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JONBUR Research · Initiation

LX International · 001120 · Retail & Trade

LX International: Thin Margins and Low P/B, With a Wide-Ranging Model Estimate

Why this report

Start of coverage: one of the 300 largest companies, written once its financial statements were in.

LX International (KOSPI, Retail & Trade) closed at ₩44,050 on 2026-10-12, up 43.7% over one year, with a market cap of ₩1.7T. Filed statements show revenue of ₩17.8T but a 1.9% operating margin and a 4.3% ROE, well below the 2021-2022 levels.

Written Oct 13, 2026 · Data as of Oct 12, 2026 · 0 views

This is not financial advice. The report does not recommend buying or selling anything.

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Thesis

The data supports a picture of a large, low-margin trading business whose profitability has fallen from its 2022 peak. Operating margin was 5.1% in 2022 and 1.7% in 2025, and ROE fell from 25.5% to 5.2%. The share price has risen 18.4% over three months and 7.7% over one month, and is below the 52-week high of ₩57,700 and well above the low of ₩29,000.

On the supportive side, the P/B is 0.6, the dividend yield is 5.1%, and TTM free cash flow is ₩409.1B. On the cautionary side, the P/E of 14.3 is higher than the year-end 2025 P/E of 8.9, because TTM net income of ₩119.7B is below 2025's ₩141.8B. Investor flow, foreign ownership and short balance data are not available, so positioning cannot be assessed.

Business overview

LX International is listed on KOSPI in the Retail & Trade sector. It was founded on 1953-11-26 and listed on 1976-01-30, with 38.76M listed shares. The CEO is listed as 구혁서. The data does not describe individual business lines. Revenue history shows large swings: ₩16.7T in 2021, ₩18.8T in 2022 (+12.4%), ₩14.5T in 2023 (-22.6%), ₩16.6T in 2024 (+14.6%) and ₩16.7T in 2025 (+0.4%). TTM revenue to H1 2026 is ₩17.8T.

Financial analysis

These figures come from filed financial statements (DART). TTM to H1 2026: revenue ₩17.8T, operating income ₩347.0B (1.9% margin), net income ₩119.7B (0.7% margin), ROE 4.3%.

Annual operating income was ₩656.2B in 2021, ₩965.5B in 2022, ₩433.1B in 2023, ₩489.2B in 2024 and ₩292.2B in 2025. Net income was ₩350.1B, ₩515.2B, ₩117.1B, ₩175.7B and ₩141.8B over the same years.

The balance sheet shows liabilities to equity of 165.4%, cash of ₩1.2T and borrowings of ₩2.7T, so borrowings are about 2.3 times cash. TTM free cash flow is positive at ₩409.1B. EV is ₩3.2T; EV/EBITDA is not available.

Valuation

The current P/E is 14.3, P/B 0.6 and P/S 0.1, with a dividend yield of 5.1%. The year-end 2025 P/E was 8.9 and P/B 0.5; earlier year-end multiples are not available.

Among the peers shown, P/E is 19.1 for Samsung C&T, 11.6 for POSCO International, 52.3 for ISC, 5.5 for Youngone and 17.3 for Shinsegae. P/B is 0.5, 1.4, 7.0, 0.7 and 0.5 respectively. LX International's P/B of 0.6 sits within the lower part of this range.

The valuation model (5-year DCF, rate 4.1%, TTM to H1 2026) gives a model estimate based on the assumptions shown of ₩576,332 per share in the base case, ₩152,153 in the bear case and ₩1,967,919 in the bull case. All are far above the ₩44,050 price. The extreme spread and the gap suggest the output is highly sensitive to its assumptions, particularly given thin margins, and it should be read with caution rather than as a target.

Catalysts

  • The half-year report for June 2026 was filed on 2026-08-14 and shows the latest TTM figures, including a 1.9% operating margin.
  • A 5%+ holding report was filed on 2026-10-02, which indicates a change in a significant shareholding, though the data gives no details.
  • On 2026-08-12 the company filed decisions on providing collateral to others and on money lending, plus several related-party transaction filings, which may bear on balance sheet exposure.
  • The share price has risen 18.4% over three months, so future filings and results will show whether earnings are catching up.

Risks

  • Margins are thin, with an operating margin of 1.9% and a net margin of 0.7%, so small cost or price changes can move profit sharply.
  • Profit has trended down from 2022, with ROE falling from 25.5% to 4.3% on a TTM basis.
  • Liabilities to equity of 165.4% and ₩2.7T of borrowings add financial leverage.
  • Revenue has been volatile, falling 22.6% in 2023, and growth was only 0.4% in 2025.
  • Filings on collateral for others, lending and related-party transactions add exposure outside core operations, and the data lacks flow, foreign ownership, short-selling and news information.

Closing view

The data shows a large-revenue company with low margins, declining returns since 2022, moderate leverage, positive free cash flow and a 5.1% dividend yield. The P/B of 0.6 is low, but the P/E has risen as earnings softened. The DCF model estimate is far above the share price and has a very wide bear-to-bull range, so it is better treated as a sign of assumption sensitivity than as a precise value. Missing data on flows, ownership and news limits the picture. This report is informational and not a recommendation.

Model estimate of fair value

Bear
₩152,153
+278%
Base
₩576,332
+1334%
Bull
₩1,967,919
+4795%

Model estimate based on the assumptions shown. Not a price target and not a buy or sell signal.

Base case of the 5-year discounted cash flow model on the stock's Valuation tab (statements TTM to H1 2026; discount rate 4.1%). Bear and Bull move the main assumptions by fixed steps. See and change the assumptions

Filings and data used

Report history

  1. Oct 13, 2026InitiationStart of coverage (300 largest)LX International: Thin Margins and Low P/B, With a Wide-Ranging Model Estimate

Built only from jonbur's own data: prices and investor flows, filed financial statements and filings, and news headlines. Disclosed (filed) data is labelled as such. Written by AI and may contain mistakes.

This is not financial advice. The report does not recommend buying or selling anything.

Source: KRX statistical information