PER, EPS, PBR and BPS are calculated in-house from the last 4 quarters (2025Q3–2026Q2) · Dividend yield is based on ₩250 per share · Prices as of the 2026-10-02 close
J2KBio returned to net profit in 2025 and posted successive record quarterly revenue and operating profit in the first half of 2026, extending a recovery in its cosmetics ingredient business.
2025 net income attributable to owners turned positive at KRW 2.67bn, versus a loss of KRW 1.65bn in 2024.
Q2 2026 revenue hit a record KRW 15.60bn (+83.0% YoY), with operating margin holding near 17% (17.2% in Q1, 17.3% in Q2).
As of 2023, product mix was 50% natural materials, 29% bio materials, and 21% solvents and other items, supplied to roughly 300 domestic and overseas customers.
Consolidated clinical-service revenue from subsidiary HLK Clinical Center has been reflected since Q3 2024, adding a second business line.
In March 2026 the company disclosed a value-up plan targeting a price-to-book ratio of 2x by 2028.
Founded in 2017, J2KBio is a cosmetics ingredient specialist that develops new materials using proprietary natural-material processes and fermented microbiome technology. Its core product lines are natural materials, bio materials, and solvent-based materials.
As of 2023, the product revenue mix was 50% natural materials, 29% bio materials, and 21% solvents and other items, while by customer, Korea Functional Cosmetics Research Center accounted for 36%, Cosmecca Korea 14%, Kolmar Korea 9%, and others 41%.
Production takes place at a GMP-equivalent facility in Ochang, Chungbuk, with annual capacity of about 3,230 tons. On this base, the company supplies roughly 300 domestic and overseas customers, mainly domestic cosmetics ODM and brand companies.
In 2023 it established subsidiary HLK Clinical Center to provide human-application testing and clinical services for cosmetics and health foods, and that unit's results have been consolidated since Q3 2024.
As a raw-material supplier, its order intake is closely tied to growth at downstream ODM and brand customers, and it has benefited from the K-beauty market expansion led by domestic indie brands.
More recently, the company launched a library platform called 'J2K METABIOME.ai' to discover new raw materials, aiming to strengthen its R&D competitiveness and broaden its business scope.
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating profit | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Q2 | ₩8.5B | ₩700M | 8.2% |
| 2025Q3 | ₩8.6B | ₩1.2B | 14.6% |
| 2025Q4 | ₩8.6B | ₩600M | 7.5% |
| 2026Q1 | ₩11.1B | ₩1.9B | 17.2% |
| 2026Q2 | ₩15.6B | ₩2.7B | 17.3% |
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Net income (parent) | Op. margin | ROE | Debt-to-equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ₩16B | ₩2.3B | ₩2.1B | 14.5% | 19.2% | 61.7% |
| 2023 | ₩28.5B | ₩5.6B | ₩4.8B | 19.7% | 27.2% | 23.6% |
| 2024 | ₩33.1B | ₩3.6B | -₩1.7B | 10.9% | −5.3% | 14.7% |
| 2025 | ₩33B | ₩2.9B | ₩2.7B | 8.9% | 7.9% | 12.7% |
Consolidated basis (financial statements including subsidiaries) · Final figures from DART filings · Net income attributable to owners of the parent · Data as of 2026-09-05
Consolidated 2025 revenue was KRW 32.97bn, roughly flat versus KRW 33.13bn in 2024. Operating profit fell to KRW 2.92bn (8.9% margin) from KRW 3.63bn (10.9% margin) in 2024, yet net income attributable to owners swung to a profit of KRW 2.67bn from a loss of KRW 1.65bn the prior year.
This improvement is attributed to the resolution of one-off costs related to the company's listing. 2023 posted the strongest profitability of the past four years, with revenue of KRW 28.47bn and operating profit of KRW 5.61bn (19.7% margin), while 2022 revenue was KRW 16.03bn with operating profit of KRW 2.32bn (14.5% margin).
On a quarterly basis, revenue of KRW 8.53bn and operating profit of KRW 0.70bn (8.2% margin) in Q2 2025 improved to KRW 8.56bn revenue and KRW 1.25bn operating profit (14.6% margin) in Q3 2025, before margin dipped again in Q4 2025 to 7.5% on revenue of KRW 8.61bn and operating profit of KRW 0.64bn.
In Q1 2026, revenue reached KRW 11.13bn with operating profit of KRW 1.91bn (17.2% margin) and net income of KRW 1.59bn, with operating profit up 476% year-on-year.
Q2 2026 revenue hit KRW 15.60bn with operating profit of KRW 2.69bn and net income of KRW 2.67bn, up 83.0%, 285.6%, and 201.9% year-on-year respectively, and up 40.3% and 40.6% quarter-on-quarter for revenue and operating profit.
Over the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), both revenue and profit show a clear upward trend.
South Korea's cosmetics industry is seeing rising demand for raw materials in tandem with the growth of the K-beauty market led by indie brands. Natural and fermented-microbiome-derived ingredients are said to be gaining market share as the industry trend shifts away from synthetic chemical components.
Some analysis attributes the K-beauty boom that intensified in the latter half of the year to increased domestic demand for cosmetics ingredients, supporting stability at raw-material suppliers.
In a May 2024 report, SK Securities estimated that roughly 80% of the company's bio-material sales were tied to CosRX, a leading domestic indie brand that saw 2023 revenue grow 137.9% year-on-year.
The cosmetics ingredient industry comprises large ODM players such as Cosmecca Korea and Kolmar Korea alongside numerous small and mid-sized specialized material makers, with J2KBio positioned around natural and bio-based specialty materials.
