Over 600 Trillion Won in Market Cap Lost Among Listed Companies This Year... Samsung Electronics Market Cap Drops by One-Third

CXO Research Institute Investigates Market Cap Size and Ranking Changes from Early Year to Late August
Market Cap Drops from 2,572 Trillion in Early January to 1,942 Trillion by Late September... One-Quarter Lost in 9 Months
Kakao Group Stocks' Market Cap Halved in 4 Companies
Hanwha Solutions and Korea Zinc Market Cap Increase by Over 2 Trillion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The market capitalization of domestic listed companies has evaporated by more than 600 trillion won as of the end of September compared to the beginning of this year. Over 80% of more than 2,400 listed companies saw their market capitalization significantly decline in the third quarter. In particular, the market capitalization of four companies in the Kakao Group has shrunk by more than half over the past nine months.

According to the "2022 Q3 Domestic Stock Market Market Capitalization Change Analysis" released on the 11th by the Korea CXO Research Institute, which compared the market capitalization and stock price changes of 2,435 listed companies at the beginning of this year (January 3) and the end of September (30), 2,033 companies, accounting for 83.5% of the surveyed companies, saw their market capitalization decrease during this period. The total market capitalization of the entire stock market was 2,575 trillion won at the beginning of the year, but it dropped to 2,506 trillion won by the end of Q1 (March), then to 2,095 trillion won by the end of H1 (June), and further plummeted to 1,942 trillion won by the end of Q3 (September). In Q3 alone, the market capitalization shrank by more than 633 trillion won, representing a decline rate of 24.6%. Over the past nine months, the market capitalization has shrunk by about a quarter.

The number of listed companies in the 10 trillion won market cap club also decreased by more than 70 in Q3 alone. At the beginning of this year, 288 companies were in the 10 trillion won club, which dropped to 273 by the end of Q1 (January), 226 by the end of Q2 (June), and further down to 213 in Q3.

Among individual stocks, Samsung Electronics saw the largest decrease in market capitalization. Samsung Electronics' market cap fell from 469 trillion won at the beginning of January to about 316 trillion won by the end of September, losing more than 152 trillion won (a 32.4% decrease) in Q3 alone. There were seven companies whose market capitalization decreased by more than 10 trillion won in Q3: ▲ SK Hynix 33.0513 trillion won (93.5483 trillion won → 60.4969 trillion won) ▲ Naver 29.9389 trillion won (61.6824 trillion won → 31.7434 trillion won) ▲ Kakao 25.6150 trillion won (51.0423 trillion won → 25.4272 trillion won) ▲ KakaoBank 18.5255 trillion won (28.0819 trillion won → 9.5563 trillion won) ▲ KakaoPay 16.7651 trillion won (23.2773 trillion won → 6.5121 trillion won) ▲ Krafton 12.2197 trillion won (22.5248 trillion won → 10.3051 trillion won).

On the other hand, seven companies saw their corporate value increase by more than 1 trillion won in Q3. The company with the largest market cap growth over nine months was Hanwha Solutions. Its market cap rose from 6.7999 trillion won at the beginning of the year to 9.0283 trillion won by the end of September, increasing by more than 2.2283 trillion won in Q3 alone. Korea Zinc also joined the 10 trillion won club in Q3, with its market cap rising from 9.6237 trillion won to 11.8185 trillion won, an increase of more than 2.1948 trillion won during the same period. Other companies that increased their market cap by more than 1 trillion won compared to the beginning of the year include ▲ Hyundai Heavy Industries (1.5446 trillion won) ▲ KT (1.5275 trillion won) ▲ Korea Aerospace Industries (1.5157 trillion won) ▲ Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (1.3180 trillion won) ▲ KT&G (1.0434 trillion won).

Among the 213 companies in the 10 trillion won market cap club as of Q3, 170 companies (79.8%) saw their market cap shrink, and among them, 77 companies experienced a decrease of more than 30% over the past nine months. Of these 77 companies, 22 saw their market cap drop by more than 50%, with Wemade experiencing the largest decline at 74.7%, followed by KakaoPay with a 72% decrease. Other companies that lost more than 60% of their market cap include ▲ SK IE Technology (68.1%) ▲ Pearl Abyss (66.2%) ▲ KakaoBank (66%) ▲ SK Bioscience (64.9%) ▲ HYBE (61.5%) ▲ Iljin Materials (61.4%) ▲ Solus Advanced Materials (60.6%).

Despite the market crash, some companies saw their market cap increase by more than 50% in Q3 alone. ST Cube's market cap was only 257.1 billion won at the beginning of the year but surged to 1.0312 trillion won by the end of September, a 301% increase over nine months, earning it a place in the 10 trillion won club. Samchully also joined the club, with its market cap rising from 369 billion won to 1.0847 trillion won, a 194% increase over nine months.

Accordingly, there was active movement in the rankings within the top 100 market cap stocks. Compared to early January, nine companies newly entered the top 100 by the end of September, excluding LG Energy Solution. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard jumped 52 places from 124th (2.7959 trillion won) at the beginning of the year to 72nd (4.114 trillion won) by the end of September, joining the top 100 market cap list. During the same period, Hyundai Rotem also rose 52 places from 150th (2.3192 trillion won) to 98th (2.7613 trillion won), entering the top 100. Hanwha Aerospace climbed 50 places from 138th (2.5112 trillion won) to 88th (3.1137 trillion won). Other companies newly included in the top 100 by the end of September are ▲ Korea Aerospace Industries (108th → 60th) ▲ BGF Retail (140th → 93rd) ▲ Lotte Holdings (113th → 74th) ▲ EcoPro (130th → 92nd) ▲ Hotel Shilla (114th → 96th) ▲ Hanmi Pharmaceutical (101st → 97th).

On the other hand, companies that dropped out of the top 100 market cap list include Wemade (64th → 158th), ▲ Hanmi Science (94th → 119th), ▲ Amorepacific (95th → 116th), ▲ Emart (84th → 114th), ▲ Iljin Materials (66th → 113th), ▲ Meritz Securities (100th → 112th), and ▲ Celltrion Pharm (79th → 110th) as of the end of September.

Oh Il-seon, director of the Korea CXO Research Institute, said, "Most of the leading stocks in the top 20 market cap rankings as of the end of September have seen their stock values decline, making it difficult for the market to recover from the slump." He added, "With global geopolitical complexities increasing and the domestic real economy worsening, it is uncertain whether the stock market will recover to the level seen at the beginning of this year next year. There will likely be a noticeable trend of investors seeking alternative investment destinations outside of stocks."