PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩300 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
IB Kim Young has layered beauty-education acquisitions onto its stable university transfer-admission prep business, lifting both revenue and operating margin, and posted its first-ever consolidated profit in a seasonally weak first quarter of 2026.
Business structure shifting from a pure transfer-prep player to a diversified education group including beauty and vocational training
Revenue rose for four straight years from KRW 86.5bn (2022) to KRW 119.5bn (2025), while operating margin improved from 3.6% to 16.0%
In Q1 2026, a seasonally slow quarter, the company posted its first-ever consolidated operating and net profit
Controlling shareholder is Megastudy Edu with a 55.31% stake as of end-March 2026, providing group-level synergy
Disclosed a value-up plan targeting a shareholder return ratio above 25% and average total shareholder return above 10% annually from 2026
Founded in 2005, IB Kim Young is a specialized university transfer-admission prep education company built around its flagship brand, which holds a leading position in the domestic transfer-prep market.
The business is organized around three pillars: transfer-admission prep, vocational/employment education (computer skills, certifications, IT), and beauty education, with sub-brands covering online lectures, engineering certification, medical/dental school admission prep, and art-school transfer prep.
In 2025 the company acquired 100% of beauty-education subsidiary Beauty Lesha, operator of the MBC Beauty Academy brand, and completed an absorption merger in August 2025 to improve operating efficiency and capture synergies with its beauty education business.
Beauty Lesha had previously been a wholly owned subsidiary of ST Unitas, the operator of the Gongdanki brand, and operates a network of roughly 22 to 23 directly-run and franchised locations nationwide.
Transfer-prep subsidiary Brown Transfer went from a 17.98% stake acquired in January 2025 to full ownership after an additional stake purchase in January 2026. The company also runs vocational and job-skills training through subsidiaries including Mega Career Lab (79.91% owned) and Pine Tree Company (wholly owned).
The controlling shareholder is Megastudy Edu, which held a 55.31% stake as of end-March 2026, positioning IB Kim Young as the group's transfer-prep, vocational, and beauty-education affiliate.
Competitively, the company holds strong brand power in the transfer-prep segment but faces a fragmented field of academies and franchises in the beauty and vocational education segments.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩27.6B | ₩3.7B | 13.4% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩36B | ₩9.7B | 27.1% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩33.2B | ₩6B | 18.0% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩24.2B | ₩300M | 1.4% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩28.3B | ₩3.1B | 10.8% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩86.5B | ₩3.1B | ₩300M | 3.6% | 0.7% | 112.1% |
| 2023 | ₩94.7B | ₩8.9B | ₩7.8B | 9.4% | 17.4% | 90.9% |
| 2024 | ₩107.1B | ₩16.5B | ₩12.7B | 15.4% | 23.1% | 86.2% |
| 2025 | ₩119.5B | ₩19.1B | ₩20.7B | 16.0% | 28.1% | 70.4% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-23
Consolidated revenue rose for four consecutive years, from KRW 86.5bn in 2022 to KRW 94.7bn in 2023, KRW 107.1bn in 2024, and KRW 119.5bn in 2025. Operating margin showed a clear improvement trend, climbing from 3.6% in 2022 to 9.4% in 2023, 15.4% in 2024, and 16.0% in 2025.
Net profit attributable to owners also recovered sharply, from near break-even at KRW 0.26bn in 2022 to KRW 7.8bn in 2023, KRW 12.7bn in 2024, and KRW 20.7bn in 2025.
On a quarterly basis, revenue peaked at KRW 36.0bn with operating profit of KRW 9.7bn in the seasonally strong third quarter of 2025, before declining to KRW 33.2bn in revenue and KRW 6.0bn in operating profit in the fourth quarter, and further to KRW 24.2bn in revenue and just KRW 0.35bn in operating profit in the seasonally weak first quarter of 2026.
That first-quarter result nonetheless marked a swing to profit from an operating loss a year earlier, and the transfer-prep segment alone grew revenue 7.1% year over year to KRW 13.7bn with operating profit up 13.6% to KRW 1.13bn, confirming the core business retained its earnings base.
Second-quarter 2026 revenue recovered to KRW 28.3bn with operating profit of KRW 3.1bn and owner net profit of KRW 2.1bn.
Over the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), cumulative revenue reached roughly KRW 121.6bn and owner net profit roughly KRW 16.6bn, indicating the annual growth trend has continued.
That said, the wide swing between quarters highlights integration costs from the newly acquired beauty education operations and the gap between peak and off-peak enrollment seasons as key drivers of earnings volatility.
The university transfer-admission market is heavily influenced by policy-driven admission quotas each year; the 2026 academic year general and bachelor's-degree transfer admission quota across 46 major universities in Seoul and the greater metropolitan area rose 8.5% year over year, or 996 seats, to a total of 12,685 seats, indicating the addressable market itself is expanding.
IB Kim Young holds a stable position in this market through its brand, which has established itself as the leading name in transfer-admission prep.
The vocational and certification education market is driven by demand for computer and IT credentials as well as adult lifelong-learning needs, where the company competes through brands such as Engineer Lab.
The beauty education market is expanding alongside growing K-beauty demand, with demand also rising from specialized high-school admissions, shifting the market from a purely certification-focused model toward admissions, employment, and entrepreneurship training.
That said, the beauty education market is fragmented with numerous small academies and franchises competing intensely, and the fact that Beauty Lesha itself was in a state of capital impairment before being acquired illustrates the wide profitability dispersion across the industry.
At the group level, controlling shareholder Megastudy Edu generates most of its revenue from high-school and early-childhood-through-middle-school education, meaning IB Kim Young pursues a strategy of building competitive advantage in the comparatively niche areas of transfer-admission prep, adult vocational education, and beauty education.
