Everyone's buying semiconductors — but what about Samyang Foods? Analysts say now is the time to reinvest

As the domestic stock market realigns around semiconductors and AI, a new report argues that investors should turn their attention back to the food and beverage sector, which has been left behind in the rally.

Analysts are increasingly saying that Samyang Foods — the company behind the "Buldak phenomenon" — is poised to enter a rerating phase, driven by a resumption of export momentum and expectations of improving earnings.

Korea Investment & Securities named Samyang Foods its top pick in the food and beverage sector in a recent report, saying that "even if the market environment continues to sideline consumer staples, monthly export data and second-quarter earnings will prompt a fresh reassessment of K-ramyun growth potential."

Across the broader market, surging enthusiasm for AI investment and Korean semiconductors has pushed consumer staples out of focus. Samyang Foods was no exception. When ramyun export data showed a temporary slowdown due to the May holiday period, the stock fell along with the broader food and beverage sector correction.

Analysts in the brokerage community, however, see the dip as a buying opportunity. The key driver is a revival in export growth. According to Korea Investment & Securities, South Korea's ramyun exports hit a record high in April. May saw a brief pause due to fewer working days, but June has shown signs of renewed improvement. Daily average export figures in early June are estimated to be up roughly 10 percent from April levels.

Industry observers say Buldak Bokkeum Myun has in effect created an entirely new ramyun category overseas. The constraint has not been demand but supply — products have still been selling out abroad — and analysts say the capacity shortage is gradually easing as the scale-up of the second Miryang factory begins to take full effect.

LS Securities also said Samyang Foods' growth momentum is strengthening again. "Concerns raised last year about slowing overseas demand have been largely resolved by first-quarter earnings and export data," said Park Seong-ho, a researcher at LS Securities. "Exports to the United States and China continue to grow at a solid pace, and overseas demand still exceeds supply capacity."

LS Securities estimated that provisional ramyun export figures to the United States and China in May rose 31.3 percent and 30.5 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. The brokerage attributed US growth to expanded production as the second Miryang factory ramps up its utilization rate, and China's recovery to a resumption of exports following inventory drawdowns.

The earnings outlook is also bright. LS Securities forecast Samyang Foods' full-year sales at 3.0289 trillion won (approximately $1.98 billion) and operating profit at 718.9 billion won, representing year-on-year increases of 28.8 percent and 37.1 percent, respectively.

Valuation is drawing attention as well. Korea Investment & Securities noted that Samyang Foods' 2026 price-to-earnings ratio currently stands at around 15 times, near the bottom of its historical trading band. Given the prospect of annual average growth exceeding 20 percent over the next three years and the ability to sustain operating profit margins in the mid-20 percent range, the brokerage said a P/E ratio above 20 times is well within reach.

The market expects that as the second Miryang factory's ramp-up effect fully materializes, earnings estimates will be revised upward, and anticipation of the next expansion — at the Jiaxing factory in China — will further support a rerating of the stock.

"Expanding supply capacity to meet global demand remains a challenge, but output has started to rise in earnest following the scale-up of the second Miryang factory, and export momentum is resuming this year," said Choi Go-un, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities. "This is the time to pay attention to export growth again."

th5@heraldcorp.com