GigaVis

GigaVis makes automated optical inspection (AOI) tools that detect circuit-pattern defects in semiconductor package substrates and automated optical repair (AOR) tools that fix those defects with lasers.

Samsung Securities noted that AOI and AOR are the core products, that the two are sometimes delivered together as in-line equipment, and that the company also books revenue from verification and repair systems (VRS) and from software.

The customer base is not tied to a single conglomerate: Samsung Securities said key customers are FC-BGA (ABF) substrate makers such as Ibiden and Shinko, and that the company supplies most of the global top ten substrate producers.

A large share of revenue is export-driven, and recently disclosed counterparties span Japanese, greater-China and domestic substrate makers.

In March 2026 it signed a KRW 10.91 billion inspection and repair equipment contract with a greater-China substrate producer, covering high-resolution AOI and AOR tools that detect and repair defects in FC-BGA substrates for AI servers.

The competitive field is narrow: KB Securities described the company as a substrate optical inspection and repair specialist founded in 2004 and listed on KOSDAQ in 2023, whose main customers are global FC-BGA substrate makers and whose main rivals are KLA of the United States, Camtek of Israel and Inspec of Japan.

Because of this model, revenue tracks the timing of customer capital spending, and unit prices rise as tool specifications tighten. Samsung Securities saw room for a high-end mix shift in cloud substrates, including inspection tools for 3-micrometre and 5-micrometre line widths. Segment revenue splits are not disclosed by the company, so this section stays qualitative on that point.

Earnings have tracked the customer capex cycle almost one-for-one.

After a high-margin stretch of KRW 99.7 billion revenue and KRW 33.8 billion operating profit (33.9% margin) in 2022 and KRW 91.4 billion revenue with KRW 35.0 billion operating profit (38.3%) in 2023, revenue collapsed to KRW 26.1 billion in 2024 with a KRW 1.8 billion operating loss.

In 2025 revenue recovered to KRW 52.4 billion with operating profit of KRW 12.1 billion (23.1%) and net profit attributable to owners of KRW 15.5 billion. Revenue is still only about half the 2022-2023 level, so the recovery sits well below the prior peak in absolute terms.

Quarterly figures swing hard: from KRW 31.7 billion revenue and KRW 11.1 billion operating profit (roughly a 35% margin) in the fourth quarter of 2025, the top line fell to KRW 6.0 billion with a KRW 1.0 billion operating loss in the first quarter of 2026, then rebounded to KRW 22.3 billion revenue and KRW 6.6 billion operating profit (about 30%) in the second quarter.

That second quarter was far above the same quarter of 2025 (KRW 8.9 billion revenue, KRW 2.0 billion operating profit), and first-half 2026 totals were KRW 28.3 billion of revenue and KRW 5.6 billion of operating profit.

The pattern reflects a fixed-cost base against revenue recognised at tool acceptance: below roughly KRW 10 billion of quarterly revenue the operating line turns negative, while above KRW 30 billion margins exceed 30%.

In 2024 and the first quarter of 2026 net profit was positive despite operating losses, consistent with non-operating income from a net-cash position: at the end of that first quarter cash and equivalents of about KRW 46.8 billion plus KRW 100 billion of short-term financial instruments gave KRW 146.8 billion of assets convertible within a year, well above roughly KRW 41.6 billion of current liabilities, leaving effectively no net debt.

Operating cash flow of KRW 25.7 billion in 2025 exceeded that year's operating profit, and the liability-to-equity ratio was a low 13.4%.

The end market is high-specification package substrates for AI servers. Ibiden guided fiscal 2026 (April 2026 to March 2027) revenue to rise 20% year on year, after fiscal 2025 revenue of JPY 416.2 billion and operating profit of JPY 62.0 billion, up 12.7% and 30.3% respectively.

Ibiden also expects the second half of fiscal 2026 to be stronger than the first, guiding JPY 230 billion of first-half and JPY 270 billion of second-half revenue.

Domestic signals point the same way: on its second-quarter 2026 earnings call Samsung Electro-Mechanics said larger, higher-layer-count AI datacentre chips are deepening the FC-BGA shortage and pushing substrate prices steadily higher, that it is negotiating strategic long-term supply agreements including investment support with major chip customers, and that it plans to expand FC-BGA capacity at home and abroad on that basis.

Expansion budgets are growing: Ibiden said it would spend JPY 500 billion over the three years from 2026 to 2028 to lift AI server package substrate capacity. Equipment demand is a derivative of that capex.

According to iM Securities, Ibiden raised annual guidance by 5.5% for revenue and 22.9% for operating profit, driven by a mix of AI server strength, a better-than-expected general server recovery, switch IC demand and firm average selling prices for high-value products, and if capacity investment accelerates the benefit is expected to extend to equipment makers including GigaVis.

That said, the inspection and repair tool market is shared with players such as KLA, Camtek and Inspec, so a larger customer capex pool does not automatically translate into a proportional share for the company across specifications and regions.

KB Securities, in a February 2026 report, flagged a worsening T-Glass shortage as a risk factor, a reminder that raw-material bottlenecks at substrate makers can push customer expansion timelines back.

The most verifiable leading indicator is disclosed orders. On 18 August 2026 the company signed a KRW 8.95 billion (JPY 1.0083 billion) inspection and repair equipment contract with a Japanese substrate maker, equal to 17.08% of its most recent annual revenue of KRW 52.43 billion, running to 30 September 2027.

That shows both how a single order can represent a double-digit share of annual revenue and how the timing of acceptance on individual contracts moves quarterly results.

Broker estimates also point to recovery: KB Securities, in a February 2026 report, projected 2026 revenue of KRW 65.5 billion (up 29.8% year on year) and operating profit of KRW 22.8 billion (up 81.3%, a 34.8% margin), noting that key customers Ibiden and Zhen Ding had raised 2026 capital spending targets by 70% and that other substrate makers were expected to expand as well - an external estimate rather than company guidance.

New markets remain a second axis: the company says it is strengthening its technology position beyond FC-BGA in panel-level packaging and glass substrates, aiming to secure medium-term growth drivers by moving early into those markets.

Those are not yet revenue, however: Samsung Securities expects the entry timing for glass-substrate inspection tools to firm up once customers commit investment, but stressed that with new equipment categories a concrete order event has to come first.

Specification upgrades are another live variable, since finer inspection line widths raise both tool prices and inspection volumes.

For the period after the second half of 2026, then, the watch list narrows to three items: how quickly customer capex converts into purchase orders, whether quarterly revenue stays above the fixed-cost threshold, and whether formal orders emerge in panel-level packaging and glass substrates.