Overall, the transfer-prep market's performance hinges on policy and quota variables, while the beauty and vocational education markets are shaped more by competitive intensity and consumer trends.
The company disclosed a value-up plan targeting a shareholder return ratio of at least 25% via cash dividends and an average total shareholder return of at least 10% annually starting in 2026.
In the beauty education segment, the company has outlined plans to expand the nationwide academy network and diversify distribution channels for the newly acquired MBC Beauty Academy operation.
Transfer-prep subsidiary Brown Transfer became a wholly owned subsidiary after the company acquired the remaining stake in January 2026, and its consolidated earnings contribution going forward is a factor to watch.
Management has stated that the transfer-prep business's stable earnings base and improvement in the employment/vocational education segment's profit and loss are proceeding in parallel.
The beauty education segment is also pursuing distribution channel diversification through its LESHA cosmetics brand, leaving room to expand a business model that combines education services with product distribution.
The increase in the 2026 academic year transfer-admission quota compared with the prior year can be read as a favorable demand environment for the core transfer-prep business.
Overall, the company is positioned to continue diversifying by layering beauty and vocational education as new growth pillars on top of a stable transfer-prep cash flow base.
Current trading multiples, based on earnings over the most recent four quarters, warrant comparison against the multi-year trading range the stock has historically occupied.
The share price relative to net assets should be assessed with an eye toward the difference between the company's past period of weak earnings and its recent recovery phase, a stage where multiple interpretation can shift as profit recovery progresses.
On the dividend front, given the company's stated goal of a shareholder return ratio above 25% from 2026 onward, how the actual dividend payout translates into dividend-related metrics going forward is a point worth watching.
However, because education businesses carry pronounced seasonality that produces large quarter-to-quarter earnings swings, it is more reasonable to reference the annual trend and the trailing four-quarter total together rather than judging valuation levels from a single quarter's results alone.
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 2026-08-23
Operating margin rose every year from 3.6% in 2022 to 16.0% in 2025, showing a clear profitability improvement trend. This appears to reflect both scale economies in the transfer-prep business and profit and loss improvement in the vocational education segment.
If this trend continues, the company may gain more room to offset initial cost burdens from new businesses such as beauty education.
The acquisition and merger of Beauty Lesha (MBC Beauty Academy) and full subsidiary conversion of Brown Transfer are underway to reduce reliance on the single transfer-prep business. Beauty education is riding a favorable trend of expanding K-beauty demand. A more diversified business portfolio could cushion the overall results against weakness in any single segment.
The company disclosed a value-up plan targeting a shareholder return ratio above 25% and average total shareholder return above 10% annually starting in 2026. This is set against a backdrop of improving cash flow alongside the profit recovery. Actual implementation results will be confirmed through future disclosures.
Operating profit swung sharply, from KRW 9.7bn in the third quarter of 2025 to just KRW 0.35bn in the first quarter of 2026, showing considerable quarter-to-quarter variation.
This appears to reflect a combination of the education industry's inherent seasonality and initial integration costs from newly acquired businesses. It is difficult to judge the underlying business trend from a single quarter's results.
The transfer-prep business's performance is tied to policy variables such as universities' transfer-admission quotas. While the 2026 academic year quota increased, market size could fluctuate in either direction depending on annual quota policy changes at universities. This can reduce the predictability of the core business.
Beauty Lesha, the acquisition target, had a history of sustained capital impairment over the two years before the acquisition. While the merger aims to improve the financial structure, additional integration costs or profit-and-loss burdens could arise during the process.
If the new business's profitability does not stabilize as quickly as expected, it could weigh on overall margins.
University transfer-admission quotas can change annually based on decisions by individual universities and education authorities. If quotas are reduced or the transfer-admission system itself is altered, it could directly affect the revenue base of the core business. This is an external variable the company cannot directly control.
A series of M&A transactions, including the Beauty Lesha absorption merger and the full subsidiary conversion of Brown Transfer, could generate unexpected costs or profit and loss swings during organizational and systems integration. The weak financial structure history of the acquired entity is also a factor that raises integration risk.
Education businesses are characterized by large quarter-to-quarter swings in revenue and profit tied to admissions and enrollment seasons. This can increase the volatility of quarterly cash flow. As new businesses are added, the seasonality pattern itself may also shift from historical norms.
Statutory deadline for filing the Q3 2026 quarterly report, allowing a check on the beauty education segment's integration effects and whether the seasonally strong quarter shows the expected earnings recovery.
Progress on the nationwide expansion of the MBC Beauty Academy network and any new location openings should be checked via related disclosures and news.
Filing deadline for the FY2026 annual business report, which will allow confirmation of full-year segment revenue mix and the consolidated earnings contribution from Brown Transfer following its conversion to a wholly owned subsidiary.
A point to confirm whether the shareholder return ratio target of above 25%, set to begin in 2026, is actually implemented, including any dividend resolution.
IB Kim Young is broadening its business portfolio by adding beauty and vocational education on top of its stable university transfer-admission prep cash cow, a process during which operating margin steadily improved from 3.6% in 2022 to 16.0% in 2025.
In the first quarter of 2026, despite a seasonally weak period, the company posted its first-ever consolidated profit, and the earnings recovery continued into the second quarter.
That said, quarterly revenue and profit swings remain large, and exposure persists both to the integration process of the beauty education subsidiary and to policy variables such as transfer-admission quotas.
The company disclosed a value-up plan starting in 2026 targeting a shareholder return ratio above 25%, signaling a direction toward stronger shareholder returns. Group synergy with controlling shareholder Megastudy Edu and business diversification through M&A are likely to be key variables for future earnings.
Investors will want to keep monitoring quarterly earnings releases, the progress of the beauty education network expansion, and the actual implementation of the dividend policy.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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