PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩510 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
Nextin swung to an annual operating loss in 2025 but showed signs of recovery with a return to net profit in Q2 2026, even as China revenue gaps and certification delays remain open variables.
2025 consolidated revenue fell about 41% year over year to KRW 66.9 billion, with operating profit turning negative at KRW -1.16 billion
Q2 2026 revenue rebounded to KRW 20.8 billion, with the operating loss narrowing and owner net income turning positive at about KRW 1.39 billion
Product lineup is expanding with the HBM inspection tool KROKY and the next-generation packaging inspection tool ASPER
The Wuxi, China production subsidiary has cleared clean-room approval and SEMI S2 certification, but ISO 9001 certification issuance is delayed
A sharp drop in China exports of the AEGIS series and customer concentration remain key risk factors
Nextin was founded in 2010 and listed on KOSDAQ in 2020, specializing in front-end wafer inspection equipment for semiconductors. Its core product line is the dark-field optical AEGIS series, which detects micro pattern defects and particles on wafer surfaces to support yield management for chipmakers.
KROKY is a new inspection tool jointly developed with SK Hynix to detect wafer warpage that occurs during high-bandwidth memory (HBM) stacking processes. The company is also expanding its lineup with ASPER, aimed at next-generation packaging processes such as hybrid bonding, and IRIS for 3D NAND inspection.
As of 2024, about 81% of revenue was generated from greater China, with CXMT and SMIC identified as key customers. Domestically, the company supplies IDM customers including SK Hynix. Competitively, Nextin operates alongside global leaders in optical wafer inspection such as KLA, Onto Innovation, and Camtek.
To pursue the China market, the company announced in 2023 an investment of roughly KRW 260 billion to build a production subsidiary in Wuxi. It has also been diversifying its portfolio away from pure semiconductor exposure by bringing a secondary-battery inspection equipment maker under its subsidiary umbrella.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩23.2B | ₩2.6B | 11.1% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩10.7B | -₩3.7B | −34.2% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩15.9B | -₩3.5B | −21.8% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩7.9B | -₩5.5B | −69.9% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩20.8B | -₩800M | −3.8% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩114.9B | ₩56.5B | ₩43.4B | 49.2% | 43.6% | 21.6% |
| 2023 | ₩87.9B | ₩36.2B | ₩30.9B | 41.1% | 24.4% | 12.6% |
| 2024 | ₩113.7B | ₩47B | ₩38.4B | 41.3% | 24.4% | 20.4% |
| 2025 | ₩66.9B | -₩1.2B | -₩2.5B | −1.7% | −1.6% | 48.4% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-08-22
Consolidated revenue in 2025 fell more than 41% year over year to KRW 66.9 billion from KRW 113.7 billion in 2024, and operating profit swung to a loss of KRW -1.16 billion from a profit of KRW 47.0 billion the prior year.
Owner net income also turned negative at KRW -2.46 billion, down from KRW 38.4 billion in profit in 2024, marking a sharp annual deterioration.
A large part of the decline stemmed from a steep drop in China exports of the AEGIS series: AEGIS-II China export revenue fell from KRW 67.7 billion in 2024 to KRW 9.8 billion in 2025, while AEGIS-III fell from KRW 20.6 billion to zero.
On a quarterly basis, Q2 2025 revenue was KRW 23.2 billion with operating profit of KRW 2.6 billion, still positive at the operating level, though net income was already negative at KRW -1.02 billion; by Q3, revenue dropped to KRW 10.7 billion with the operating loss widening to KRW -3.67 billion and net loss to KRW -2.23 billion.
Losses persisted through Q4 2025 (revenue KRW 15.9 billion, operating loss KRW -3.48 billion) and Q1 2026 (revenue KRW 7.9 billion, operating loss KRW -5.54 billion), with fixed-cost pressure from the revenue decline becoming pronounced.
However, Q2 2026 revenue rebounded sharply to KRW 20.8 billion, the operating loss narrowed to KRW -0.79 billion, and owner net income turned positive at about KRW 1.39 billion.
