Magnachip Semiconductor Corporation (MX)
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Our Rating
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Buying here means buying a turnaround bet with a tailwind from the balance sheet and headwinds from four directions at once: a core business losing money at the operating line, dilution of up to almost 25 percent from the running selling program, concentration risk in customer, country and fab, and a currency that cost more equity in the first quarter of 2026 than the loss itself. The AI angle currently drawing attention to the stock exists so far only in a selling document. If you wait, check three things in the coming filings: is the gross margin climbing back toward twenty percent? How many of the up to 9,090,909 new shares have actually been placed? And does "AI" finally appear in a mandatory filing, with a product and revenue behind it? The unresolved earnings picture is the reason for caution. The decision is yours.
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
Magnachip Semiconductor (NYSE: MX) builds chips in South Korea that switch electricity — power semiconductors for chargers, televisions, e-bikes and server boards. In its annual report for 2025 and in its two most recent quarterly reports to the U.S. securities regulator, the SEC, the terms "artificial intelligence", "AI", "data center" and "robotics" appear a combined zero times. On June 17, 2026 the company set up a program to sell up to $50 million of newly issued stock — and there the stated use of proceeds suddenly includes "technologies that support AI data centers and robotics." The same company previously took 21.8 million of its own shares into treasury for $229.9 million. Not investment advice — just the question of whether a word can stand in for a business model.
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This stock currently matches 4 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
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Basics
Performance
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Quality & Screener
AI Rating
NeutralMagnachip fertigt analoge Leistungshalbleiter ohne KI-Bezug: Im Geschäftsbericht 10-K für 2025 und in den Quartalsberichten 10-Q zum 30.09.2025 und 31.03.2026 kommen „artificial intelligence“, „AI“, „data center“, „robotics“ und „machine learning“ je null Mal vor — die einzige KI-Nennung ist eine Mittelverwendungs-Absicht im Verkaufsprospekt 424B5 vom 17.06.2026, ohne Produkt, Kunden, Umsatz oder Vereinbarung.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, if any, after deducting commissions and offering expenses payable by us, for general corporate purposes, which may include investments in strategic growth initiatives and technologies that support AI data centers and robotics."
Wir beabsichtigen derzeit, die Nettoerlöse aus diesem Angebot, falls es welche gibt, nach Abzug von Provisionen und Angebotskosten für allgemeine Unternehmenszwecke zu verwenden, wozu Investitionen in strategische Wachstumsinitiativen und in Technologien gehören können, die KI-Rechenzentren und Robotik unterstützen.
„We have not entered into any agreements or commitments with respect to any material acquisitions or investments at this time."
Wir haben derzeit keinerlei Vereinbarungen oder Verpflichtungen im Hinblick auf wesentliche Übernahmen oder Investitionen getroffen.
Filings Reviewed: 10-K 2026-03-16 · 10-Q 2026-05-08 · 10-Q 2025-11-10 · 8-K 2026-04-28 · 424B5 2026-06-17 · 8-K 2026-06-17
Rated on July 25, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | -0.21 | -250.00 | 46 | -23.90 | -28.00 | -1 | -2 |
| 2024: Q3 | -0.34 | -750.00 | 67 | 8.50 | -14.50 | -13 | -16 |
| 2024: Q4 | 0.02 | 109.50 | 63 | 24.00 | -25.80 | 12 | 4 |
| 2025: Q1 | -0.10 | 64.30 | 44 | 1.70 | -20.10 | -5 | -5 |
| 2025: Q2 | -0.08 | 61.90 | 46 | -1.00 | 0.70 | -25 | -37 |
| 2025: Q3 | -0.01 | 97.10 | 46 | -30.90 | -28.50 | 0 | -8 |
| 2025: Q4 | -0.08 | -500.00 | 41 | -34.90 | -19.70 | 5 | -5 |
| 2026: Q1 | -0.11 | -10.00 | 46 | 4.60 | -10.10 | 2 | -2 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
As of March 31, 2026 the company held $94.6 million of cash against $42.3 million of borrowings — roughly $52 million of net cash, with $232.8 million of equity and an equity ratio near 69 percent. The only sizeable loan ($26.4 million at 4.06 percent) runs to March 26, 2027. There is no acute funding pressure, but the cushion is shrinking: $24.2 million flowed out of operations in 2025 alongside $30.0 million of capital expenditure.
The continuing power business lost $35.9 million at the operating line in 2025 after $26.0 million the year before — the restructuring did not end the losses, it concentrated them. Gross profit fell 18.9 percent to $31.4 million (margin 17.6 percent versus 19.7 percent), while sales, administration and research together cost $62.4 million. In the first quarter of 2026 the margin was 15.6 percent against 20.9 percent a year earlier.
