Korea Investment & Securities Co. on the 30th said Nongshim's operating profit will increase 21.9% next year, analyzing that the effect of price hikes will be fully reflected. It maintained a Buy rating and a target price of 600,000 won. Nongshim's previous closing price was 434,000 won.
Korea Investment & Securities Co. projected Nongshim's 2026 results at 3.7879 trillion won in revenue and 242.5 billion won in operating profit. It expected increases of 7.1% and 21.9%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Kang Eun-ji, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co., said, "The main reasons for the increase in operating profit are the reflection of price hike effects at the domestic (separate) unit and the North America unit, demand recovery, and reduced promotion expense expenditure."
Nongshim in Mar. raised prices of 17 domestic ramen and snack items by an average of 7.2%. In Jul., it raised U.S. ramen prices by double digits. After the price hike, domestic ramen sales volume began to narrow its decline from the third quarter, and in the United States, with the full-scale launch of localized products, shipments are expected to rebound from 2026.
Nongshim is also expected to push aggressively to expand overseas revenue in 2026. To lower the entry barrier for new overseas consumers, after first launching Shin Ramyun with tom yum kung flavor in the fourth quarter of 2023, it rolled out Shin Toomba in the fourth quarter of 2024, accelerating its localization strategy. As of the third quarter of this year, Shin Toomba completed entry into distributors, and it is slated to enter Walmart and Costco.
In addition, Nongshim recently opened a Shin Ramyun snack shop at the food court of New York's JFK Airport, selling ramen products and snack products together. Kang said it is "part of a strategy to build global recognition."
Kang said, "By carrying out a marketing collaboration with K-pop Demon Hunters recently and pushing a localization strategy, visibility into overseas business growth is increasing," and added, "With aggressive overseas market penetration and the reflection of price hike effects, it is time to focus on the momentum for full-fledged earnings improvement."
Kang added that if the potential for future overseas revenue growth is confirmed, there remains room for additional valuation re-rating.