Brokerage : Mirae Asset Securities
Analyst : Chul-joong Kim, Se-hoon Jung
Investment Rating : BUY (Maintained)
Target Price : KRW 1,000,000 (Raised)
Core Momentum : Building on 1Q26 cost structure improvements, the company is poised for aggressive order expansion backed by the ongoing pursuit of SDC stake monetization, driving a full-year 2026 return to operating profitability.
📊 1. [Valuation & Key Financial Metrics]
- Investment Rating & Target Price: BUY (Maintained), Target Price KRW 1,000,000 (Raised by +67% from KRW 600,000, Sector Top Pick)
- SOTP Valuation Breakdown: Total operating value sum-of-the-parts (ESS KRW 48 Trillion, EV KRW 15 Trillion, Small Batteries KRW 13 Trillion, Electronic Materials KRW 3 Trillion, reflecting the rising book value of the SDC stake currently pursued for sale)
- Market Data (As of 2026-04-28): Current Price KRW 680,000 (Upside Potential 47.1%), Market Cap KRW 54.80 Trillion, KOSPI 6,641.02pt, Shares Outstanding 81.0 Million, Foreign Ownership 25.7%
- Key Financial Forecasts (2025 → 2026F → 2027F):
- Revenue: KRW 13.27 Trillion → KRW 15.51 Trillion → KRW 19.63 Trillion
- Operating Profit: KRW -1.72 Trillion → KRW 134.0 Billion (Turnaround, beating consensus KRW -383.0 Billion) → KRW 1.69 Trillion
- Net Profit (Controlling): KRW -649.0 Billion → KRW 565.0 Billion (Turnaround) → KRW 2.02 Trillion
- EPS: KRW -8,325 → KRW 6,876 (Turnaround) → KRW 24,522
- Operating Margin (OPM): -13.0% → 0.9% → 8.6%
- ROE: -3.2% → 2.6% → 8.6%
- PER / PBR: -x / 1.0x → 98.9x / 2.5x → 27.7x / 2.3x
🚀 2. [Market Opportunities & Business Outlook]
- 1Q26 Earnings Review: Operating loss came in at KRW -155.6 Billion, beating the brokerage estimate of KRW -220.0 Billion. EV unit losses narrowed significantly to ~10% backed by AMPC recognition from US lines shipping to Europe and lower Hungarian fixed costs. ESS achieved meaningful profit expansion (estimated low-single-digit operating profit excluding AMPC), while small batteries improved steadily on BBU and power tool demand.
- 2Q26 Earnings Outlook: Projected Operating Loss of KRW -45.3 Billion, showing sequential loss narrowing. Upside potential remains depending on the scale of Stellantis compensation in 2H26.
- Medium-Term Drivers & Order Intake Momentum:
- Aggressive Order Intake: Cash proceeds from the pursued monetization of the SDC stake are expected to support active bidding for global contracts.
- Project Pipeline: Order acceleration expected across North American ESS and European EV platforms (Mercedes-Benz prismatic EV, VW LFP prismatic EV, Sungrow North American prismatic ESS, AWS BBU/ESS).
- Valuation Gap: A significant valuation gap remains relative to global peers considering projected 2027–2028 new orders and earnings growth.
📝 Editor’s Comment (Perspective)
The analyst views Samsung SDI as a turnaround battery manufacturer transitioning into a broad earnings growth phase across all business divisions (EV, ESS, and small batteries), supported by initial cost structure improvements in 1Q and leading toward full-year operating profitability in 2026. This perspective places primary importance on securing aggressive order capabilities via the pursued monetization of the SDC stake and accelerating high-quality project wins across North American ESS and European EV markets, rather than focusing on near-term quarterly operating losses.
To assess the continuing validity of this investment thesis, key monitoring factors include progress regarding the pursued monetization of the Samsung Display (SDC) stake and actual liquidity inflows, the formalization of new contract wins across North American ESS (Sungrow, AWS) and European EV programs (Mercedes-Benz, VW), and the achievement of the projected full-year operating profit turnaround in 2026. These execution milestones can be tracked through upcoming quarterly financial releases, official company IR materials, and statutory regulatory filings.
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Source: This content has been structured and newly written based on officially disclosed financial facts and data from brokerage reports.
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