Korea Investment & Securities said on the 12th that as the average daily value of ramen exports to the United States rebounded in December, export volume is expected to start increasing in earnest in the first quarter of next year. It maintained a Buy rating and a target price of 2 million won. The previous trading day's closing price of Samyang Foods was 1,292,000 won.
Kang Eun-ji, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "Because inventories were secured in the first half of 2025 to meet demand for China's Singles' Day and Lunar New Year and to ease tariff burdens, the value of exports to the United States, which had decreased compared to the first half, rebounded."
From Dec. 1–10, 2025, the average daily value of ramen exports was $4.98 million (about 7.3 billion won). That is up about 40.1% from a year earlier. Of that, ramen exports to the United States were $770,000 (about 1.1 billion won).
Kang estimated that Samyang Foods accounted for 66.1% of the cumulative value of Korean ramen exports from January to October, and emphasized, "As can be seen in the provisional data for December, despite price hikes, the uptrend in exports to the United States remains solid."
Kang projected that export volume to the United States will begin to increase in earnest from the first quarter of next year. Kang explained, "Considering shipping and delivery lags, the ramen export volume declared and cleared in December is highly likely to be reflected in first-quarter results next year."
Korea Investment & Securities forecast Samyang Foods' 2026 sales on a consolidation basis at 315.42 billion won and operating profit at 730.5 billion won. That represents increases of 31.8% and 33.6%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Kang said, "In 2026 as well, the outstanding growth potential of overseas operations in the food and beverage sector will stand out," adding, "The stock is trading at 16.6 times 12MF (12-month forward), down 27.7% from its peak, making the valuation attractive," and recommended Samyang Foods as the top pick in the food and beverage sector.