[Market Focus] L&F Surges on ESS Demand and Profitability Expectations, Rebounds to 100,000 Won

LN Energy & Future (L&F) has rebounded to the 100,000 won mark, showing strong performance amid expectations of increased demand for energy storage systems (ESS) and a return to profitability.

As of 9:51 a.m. on October 17, L&F shares were trading at 104,400 won, up 6,000 won (6.10%) from the previous day. This is the first time since December of last year that L&F’s stock price has surpassed the 100,000 won threshold.

On this day, KB Securities raised its target price for L&F by 18% to 130,000 won. Lee Changmin, a researcher at KB Securities, explained, "The reason for raising the target price is that the importance of ESS has rapidly increased, leading us to revise the compound annual growth rate of operating profit for 2026 to 2030 from 21% to 29%. With the expansion of investments related to artificial intelligence (AI), the importance of ESS as power infrastructure is rising sharply, and we expect explosive growth in ESS demand, especially in North America. L&F is positioned to benefit the most from this trend."

A return to profitability is expected in the third quarter for the first time in two years. Lee further analyzed, "L&F’s third-quarter results are projected to show sales of 676.3 billion won, up 92% year-on-year, and an operating profit of 18.9 billion won, marking a return to the black. This is because cathode material sales are expected to increase by 38% quarter-on-quarter, driven by the full-scale delivery of Tesla Model Y Juniper."