By Jihye Lee

Spicy "fire chicken" noodles are minting big bucks for South Korea's Samyang Foods, whose stock hit a record high Thursday as the product's appearance in a hit film cements its place in pop culture.

The Buldak-brand noodles made by Samyang have gone viral on social media, inspiring spicy eating challenges and "food hack" trends.

Buldak's intensely hot instant noodles have been touted by K-Pop stars and spicy noodles were featured in the hit Netflix movie "K-Pop Demon Hunters," whetting investors' appetite for the company that makes them.

Samyang's shares jumped as much as 7.3% on Thursday, for a 1600% gain over the past three years. The massive surge earned it the nickname "Myun-vidia," a portmanteau of the Korean word for noodles and Nvidia, as the noodle maker's stock rally is likened to the chip-maker's.

K-pop culture momentum has helped cement Samyang as a premium global brand, analysts say, and that's being reflected in its fundamentals too.

Samyang's second-quarter revenue rose 30% compared with the same period a year earlier to 553.1 billion won, equivalent to $397 million, while operating profit climbed 34%.

While that was below market expectations due to tariff-related inventory shifts and heavy marketing expenses, the weakness will likely be temporary, Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst Han Yoo-jung wrote in a note. She maintained a buy rating on the stock and raised its target price, citing the company's expansion in the U.S. and China.

Kiwoom Securities analyst Park Sang-jun expects Samyang's profitability to rise once product price hikes are fully reflected in earnings, likely in the first quarter of 2026.

"With a new factory set to open in China in early 2027, Samyang has fresh valuation drivers ahead," Park wrote in a note.

With Samyang's production capacity set to rise substantially through 2027, there is scope for the company to cash in on the noodles' "virality," said Han at Hanwha.

"There are higher expectations for [Samyang] dominating the U.S. market, even more so than the South Korean market," Han wrote, pointing to a rise in online sales boosted by social media.

That said, Samyang faces intensifying competition in China, a key market, and oversupply will likely weigh on margins. Uncertainty over U.S. trade policy also poses a headwind.

With Samyang's share price now in what investors call "golden stock territory"--referring to anything above KRW1 million--investors will looking for shareholder-friendly moves like raised dividends, Han said.

For now, Samyang's fiery noodles, and equally hot stock, remain one of Korea's biggest market movers, with the company's market capitalization now topping that of BTS agency Hybe, another super-star K-culture stock.

Write to Jihye Lee at jihye.lee@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 28, 2025 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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