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Photo = Hanwha Aerospace |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Seoul, May 7, 2025 — Hanwha Aerospace has overtaken Hyundai Motor to become the fifth-largest company by market capitalization on South Korea’s KOSPI stock exchange, driven by record-high share prices and strong investor sentiment surrounding its global defense prospects.
On Tuesday, shares of Hanwha Aerospace closed at KRW 890,000, up KRW 72,000 (8.8%) from the previous session — setting a new all-time high closing price. Based on the closing price, the company’s market capitalization reached KRW 40.57 trillion, surpassing Hyundai Motor’s KRW 39.29 trillion.
Hanwha Aerospace now ranks fifth on the KOSPI, following Samsung Electronics (1st), SK hynix (2nd), LG Energy Solution (3rd), and Samsung Biologics (4th). Hyundai Motor has dropped to sixth place.
Investor sentiment was buoyed by international media reports — including Canada’s CBC News — on May 5 (local time) suggesting that Hanwha Aerospace has proposed supplying the Canadian Army with multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) similar to the U.S.-made HIMARS, as well as K9 self-propelled howitzers.
Analysts continue to revise their price targets upward in response to the company’s strong performance. At the end of last month, Nam-Hyun Jang, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, raised his target price for Hanwha Aerospace by 58% to KRW 1.3 million. On May 2, Dong-Ho Jung of Mirae Asset Securities set a target price of KRW 1.2 million, a 27% increase from his previous estimate.
Ji-Ho Lee, an analyst at Meritz Securities, commented, “Hanwha Aerospace is proactively investing in anticipation of rising demand and localization strategies in global defense markets. Given its diversified export portfolio and localization efforts, the company is unlikely to remain undervalued compared to its European defense peers over the mid- to long-term.”
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
