 7, 2026 report that it initiated coverage with a buy rating and a target price of KRW 280,000, and Hana Securities said in a June 5, 2026 report that it raised its target price from KRW 128,000 to KRW 160,000 while maintaining a buy rating - these are those firms' views, not KOSAI's judgment.

Multiples in the equipment sector have historically been re-rated quickly alongside earnings estimates whenever customer order flow rolls over, so they are best read together with the position in the cycle.

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

Evidence of a step-change in profitability

Operating margins of 30.1% in the first quarter of 2026 and 30.0% in the second sit far above the 15% to 21% annual range of 2022 to 2025. The change in scale is also visible, as first-half operating profit of KRW 97.4bn already exceeded the KRW 88.5bn recorded for full-year 2025.

Kyobo Securities assessed that the company achieved simultaneous top-line growth and margin improvement by sharply increasing sales to overseas customers in the United States and China, with operating leverage from a rising share of high-margin overseas revenue taking hold. The crux of this argument is that the mix improvement repeated for two consecutive quarters.

A diversified customer and regional demand base

Key customers span Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Micron and Intel in North America, and foundry and memory makers in Taiwan and China, leaving room for one region to offset a delay at any single account.

With an export ratio of 66.8% in the first quarter of 2026, linkage to the domestic investment cycle is weaker than in the past.

Hana Securities said in a June 2026 report that investment by Greater China players appeared to be executing above expectations while revenue from the United States customer continued steadily. The fact that strip demand spans both memory and logic also provides a buffer.

Widening entry into new tool categories

The company has converted its bevel etcher to volume production and is expanding into etch processes including etch back. Bevel etch is described as a market of KRW 300bn to 500bn a year that Lam Research and Applied Materials have effectively monopolized, so taking share is itself a revenue driver.

It has also been reported that volume deployment of the bevel etcher and new carbon strip tools is ramping now that patent litigation risk has been cleared. The actual size of this revenue contribution still needs to be verified against the product breakdown in quarterly filings.

Bear factors

The real swing in quarterly margins

In the fourth quarter of 2025, revenue of KRW 142.7bn was then a quarterly record, yet operating profit was KRW 21.9bn for a 15.3% margin. The third quarter of that year had smaller revenue of KRW 104.1bn but a 22.5% margin.

In other words, revenue scale and margin do not move in the same direction, and outcomes can shift materially with product and regional mix and year-end cost items. Whether the 30% margin of the first half of 2026 holds on an annual basis has not yet been verified by audited full-year results.

Dependence on the capex cycle and customer concentration

The 2023 episode, when revenue fell 23.7% year on year and operating profit dropped from KRW 91.8bn to KRW 54.1bn, illustrates cycle sensitivity. Customers are concentrated among a small number of large chipmakers, so a one- or two-quarter slip in order timing can change the earnings trajectory.

Industry-wide risks cited include infrastructure bottlenecks, geopolitical shifts and export controls, and uncertainty over the timing of advanced-node volume production. The absence of a detailed disclosed order backlog also limits visibility.

Greater China revenue and NAND supply-demand variables

Hana Securities said investment by Greater China players appeared to be executing above expectations, which conversely means the region's revenue share has grown. Export controls or wider adoption of locally made tools by Chinese chipmakers are variables here.

It has also been argued that NAND supply and demand, unlike DRAM, could turn to oversupply in 2027, so NAND-related equipment demand requires closer scrutiny. Even though strip tools apply to both memory and logic, a slowdown in NAND investment could weigh on unit volumes.

Risk factors

Policy and export controls

With revenue to Greater China customers expanding, changes in export rules for equipment are a direct revenue variable. Geopolitical shifts and export controls are explicitly cited as risk factors for the equipment market.

Regulation is hard to anticipate and can translate immediately into cancelled or postponed orders once effective. Tracking the regional revenue breakdown in quarterly filings is the practical way to monitor this.

Competition and technology

The company competes head-to-head with global toolmakers including Lam Research, Mattson Technology and Hitachi, and in newly entered categories the response of incumbent monopolists is a variable.

There was a patent dispute with a global rival during its bevel etch entry, and it has been reported that with the litigation now resolved, the entry barrier for its new tools is seen as lower.

Falling behind on technology roadmap transitions such as hybrid bonding, further scaling and new film materials could unsettle market share. How quickly it reduces reliance on the single strip axis is a medium- to long-term variable.

Earnings volatility and working capital

Operating cash flow of KRW 61.7bn in 2025 trailed the same year's operating profit of KRW 88.5bn, showing how inventory and receivables absorb cash during a growth phase.

One analysis noted a temporary increase in raw material and work-in-process inventory tied to preparing new tools for volume production and diversifying the customer base. The debt-to-equity ratio was a low 19.8% at end-2025, but should orders fall sharply, inventory and receivables can weigh on earnings with a lag. Interpretation should account for the inherently wide amplitude of quarterly results in this sector.

What to watch next

Late October to mid-November 2026
Third-quarter 2026 results and the quarterly filing. Whether the roughly 30% operating margin of the first two quarters holds, and how the split between product revenue and parts and service revenue shifts, is the first test of margin durability.
September to December 2026
Progress on SK hynix's roughly 30,000 wafers per month NAND investment at its second Dalian fab and the start of move-in for core tools such as etch. The pace of conversion investment inside China ties directly to the overseas revenue share.
Late January to February 2027
Fourth-quarter 2026 results and 2027 capex plans from the three memory makers, plus the company's own full-year 2026 results and dividend decision disclosure. Downstream capex direction and the full-year margin both become visible at this point.
First to second quarter of 2027
Whether the cleanroom opening at SK hynix's first Yongin cluster fab in the first quarter and the 1c DRAM line build-out from the second quarter translate into actual tool orders. New fabs contribute more tool units than conversion investment.
Fourth quarter 2026 through first half 2027
Expansion of new tools such as bevel etch and new hard mask strip into additional customers, and whether ChangXin Memory Technologies executes its planned capacity expansion. How far new-tool revenue reduces reliance on the single strip axis will shape the quality of the earnings structure.

Overall view

Building on its narrow but deep position with roughly a 40% global share in dry strip, PSK lifted profitability to a 30.1% operating margin in the first quarter of 2026 and 30.0% in the second.

The change in earnings scale is confirmed by audited figures, with first-half operating profit of KRW 97.4bn already exceeding the KRW 88.5bn for all of 2025.

The bullish case rests on SK hynix's plan to expand 2026 capex into the high KRW 40 trillion range, expected equipment market growth of about 11% in 2026, and entry into new tool categories such as bevel etch and new hard mask strip.

The bearish case rests on wide mix-driven margin amplitude, illustrated by the fourth quarter of 2025 delivering record revenue of KRW 142.7bn yet only a 15.3% margin, together with the cycle sensitivity shown by the 23.7% revenue decline in 2023 and continued concentration among a few large customers.

On valuation, profit over the most recent four quarters sits well above the audited annual figure, so the earnings-based multiple and the net-asset-based multiple tell different stories, and interpretation depends on which is used as the reference.

The next checkpoints are therefore whether the 30% margin repeats in third-quarter results, actual order execution tied to new 2027 fabs, and shifts in the China revenue share and the regulatory environment.

This report is for informational purposes only; it does not present an investment rating or target price and contains no buy or sell recommendation.

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.