The Winner of Market Cap Competition in the First Half... Secondary Batteries Lose, Value-Up Rises

Top 10 Market Cap Changes: 7 KOSPI, 8 KOSDAQ Companies Shift Rankings
Financial and Automotive Sectors Rise with Value-Up... Weak Secondary Battery Sector Pushed Out
KOSDAQ Rankings Significantly Changed Due to Previous Listings and More

The battle for the top spots in market capitalization among leading stocks was intense in the first half of this year. In the KOSPI market, low price-to-book ratio (PBR) stocks, highlighted by corporate value-up programs, outperformed the sluggish secondary battery stocks, gaining an advantage in the competition. In the KOSDAQ market, the rankings changed significantly as many of the top market cap stocks moved to the KOSPI market during the first half.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 18th, among the top 10 market capitalization stocks in the KOSPI market compared to the beginning of the year, the rankings of 7 stocks changed. Except for the top three, all other stocks were replaced. The most notable rise in ranking during the first half was KB Financial Group. KB Financial jumped from 16th at the start of the year to 8th. Its market capitalization increased from 21.6282 trillion won at the beginning of the year to 31.5949 trillion won, an increase of about 10 trillion won. Taejun Jung, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "KB Financial has a common equity tier 1 capital ratio well above 12%, enabling an active shareholder return policy, and is leading the industry with the strongest shareholder return policy, resulting in a low discount rate being applied." He added, "Especially from this year, efforts such as implementing a true quarterly equal dividend by paying the same cash dividend amount every quarter have been made, which is expected to significantly improve the intrinsic discount rate going forward."

The rise of automobile stocks was also remarkable. Hyundai Motor, which was 5th at the beginning of the year, overtook Samsung Biologics to climb to 4th, and Kia also rose one notch from 7th to 6th.

On the other hand, secondary battery stocks, which saw a significant rise in market capitalization rankings last year, struggled this year due to concerns about the industry outlook and poor earnings, resulting in a drop in their market cap rankings. POSCO Holdings, which was 6th at the start of the year, fell to 9th after losing the 6th spot to Kia and then being overtaken by KB Financial. However, recently, KB Financial has faltered, allowing POSCO Holdings to reclaim 8th place, leading to a fierce competition for position again. The market cap gap between the two stocks is about 220 billion won, suggesting that the competition for market capitalization is likely to continue in the second half. LG Chem, which was 9th at the beginning of the year, also dropped out of the top 10.

In the second half, attention will also focus on whether Kia can reclaim the 5th spot in market capitalization. Kia briefly surpassed its "older brother" Hyundai Motor to reach 5th place in March. Although it then fell back to 6th, its stock price has been strong this month, closely chasing 5th place Samsung Biologics. The market cap gap between the two stocks is about 760 billion won.

In the KOSDAQ market, the rankings changed dramatically in the first half as many of the top market cap stocks moved to the KOSPI market through uplisting and mergers. Eight out of the top 10 market cap stocks were replaced with new stocks. Enchem, which was 36th at the beginning of the year, surged 31 spots to 5th due to a sharp rise in its stock price. Enchem's stock price has risen more than 270% this year.

Alteogen secured the 2nd spot in market capitalization. On the 13th, Alteogen's stock price reached an intraday high of 291,000 won, a 52-week high, and its stock price has risen sharply this month, pushing 2nd place EcoPro down. Alteogen and EcoPro have been exchanging the 2nd spot recently, but Alteogen appears to have settled firmly in 2nd place by gradually widening the market cap gap. The market cap gap between the two stocks, which was 360 billion won a week ago, widened to 1.2895 trillion won as of the previous day. EcoPro BM, the No. 1 stock in KOSDAQ, is expected to uplist to the KOSPI market as early as this year, so if Alteogen secures a clear advantage over EcoPro in the competition, it is expected to rise to the No. 1 spot in market capitalization.