3 Major Criteria of Fundamental Stock Screen for Major Korean F&B Companies
In this insight, we provide 3 major fundamental criteria for screening major Korean F&B companies.
Three major criteria include 3 years CAGR revenue growth of 5% or more, increase in net margin in 2024, and overseas sales more than 10% of total sales.
Of the 30 Korean F&B companies mentioned in this insight, only six companies meet these criteria including Samyang Foods, Orion Corp, Hitejinro, Lotte Wellfood, Daesang Corporation, and Pulmuone.
Share Price Performances of Top 30 Korean F&B Companies
The table below provides share price performances of the top 30 Korean companies (ranked in terms of market cap; includes companies with market cap of at least 100 billion won). The 30 Korean companies listed below have experienced 11.8% increase in their share prices on average so far this year (as of 29 May), which is slightly below KOSPI which is up 13.4% in the same period.
Out of these 30 companies, 12 of them had more than 10% appreciation in their share prices and 6 of them (most notably Samyang Foods (003230 KS), Dongwon F&B (049770 KS), and Sunjin Co Ltd (136490 KS)) had more than 20% appreciation in their share prices.
Two major factors driving higher share prices of Korean F&B companies in 2025 - So far in 2025, there have been two major factors driving higher many of these Korean F&B companies' share prices which include their strong export growth and appreciation of the KRW versus USD.
The chart below shows the USD/KRW currency chart. KRW has appreciated about 6% versus USD since end of 2024. Typically, a strengthening of the KRW versus the USD helps the profit margins of many F&B companies in Korea since they could import key raw materials at cheaper prices. The outperformance of some of the F&B companies so far in 2025 has partly been due to the appreciation of the KRW versus USD this year.
Source: South Korean Won - Quote - Chart - Historical Data - News
Samyang Food (The Most Benchmarked F&B Company in Korea) - Samyang Food has become the most benchmarked company in terms of how to grow the business resulting in higher share price. Samyang Food's share price is up more than 800% in the past five years. The exceptional growth of its ultra spicy instant ramen in overseas markets has been the chief factor driving higher share price of Samyang Food.
Many of other Korean F&B Korean companies are benchmarking Samyang Food to achieve similar success. The world-wide growing popularity of K-Pop and Korean movies and dramas are further fueling the growth of Korean foods and beverages.
3 Major Criteria of Fundamental Stock Screen for Major Korean F&B Companies
The table below provides three major criteria of fundamental stock screen for the major Korean F&B companies. The three major criteria include a) 3 years CAGR revenue growth of 5% or more, b) increase in net margin in 2024, and c) overseas sales more than 10% of total sales. Of the 30 companies above, only six companies meet these criteria including
HiteJinro (000080 KS)
For these companies, improving overseas sales is a key component of their top-line growth with a few Korean companies conducting acquisitions of overseas F&B companies. These are the companies that could continue to outperform the market in the next 6-12 months.
See our recent insights on these names:
Source: Google finance
Key Income Statement Items, Sales Breakdown (By Geography), and Growth Track Records [Data]
The table below provides the key income statements of 30 Korean F&B companies in Korea as well as their sales breakdown (by geography), and growth track records.
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