"The Real Star Emerges at the End... Company Soars in Final Surge to Claim 7th in Market Cap This Year"

This Year's Market Cap Winners: Top 10 Doubles in Value
Jobangwon Sectors Lead First-Half Rally, Dominate Top Market Cap Rankings
SK Square, Riding Semiconductor Momentum, Breaks into Top 10 on Final Trading Day
Combined Market Cap of Top 10 Stoc

This year, the stock market saw an unprecedented boom, accompanied by fierce competition among the top market capitalization stocks. The so-called “Jobangwon” sectors-shipbuilding, defense, and nuclear power-which led the market rally in the first half of the year, stood out with notable gains in their rankings. SK Square, benefiting from the semiconductor sector’s momentum, managed to break into the top 10 at the last minute. As large-cap stocks continued to drive the rally, the combined market capitalization of the top 10 KOSPI stocks more than doubled in just one year.

On the afternoon of the 30th, the stock market closing day in 2025, the closing prices of KOSPI and KOSDAQ are displayed on the monitors in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Korea Exchange on December 31, the combined market capitalization of the top 10 stocks surged from 807.9712 trillion won at the end of last year to 1,655.4540 trillion won, more than doubling. The continued strength of large-cap stocks significantly increased the size of these leading companies.

While the top five stocks by market capitalization maintained their rankings compared to the end of last year, all positions from sixth to tenth changed hands. This was due to the remarkable share price increases of leading Jobangwon companies, which spearheaded the market rally in the first half. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, which was ranked 10th last year, climbed four spots to 6th; Hanwha Aerospace jumped 20 spots from 28th to 8th; and Doosan Enerbility soared from 38th to 9th. Doosan Enerbility rose by 329.06% this year, Hanwha Aerospace by 192.69%, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries by 77.04%, respectively.

However, the true standout in this year’s market cap rankings was SK Square. Until the previous day, SK Square was ranked 11th, just outside the top 10, but on the last trading day of the year, its share price surged over 6%, propelling it to 7th place. SK Square’s share price has soared 364.06% this year. Riding on the success of its core subsidiary, SK Hynix, SK Square outperformed even SK Hynix, which rose 274.35% during the same period. In the securities industry, there is an outlook that SK Square’s stock price will continue to outpace SK Hynix. An Jaemin, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, stated, “SK Square’s price elasticity is expected to be higher than SK Hynix’s,” adding, “Since November this year, the Korea Financial Investment Association has relaxed regulations to allow SK Hynix to be purchased up to its market cap weighting, but it is still difficult to increase SK Hynix holdings beyond that, so a strategy of increasing semiconductor exposure through SK Square remains valid.” Investors are expected to benefit from the semiconductor boom through SK Hynix. Researcher An explained, “With increases in shipments and prices for DRAM and NAND, demand for all SK Hynix products is bound to be strong. Accordingly, a simultaneous rise in the share prices of both SK Hynix and SK Square is anticipated.” Reflecting this, NH Investment & Securities raised its target price for SK Square from 350,000 won to 450,000 won.

In contrast, Celltrion, Naver, and Kia, which were in the top 10 last year, fell out of the top 10 this year. Celltrion dropped from 6th to 12th, Kia from 7th to 11th, and Naver from 9th to 14th. Although Kia (20.95%) and Naver (21.92%) both posted double-digit gains this year, they lost their spots to stocks with triple-digit increases. Celltrion managed to rise only 0.22% this year. Kwon Hae-soon, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, commented, “Celltrion’s share price was weak from the beginning of the year due to delays in its entry into the US market. However, if quarterly performance continues to improve through 2026 and the business model expands visibly into new drug research and development, the company’s value will move to the next level.” She added, “In the short term, however, a strategy of monitoring quarterly results remains valid.”