Nepes네패스

Nepes shares have swung sharply, and the latest half-year profit is thin at a 2.2% net margin despite a recovery from losses in 2023 and 2024.

Nepes is a Korean chip back-end and packaging company that also supplies process chemicals and battery lead tabs. Trailing twelve-month revenue to H1 2026 is about ₩548.8B with operating income of ₩37.6B, up from a much weaker 2024 and 2023. The balance sheet carries heavy borrowings of ₩283.4B against cash of ₩108.0B, and the stock trades at a P/E of 44 with a 52-week range of ₩11,400 to ₩41,150.

What stands out

• Operating margin has recovered to 6.8% on a trailing basis, from losses in 2021 to 2023 and a 4.6% margin in 2025.
• Net margin is only 2.2% on a trailing basis, so a large part of operating profit is absorbed before it reaches shareholders.
• Liabilities are 177.8% of equity, and borrowings are well above cash, so leverage is a notable feature of the balance sheet.
• The stock is down 15.6% over one month but up 32.9% over three months and 40.1% over one year, at ₩23,300 on 23 October 2026.
• Foreign ownership rose from 10.3% to 13.3% over about 60 days, while retail investors were net sellers of about ₩19.2B over the last 20 days.
• An October 2026 news item reports the start of initial supply of silicon capacitors and memory controllers for AI servers and other uses.

What to watch

• The next quarterly or half-year results, to see whether operating margin holds and net margin improves from 2.2%.
• Progress on the AI-server product supply mentioned in the October news, and whether it appears in later filings or revenue.
• Debt levels and interest costs, since borrowings of ₩283.4B exceed cash and free cash flow over the trailing period was only about ₩5.5B.