Coxem

Founded in 2007, Coxem became the first Korean company to localize scanning electron microscope (SEM) technology in 2008, joining Germany, Japan, the United States, and the Czech Republic as one of only five countries with independent SEM development and production capability.

Its core product is the miniaturized Tabletop SEM (EM series), which recently accounted for over 70% of revenue based on disclosed product mix. Normal SEM (CX series) contributes roughly 10%, with ion millers, peripherals, and other goods making up the remainder.

Customers span basic-science research institutions and universities as well as industrial users including battery makers such as BYD and LG Chem in China, and the company has recently expanded into components by supplying ion beam modules to semiconductor and display equipment maker AP Systems.

The global SEM market is dominated at the high end by large instrument makers such as Thermo Fisher, Zeiss, Hitachi, and JEOL, and Coxem's strategy has been to target a niche with compact, lower-priced tabletop systems.

The company's new-product pipeline includes the ion-miller-integrated IP-SEM, AI-based next-generation AI-SEM, a high-end FE-SEM formally launched in May 2026, and an atmospheric-pressure SEM called 'Eirtron' that does not require a vacuum.

Eirtron carries potential to expand into advanced semiconductor packaging inspection, battery material analysis, and biological research, positioning it at the center of the company's medium-term growth strategy.

Coxem listed on KOSDAQ in 2024 under the technology special listing track, earmarking IPO proceeds for new product development, a China logistics center, US/Europe offices, and expanded manufacturing and R&D facilities.

Coxem's annual revenue rose from KRW 12.53bn in 2022 to KRW 13.73bn in 2023 and KRW 14.73bn in 2024, before declining to KRW 13.39bn in 2025. Operating profit was solid at KRW 1.78bn in 2022 and KRW 1.50bn in 2023, but flipped to a loss of KRW 236mn in 2024 and widened to a loss of KRW 1.53bn in 2025.

Owner net income followed a similar path, from KRW 1.72bn (2022) and KRW 1.68bn (2023) to KRW 1.00bn (2024), before turning to a loss of KRW 652mn in 2025, marking a clear reversal in profit direction.

On a quarterly basis, revenue was KRW 2.92bn with an operating loss of KRW 821mn in Q2 2025, and KRW 2.51bn with an operating loss of KRW 708mn in Q3 2025, before the seasonally strong fourth quarter saw revenue jump to KRW 4.81bn, delivering an operating profit of KRW 318mn and owner net income of KRW 844mn.

However, Q1 2026 revenue fell back to KRW 2.52bn with the operating loss widening to KRW 1.08bn, and Q2 2026 revenue of KRW 2.72bn still carried an operating loss of KRW 741mn.

As a result, trailing four-quarter (Q3 2025-Q2 2026) owner net income totaled a loss of KRW 925mn, showing that the one-quarter swing to profit in Q4 did not reverse the broader annual trend.

The weakness appears to reflect simultaneous softness in basic-science research demand across China, Europe, and North America—markets Coxem's revenue mix is concentrated in—compounded by rising R&D spending tied to new products such as IP-SEM and Eirtron.

Notably, operating cash flow was negative for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025, indicating that the profit decline has coincided with weaker cash generation.

The global SEM market is projected to grow at roughly an 8% compound annual rate through 2028, driven by expanding demand across semiconductors, displays, batteries, aerospace, and biotechnology—industries where nanotechnology applications are essential.

However, the research-use segment that underpins most of Coxem's revenue has reportedly seen slowing growth not only in China but also in Europe and North America recently, which directly weighed on 2025-2026 performance.

Structurally, the technology barrier to commercializing electron microscopes remains high enough that only five countries worldwide have succeeded in doing so, and the high-end, general-purpose equipment market is dominated by a handful of large instrument makers including Thermo Fisher, Zeiss, Hitachi, and JEOL.

Coxem has carved out a niche in this landscape by focusing on tabletop products, leveraging domestic production, compact design, and relatively lower pricing.

More recently, the company has been pushing into industrial applications such as advanced semiconductor packaging inspection, component cross-section analysis for parts like MLCCs, and battery material analysis, and in June 2026 it presented joint research with Binghamton University at the ECTC 2026 semiconductor packaging conference demonstrating non-destructive, high-throughput inspection potential of its atmospheric-pressure SEM technology.

This is read as evidence of Coxem's effort to diversify away from dependence on the research-use demand cycle toward industrial and component revenue.

In the competitive landscape, Coxem remains a specialized player in the small-to-mid SEM segment, pursuing price-sensitive customers and emerging industrial applications rather than directly competing with large instrument makers.

Coxem formally launched its high-resolution, high-end FE-SEM in May 2026, stepping up its push into the premium segment.

Development of the atmospheric-pressure SEM 'Eirtron' continues on schedule, targeting trial production in 2026 and full-scale mass production in 2027, with potential to expand into semiconductor back-end (OSAT) inspection and life-science applications.

In components, the company supplied three self-developed ion beam modules to AP Systems in February 2026, and management expects these components to see growing adoption as core parts in next-generation semiconductor equipment.

In March 2026, Coxem was selected for a three-year, KRW 4.6bn government-funded project—in cooperation with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)—to apply atmospheric-pressure SEM technology to semiconductor inspection.

That same month, the company decided on a KRW 2bn treasury share buyback and said it was considering fully retiring the shares acquired, citing confidence in new growth drivers including its semiconductor push.

Kiwoom Securities, in a June 2026 report, forecast 2026 full-year revenue of KRW 14.5bn and an operating loss of KRW 1.3bn, projecting a continued loss phase while noting that development progress on IP-SEM and Eirtron could enhance corporate value; that report did not, however, provide a separate investment rating or price target.

The company's growth trajectory appears to hinge on the pace of new-product commercialization and its ability to win industrial customers, with the timing of a research-market recovery also a key variable for any earnings rebound.