The fact that net income turned positive while an operating loss persisted suggests non-operating items (such as foreign-exchange-related gains) may have contributed, which should be distinguished from a genuine recovery in core operating profitability.
Summed over the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), revenue totaled about KRW 55.4 billion, the operating loss about KRW -13.5 billion, and the owner net loss about KRW -5.0 billion, meaning the company remains in a loss-making window.
On the balance-sheet side, the debt ratio rose to 48.4% in 2025 from the 12-22% range seen in 2022-2024, and operating cash flow swung to a net outflow of KRW -11.1 billion in 2025.
The memory semiconductor end-market is entering a phase where HBM-centered capital expenditure is resuming, driven by expanding AI server and data-center investment.
SK Hynix has stated that HBM3E will remain the dominant HBM product this year, accounting for roughly two-thirds of demand, a factor that could influence the timing of new HBM4-related equipment orders for Nextin.
Competitively, the global wafer and package inspection equipment market is led by KLA, Onto Innovation, and Camtek, and Nextin has carved out a niche through dark-field technology and proprietary imaging methods.
The company describes itself as having developed the world's only equipment based on a particular 2D imaging technology and is pursuing new customer entry and share gains both domestically and abroad.
However, China revenue from the AEGIS equipment, once a key cash-generating product, was hit by intensified US export controls on semiconductor equipment to China.
The company has stated that the current US Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) is focused on advanced equipment for leading-edge processes, and that no export denial notices have been issued for products shipped through its Wuxi subsidiary.
Overall, the industry cycle appears to be a period where AI/HBM-driven demand expansion and China-related equipment export restrictions are exerting opposing forces simultaneously.
In mid-term guidance announced in early May 2025, the company set 2030 targets of KRW 300 billion in revenue and KRW 120 billion in operating profit.
Specific milestones outlined included delivering KROKY to customers and generating revenue from it along with building and normalizing the China production plant in 2025, entering the back-end inspection market and stabilizing/growing the China subsidiary in 2026, and securing new customers in the US, Japan and elsewhere in 2027.
The company stated in a July 2026 investor communication that its Wuxi, China plant has completed legal and administrative construction procedures and obtained clean-room operating approval along with SEMI S2 environmental safety certification.
However, it noted that ISO 9001 quality management certification has passed document review but is still awaiting final issuance, and that the resulting schedule delay stems from certification procedures rather than pricing negotiations or the influence of local competitors.
The company said its new packaging inspection tool ASPER is currently undergoing testing with global customers, and that back-end equipment qualification testing typically takes about six months.
Daishin Securities identified the resumption of China orders through the operation of the local Chinese subsidiary as the key catalyst for the second half, projecting that operations would begin in the second half once administrative procedures are accounted for.
Separately, in March 2026 the company disclosed a KRW 10.6 billion wafer inspection equipment supply contract with SK Hynix, equivalent to about 9.33% of 2024 revenue.
The market interpreted the contract size as falling short of expectations or as information already priced in, and the stock reacted negatively following the disclosure.
Nextin's share price has fluctuated in line with the earnings volatility seen in 2025-2026, and with the trailing four quarters still showing a net loss, a key point of interest is how much of any premium to net asset value reflects expectations of an earnings recovery.
In the past, the stock traded within a double-digit multiple band during profitable periods, but with earnings having swung to losses more recently, conventional earnings-based metrics are harder to apply directly.
The company has set a target of maintaining cash dividends at a certain minimum level and expanding share buybacks over 2025-2030, meaning the sustainability of shareholder-return policy may hinge on the pace of earnings recovery.
Samsung Securities stated in an April 2026 report that it lowered its target price for Nextin to KRW 100,000 from KRW 110,000, a move it attributed to a lowered near-term earnings outlook amid slowing capex from Chinese customers.
Overall, market valuation perspectives appear sensitive to the pace of the swing from losses to profit and to the revenue contribution of new equipment lines.
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 2026-08-22
Nextin CEO Park Tae-hoon stated in an interview that KROKY is "used 100% at the world's No. 1 HBM maker." Adding ASPER, aimed at hybrid bonding processes, could extend the product lineup into back-end inspection. That said, it will take time for the profitability of these new tools to mature.