There is also a noted trend of large domestic brand owners strengthening joint ingredient development with outside suppliers to localize sourcing and improve cost efficiency, which is cited as an opportunity for specialized ingredient makers to expand into large-enterprise supply chains.
The company has stated its intention to sustain growth in the second half through expanded overseas exports by existing ODM customers and the addition of new brand customers.
A company representative said that broad-based growth is being confirmed across both new and existing accounts, supporting expectations for a solid earnings trend in the second half.
Management also expects the contribution from subsidiary HLK Clinical Center to expand meaningfully this year as its operations stabilize. On R&D, the company is using its new raw-material discovery platform, 'J2K METABIOME.ai,' to explore applications beyond cosmetics into health foods and pharmaceuticals.
It is also confirmed to be participating in a government-backed project to isolate and identify microbes native to Jeju Island, building a database toward commercializing eco-friendly vegan cosmetic ingredients. In March 2026 the company disclosed a value-up plan targeting a price-to-book ratio of 2x by 2028.
That said, both the value-up plan and the government project remain works in progress, and the specific timing and scale of any resulting revenue contribution require further confirmation.
J2KBio's valuation is now being reassessed against a backdrop of a 2025 swing to net profit followed by expanding profits in the first half of 2026.
Kyobo Securities noted in a December 2025 report that the price-to-book ratio stood at around 1.7x based on fiscal-year-end 2024 figures, which can serve as a historical reference multiple.
The company has a track record of paying an annual cash dividend, and the relationship between the price-to-net-asset level and the pace of earnings improvement is worth monitoring together.
The fact that the company's March 2026 value-up plan targets a price-to-book ratio of 2x by 2028 implies that the multiple at which it currently trades sits below that target level. Whether and when that target is reached, however, depends on execution of the plan and is not a settled outcome.
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 2026-09-05
Following a 2025 swing to net profit, both Q1 and Q2 2026 set successive record quarterly revenue and operating profit. Operating margin also rose into the high-teens percentage range in 2026, moving away from the lower-margin stretch seen in the second half of 2025.
Net income has also remained positive for four consecutive quarters, a point worth noting for earnings stability.
There is a confirmed industry trend of rising demand for natural and bio-based materials alongside the growth of the indie-brand-driven K-beauty market. Expanding overseas exports by the company's key ODM and brand customers could also translate into higher raw-material supply volumes.
That said, this reflects a broader industry trend that remains subject to fluctuations at individual customer accounts.
The clinical-service business under subsidiary HLK Clinical Center has been consolidated since Q3 2024, adding a revenue stream beyond raw-material sales. The launch of the 'J2K METABIOME.ai' raw-material discovery platform is also opening avenues into health foods and pharmaceuticals beyond cosmetics. Participation in government-backed research projects further supports the expansion of its R&D base.
Operating margin fell from 19.7% in 2023 to 10.9% in 2024 and 8.9% in 2025 before rising back into the high-teens in the first half of 2026, showing considerable quarter-to-quarter swings. Margin dipped to as low as 7.5% in Q4 2025, so whether the recent improvement can be sustained each quarter remains to be seen.
As of 2023, the largest customer, Korea Functional Cosmetics Research Center, accounted for 36% of sales, indicating a relatively high reliance on a small number of accounts. Changes in order volumes or trading terms with top customers could have an outsized impact on results.
As a small-cap KOSDAQ stock, the share price can be sensitive to thematic flows or broader sector news. It is also worth noting that the execution and timing of ongoing initiatives such as the value-up plan and government-backed projects are not yet finalized.
High reliance on a few top customers means reduced orders or a discontinued relationship with any one account could directly affect results. Diversification toward new indie-brand customers is under way, but the concentration in top accounts has not yet fallen substantially.
The value-up plan disclosed in March 2026 sets medium-to-long-term goals through 2028, and whether it is executed as planned, along with the specificity of detailed action items, will need to be confirmed through future disclosures. The possibility of delays or revisions to the targets cannot be ruled out.
Given its relatively small market capitalization on KOSDAQ, share-price volatility can increase with shifts in trading volume and investor flows. The stock may also be affected by sector-wide thematic issues or news related to Chinese consumption trends, independent of company-specific fundamentals.
The Q3 2026 earnings disclosure (quarterly report filing) should be checked to see whether the first-half revenue and margin uptrend continued into the third quarter.
Regulators have signaled the release of a list of low price-to-book companies around this time, which could show how the company's already-disclosed value-up plan is being followed up.
It is worth tracking whether the revenue contribution from subsidiary HLK Clinical Center expands as guided, through the detail of upcoming quarterly results.
Future disclosures should be monitored for concrete commercialization progress from the Jeju-derived microbiome government project and the new raw-material discovery platform.
J2KBio is a cosmetics ingredient specialist that has demonstrated an earnings recovery, swinging to net profit in 2025 and setting successive record quarterly revenue and operating profit in the first half of 2026.
It has a product portfolio centered on natural and bio materials and a customer base of roughly 300 accounts, positioned in line with the growth of the K-beauty and indie-brand market.
That said, operating margin has swung considerably on a quarterly basis since 2023, and reliance on certain top customers remains non-trivial.
The value-up plan disclosed in March 2026, the subsidiary's clinical-service business, and the new raw-material platform are all still works in progress, with concrete results requiring further confirmation through future disclosures.
Given its small-cap characteristics, the stock may also be influenced by sector-wide trading flows and themes, making it worth watching both the upcoming Q3 results and the progress of the value-up plan execution.
Report written 2026-09-05 · Data as of 2026-09-04
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