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JONBUR Research · Initiation

E-Mart · 139480 · Retail & Trade

E-Mart: Thin Margins and Near-Zero Earnings Contrast With a Low Price-to-Book Ratio

Why this report

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

E-Mart closed at ₩72,300 on 2026-10-12, down 12.2% over three months and close to its 52-week low of ₩69,600. Filed statements show revenue of about ₩28.8T but trailing net income of only ₩21B, leaving a 0.2 price-to-book ratio beside a 95 price-to-earnings ratio.

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 two readings. On assets, the shares trade at 0.2 times book value, well below peers such as Samsung C&T (0.5) and Shinsegae (0.5), and the dividend yield is shown as 6.8%. On earnings, trailing net income is ₩21B, ROE is 0.2% and the operating margin is 1.0%, so the P/E of 95 reflects very low profit rather than a high price.

The annual record is uneven: net income was ₩1.57T in 2021, then losses in 2023 and 2024, then a recovery to ₩136B in 2025. Trailing profit is lower again. Flow, foreign ownership and short-balance data are not available, so we cannot say how investors are positioned.

Business overview

E-Mart is a KOSPI-listed company in the Retail & Trade sector. It was founded on 2011-05-03 and listed on 2011-06-10, with 27,875,819 listed shares and a market capitalization of about ₩2.0T. Its CEO is listed as 한채양.

Revenue has been flat at roughly ₩29T for four years: ₩29.3T in 2022, ₩29.5T in 2023, ₩29.0T in 2024 and ₩29.0T in 2025. The jump of 17.6% in 2022 is the only large growth year in the data. The business description is limited to this; no segment data is provided.

Financial analysis

All figures below come from filed financial statements (DART). Trailing twelve months to H1 2026: revenue ₩28.8T, operating income ₩277B (1.0% margin), net income ₩21B (0.1% margin) and ROE 0.2%.

Annual operating income was ₩317B in 2021, ₩136B in 2022, a loss of ₩47B in 2023, ₩47B in 2024 and ₩323B in 2025. Net income was ₩1.57T, ₩1.03T, -₩89B, -₩590B and ₩136B over the same years. The 2024 loss gave an ROE of -5.4%.

The balance sheet shows liabilities to equity of 133.7%, cash of ₩1.19T and borrowings of ₩4.95T. Trailing free cash flow is positive at ₩921B, well above net income. Enterprise value is ₩5.78T.

Valuation

Current multiples are a P/E of 95, a P/B of 0.2, a P/S of 0.1 and a dividend yield of 6.8%. EV/EBITDA is not available. At the end of 2025 the P/E was 16.6 and the P/B was 0.2, so the P/E has risen as trailing profit fell while the P/B is unchanged. Year-end multiples for earlier years are not available.

Among the listed peers, P/B ranges from 0.5 (Samsung C&T, Shinsegae) to 7.0 (ISC), and P/E from 5.5 (Youngone) to 52.3 (ISC). E-Mart's P/B is below all of them, and its P/E is above all of them.

The valuation model (5-year DCF, 4.0% rate, TTM to H1 2026) gives a base case of ₩206,866 per share, with a bear case of ₩0 and a bull case of ₩2,256,614. This is a model estimate based on the assumptions shown, not a target. The very wide range shows how sensitive the result is to thin and volatile profits. The base case is well above the ₩72,300 share price.

Catalysts

  • A preliminary earnings filing is dated 2026-10-13, which may update the profit picture beyond the H1 2026 figures.
  • The company filed a capital reduction decision on 2026-08-28 and an amended version on 2026-09-22, which could affect the capital structure.
  • An acquisition of shares in another company was filed on 2026-10-06, with details not provided in the data.
  • The half-year report (June 2026) and an IR event in August provided the latest financial update.
  • A 2026-10-13 news headline describes a discount competition among retailers, including E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus.

Risks

  • Trailing net income of ₩21B and an operating margin of 1.0% leave little buffer against cost or competitive pressure.
  • Earnings have been volatile, with net losses in 2023 and 2024 after profits above ₩1T in 2021 and 2022.
  • Borrowings of ₩4.95T and liabilities to equity of 133.7% add financial leverage.
  • Revenue has been flat to slightly down for four years, with no growth evident in the data.
  • The shares are near their 52-week low of ₩69,600 and are down 12.2% over three months, while investor flow and short-interest data are unavailable.

Closing view

The data shows a large retailer with stable revenue, weak and uneven profit, positive free cash flow and shares priced at 0.2 times book value. The P/E of 95 and ROE of 0.2% show that low book multiples reflect low returns on equity. The model's base estimate is above the current price, but its range from ₩0 to ₩2,256,614 shows the estimate is highly uncertain. The upcoming earnings filing and the capital reduction and acquisition filings are the items to watch for further evidence.

Model estimate of fair value

Bear
₩0
-100%
Base
₩206,866
+202%
Bull
₩2,256,614
+3199%

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%). 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)E-Mart: Thin Margins and Near-Zero Earnings Contrast With a Low Price-to-Book Ratio

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