Q2 2026 revenue rose sharply from the prior quarter, the operating loss narrowed substantially, and net income turned positive. This can be read as the combined effect of new-equipment revenue expansion and improved fixed-cost leverage. However, a single quarter of net profit is not yet enough to confirm a sustained recovery trend.
The company said it has completed legal and administrative construction of its Wuxi plant along with clean-room approval and SEMI S2 certification. Daishin Securities identified the resumption of China orders through local subsidiary operations as the key catalyst for the second half.
While local production is expected to bring subsidy benefits and improved price competitiveness, the actual timing of new orders still needs to be confirmed.
China export revenue for the flagship AEGIS-II fell from KRW 67.7 billion in 2024 to KRW 9.8 billion in 2025, while AEGIS-III fell from KRW 20.6 billion to zero. This is attributed to a combination of US export controls on semiconductor equipment to China and delayed investment by Chinese customers. New-equipment revenue did not fully offset this gap, and annual results swung to a loss.
A large share of revenue is concentrated among a small number of customers, meaning results are heavily dependent on the investment pace of specific clients.
The new KROKY equipment is reported to carry lower margins than the legacy AEGIS line, meaning a revenue recovery may not immediately translate into improved profitability. As a result, operating margin recovery could lag even as revenue grows.
US export controls on semiconductor equipment to China remain in effect, and if process conversion within China does not proceed smoothly, demand recovery for legacy equipment such as AEGIS could be delayed.
Hanwha Investment & Securities assessed that equipment import restrictions in China could continue to hamper process conversion into 2026. If regulatory intensity increases further, the effectiveness of the Wuxi-subsidiary workaround strategy could also be constrained.
Analysis of the company's business report identified customer concentration at about 72%, meaning delays or reductions in orders from a specific customer could directly affect results. A sharp increase in borrowings has also been flagged as a factor worth monitoring.
Geographically, the high proportion of China exposure also leaves the company sensitive to geopolitical variables.
ISO 9001 certification for the Wuxi subsidiary has passed document review but remains pending final issuance, delaying the schedule. The new packaging inspection tool ASPER is also undergoing qualification testing with global customers, a process that typically takes about six months.
If certification or qualification timelines extend beyond expectations, revenue recognition could be pushed back accordingly.
The debt ratio rose to 48.4% in 2025 from the 12-22% range seen in 2022-2024, and operating cash flow turned to a net outflow. This appears to reflect increased funding needs from the combination of revenue decline and fixed-cost burden. If the earnings recovery is delayed, further financial strain cannot be ruled out.
Check whether Q3 2026 revenue and operating profit trends continue the recovery seen in Q2, and how the revenue mix between AEGIS and KROKY evolves.
Monitor whether the Wuxi subsidiary obtains ISO 9001 certification and begins full operations, and whether this leads to a resumption of China orders.
Whether ASPER passes qualification testing and begins shipping to customers will be the first test of the company's entry into the back-end inspection market.
Track the timing and scale of new inspection equipment orders from major customers such as SK Hynix as the industry transitions to HBM4.
Nextin maintained a stable, AEGIS-centered earnings structure through 2024, but swung to an annual operating loss in 2025 amid a China revenue gap and a product transition period.
Losses persisted through the first half of 2026, but Q2 showed signs of recovery, with revenue rising sharply from the prior quarter, the operating loss narrowing, and net income returning to positive territory.
The company is broadening its product portfolio with the HBM inspection tool KROKY and the back-end tool ASPER, and is pursuing a China revenue recovery through its Wuxi subsidiary, though delays in the subsidiary's certification process, ongoing US export restrictions on China, and customer concentration remain open variables.
On the balance sheet, a rising debt ratio and a swing to negative operating cash flow warrant continued monitoring of cash flow trends.
Going forward, Q3 results, the normalization of Wuxi subsidiary operations, and the outcome of ASPER qualification testing will likely serve as key indicators of whether the recovery can be sustained.
This report does not offer a buy or sell opinion or a target price, and investment decisions remain the responsibility of the reader.
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.