APR Stock Nearly Doubles in a Year as Medicube’s US Retail Expansion Accelerates

The South Korean beauty company APR is one of the best performers in the K-beauty world, with its shares almost doubling in value in the past year as it has seen its flagship Medicube brand accelerate in the US as the market in the country's largest market for beauty products move into the US market. The company’s expansion has been driven by robust overseas demand, growing brand visibility and a push into major American retail chains and a big expansion into big US chains.

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APR shares slipped just a little bit yesterday and fell about 1 percent to 457,000 won. And although the shares may have fallen slightly, the company’s stock is still much higher than a year ago, and investors are bullish about the company’s international expansion and its potential to grow Medicube into a globally recognised skincare company.

A key development in APR's US strategy is Medicube’s plan to be part of Costco stores. The Zero Pore Pad 2.0, a skincare product for the removal of pores, will be available at Costco stores across the United States in September. Medicube has access to one of America’s most extensive membership-based retail networks and could greatly increase the brand’s physical presence among US consumers.

The Costco expansion follows several important retail partnerships. Medicube entered Ulta Beauty in August and then Target in April and Walmart in June. The quick succession of launches is indicative of APR’s vision to sell its products at both specialist beauty retailers and mass-market stores.

The US has become particularly important to APR's overall business. North American sales were 376.3 billion won in the June quarter, about 49% of the company's total revenue. It illustrates how quickly the region has evolved from an overseas prospect to one of APR’s main growth engines.

Medicube has also benefited from strong online consumer interest. APR said that “Medicube” was the most searched term across all product categories on the platform during Amazon's June 23-26 Prime Day event. That visibility could help the brand convert its growing online popularity into sustained demand through physical retail outlets.

APR’s financial performance has also been driving the stock rally. The company had revenue of 767.5 billion won in the June quarter, up 134.2 percent from a year ago. Operating profit rose 134.5 percent to 190.6 billion won.

The company’s dependence on international markets has also changed drastically. Overseas markets accounted for 91.8% of APR’s total revenue in the quarter. That number highlights the change in APR from a primarily South Korean cosmetics company into a business increasingly driven by global consumers.

APR’s stock market journey has been relatively recent. The company was listed on South Korea’s benchmark Kospi in 2024, but it now has a market value of around 17.3 trillion won. At that level, APR’s market capitalisation is nearly twice that of established beauty giant Amorepacific and more than three times that of LG Household & Health Care.

The company is also reacting to this rapid growth in international growth by raising its revenue goal for full-year to 3 trillion won from a previous target of about 2.1 trillion won. Management’s more optimistic outlook goes hand in hand with much stronger US demand and expansion in other foreign markets.

APR Vice President Shin Jae-ha said US sales alone could reach about 1.3 trillion won this year. If achieved, that would make the American market an increasingly dominant component of the company’s overall performance and further strengthen the investment case around its international strategy.

APR’s growth also comes against a broader boom in Korean cosmetics overseas. In the first half of 2026 South Korea’s cosmetics exports were estimated to reach a record $7 billion during the first half of 2026, with 27.3% growth from a year earlier, the country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said.

The combination of growing K-beauty exports, expanding American retail distribution and strong financial performance has made APR a familiar face of the beauty industry to investors. But the stock is also a very fast growth stock and so expectations are high. Continued revenue growth and strong consumer demand and successful implementation of US expansion will be the key in maintaining APR’s exponential growth rate.

For now, the Medicube brand’s entry to Costco is another step forward for APR’s international expansion. Since its products are available from Ulta Beauty, Target, Walmart and other major online portals, it is positioning itself to make Korean skincare an increasingly popular product in the US market.