Over the years the company took 21,808,596 of its own shares into treasury for $229.9 million (roughly $10.54 each) and then, on June 17, 2026, set up a program to sell up to $50 million of new stock. At the documented $5.50 price that is 9,090,909 shares, almost 25 percent more than the 36,499,302 shares outstanding; the prospectus puts the resulting count at up to 45,490,211 shares. Options, restricted stock units and 3,000,000 plan shares registered in July 2026 come on top.
The annual report on Form 10-K for 2025 (March 16, 2026) and the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q as of September 30, 2025 and March 31, 2026 contain a combined zero occurrences of "AI", "artificial intelligence", "data center", "robotics" and "machine learning". The only substantive reference is the use-of-proceeds intention in the 424B5 prospectus of June 17, 2026 — with no product, customer, revenue or agreement, as the document itself confirms.
One customer accounted for 31.0 percent of revenue in the first quarter of 2026 and one for 40.6 percent of receivables; China and Hong Kong made up 83.8 percent of Asia-Pacific revenue outside Korea, and 99.8 percent of fixed assets sit in Korea. The won moving from 1,434.9 to 1,513.4 to the dollar cost $11.44 million of equity and $4.5 million of cash in the first quarter of 2026. The Gumi substation upgrade is expected to weigh on margins in Q3 and Q4 2026.
Byreforge LLC has held 8.5 percent since its Schedule 13D of November 20, 2025 at a cost of roughly $2.74 per share; managing partner Cristiano Amoruso has sat on the board and all three committees since January 14, 2026 and drew the best vote on June 11, 2026. Chae Lee has run the company since July 1, 2026, with initial options carrying a minimum exercise price of $5.50. Both create pressure for change — results are not in yet.
Magnachip Semiconductor cut itself back to its core business in 2025 and is still losing money there: a $35.9 million operating loss in 2025 and another $7.2 million in the first quarter of 2026, on a gross margin of 15.6 percent. The balance sheet carries that for now — roughly $52 million of net cash and $232.8 million of equity as of March 31, 2026. What is remarkable is the story around it: three consecutive mandatory filings contain not a single AI term; only the selling prospectus of June 17, 2026, which allows up to $50 million of new stock to be placed, mentions "technologies that support AI data centers and robotics" — with no product, customer or revenue behind it. The same company previously took 21.8 million of its own shares into treasury for $229.9 million. Not investment advice.
- The stock reached our research list through our in-house Reddit hype scanner: 2 mentions in 24 hours, first recorded on July 25, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. That is a footnote rather than a hype cycle, but the occasion is plausible, because on June 17, 2026 the company disclosed a share selling program whose use of proceeds carries an AI reference.
- On market value: the figure supplied by the fundamental data feed (as of July 25, 2026) deviates by more than a fifth from the cross-check "36,499,302 shares × $5.50" (the last price documented in the 424B5 prospectus, June 16, 2026) and was therefore neither used nor relied upon for derived metrics. Every valuation figure in this analysis rests on the documented prospectus price.
- On comparability of the time series: all annual and quarterly figures here show continuing operations (Power). The annual report for 2025 restated the prior-year figures accordingly after the Display business was wound down at the end of the second quarter of 2025. The exception is the cash flow data: per the company, the statements of cash flows are not adjusted to separate continuing from discontinued operations.
- Do not confuse the spellings: the company writes itself "Magnachip" (lowercase c) in its current filings. The older "MagnaChip" spelling still appears in legacy documents and some databases. The SEC registry entry was refreshed on July 10, 2026 with the name unchanged — there was no renaming.
About the Company
Magnachip Semiconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platform solutions for communications, the Internet of Things, consumer, computing, industrial, and automotive applications. It provides display solutions, including source and gate drivers, and timing controllers that cover a range of flat panel displays used in mobile communications, automotive, entertainment devices, monitors, notebook PCs, tablet PC and TVs, liquid crystal display, organic light emitting diodes (OLED), and micro light emitting diode (Micro LED) panel. The company also offers metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors, insulated-gate bipolar transistors, AC-DC converters, DC-DC converters, LED drivers, regulators, and power management integrated circuits for a range of devices comprising televisions, smartphones, mobile phones, wearable devices, desktop PCs, notebooks, tablet PCs, level shifter, and other consumer electronics, as well as for power suppliers, e-bikes, photovoltaic inverters, LED lighting, and motor drives; and OLED display driver integrated circuit products. It serves consumer, computing, communication, automotive and industrial electronics OEMs, original design manufacturers, and electronics manufacturing services companies, as well as subsystem designers in Korea, the Asia Pacific, the United States, and Europe. The company sells its products through a direct sales force and a network of agents and distributors. Magnachip Semiconductor Corporation was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Cheongju-si, South Korea.
| IPO Year | 2011 |
|---|
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 25, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.