An analysis of representative corporations by major industry in Korea, the United States, and Japan found that Korean corporations held an edge in growth and stability, while U.S. corporations led in profitability.
The Korea Enterprises Federation said in a report published on the 28th, titled "An analysis of management performance of representative corporations by industry in Korea, the United States, and Japan," that an analysis of the revenue growth rate, operating margin, and liability ratio of 38 corporations across seven industries produced these results.
Those surveyed were seven industries—semiconductors, steel, automobiles, defense, pharmaceuticals and bio, internet services, and refining—with the top two corporations in each country selected. However, Japan was excluded from the semiconductor and internet services analyses due to a lack of suitable corporations.
According to the survey, on a cumulative basis through the third quarter this year, the revenue of Korean corporations rose 14.0% from the same period last year. That is 1.8 times the United States (7.8%) and 10 times Japan (1.4%).
The average liability ratio of Korean corporations was 86.8%, the lowest among the three countries. Japan recorded 146.7%, and the United States 202.5%.
For profitability, the average operating margin was highest in the United States at 17.9%. Korea was 14.7%, and Japan was 5.5%.
By industry, Korea saw sharp revenue growth in defense (42.3%) and semiconductors (22.5%), but growth was weak in steel (-3.4%) and refining (0.6%), the survey was found. The United States showed solid growth in semiconductors (31.5%) and internet services (17.7%), while Japan did so in defense (10.5%) and automobiles (3.1%).
For operating margin, all three countries recorded the highest levels in the pharmaceuticals and bio industry.
Korea was highest in pharmaceuticals and bio (32.1%) and semiconductors (26.7%), while profitability was low in refining (0.4%) and steel (2.2%), the survey was found. The United States posted high operating margins in pharmaceuticals and bio (38.0%) and internet services (36.9%), while Japan did so in pharmaceuticals and bio (13.9%) and defense (6.9%).
Regardless of country, by industry, semiconductors (27.0%) showed the highest revenue growth rate, followed by defense (19.8%) and internet services (12.3%). In contrast, revenue declined in steel (-2.1%) and refining (-2.9%).
Operating margins were highest in pharmaceuticals and bio (28.0%), semiconductors (26.1%), internet services (25.0%), and defense (12.4%). Automobiles (5.6%), refining (4.3%), and steel (0.9%) showed weak profitability.
Ha Sang-woo, head of the economic research division at KEF, said, "Amid the imposition of high U.S. tariffs, Korean corporations performed well this year in semiconductors, defense, and pharmaceuticals and bio, but some industries struggled." Ha emphasized, "Next year, as the impact of U.S. tariff hikes takes hold and the global economy slows, difficulties could intensify, so policy support such as tax reforms and regulatory easing needs to be more aggressive."