A gas carrier built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Hyundai Heavy Industries
Major Korean shipbuilding stocks rallied sharply as a Korea-US shipbuilding partnership took shape and shipbuilders drew renewed attention as beneficiaries of AI infrastructure. Target prices are being raised one after another.
Shipbuilding Stocks Rally on Korea-US Partnership MOU
According to the Korea Exchange on the 12th, Samsung Heavy Industries closed the previous session at 33,950 won, up 2,000 won (6.26%) from the prior trading day. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (4.10%) and Hanwha Ocean (3.49%) also posted gains in the 3-4% range on the same day.
Shipbuilding-related ETFs climbed together. On the same day, SOL Shipbuilding TOP3 Plus ended trading at 41,600 won, up 1,390 won (3.46%), while TIGER Shipbuilding TOP10 (3.41%) and KODEX Shipbuilding TOP10 (3.05%) also jumped sharply.
Behind the stock rally is the launch of the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative (KUSPI). The International Trade Administration (ITA) under the US Department of Commerce announced on the 8th (local time) that the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish KUSPI, with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan in attendance.
According to the ITA, KUSPI plans to expand cooperation networks among governments, industries, and research institutions, using the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center to be set up in Washington DC within the year as its base. Specific projects include attracting foreign direct investment into the US maritime industry, workforce training, improving shipyard productivity, and technology exchange. Last year, Korea and the US also agreed on a $150 billion shipbuilding investment in the US.
“Data Center Beneficiaries”… Brokerages Raise Target Prices
Another axis drawing heightened attention from brokerages is the potential link to AI infrastructure. As shipbuilders’ marine engines are being cited as an alternative to resolve data center power shortages, new valuation grounds are emerging across the industry.
NH Investment & Securities maintained a “buy” rating on HD Hyundai Heavy Industries on the 12th and raised its target price to 1 million won from the previous 860,000 won. “We are raising our operating profit estimates for 2026 through 2028 by 20%, 16%, and 11%, respectively, reflecting better-than-expected commercial vessel profitability and earnings growth from medium-speed engine capacity expansion and additional orders,” analyst Jung Yeon-seung said.
He also took a positive view on the medium-speed engine business outlook. “Medium-speed engines are seeing full-scale growth in demand as on-site power sources for data centers, based on short lead times, competitive pricing, and high responsiveness,” Jung said. “Profitability in the engine segment will improve further as sales of high-priced medium-speed power generation engines expand.” He added, “Medium-speed engine production capacity currently stands at around 3 gigawatts (GW) per year, but a capacity expansion of more than 30% is expected,” and projected, “The engine division’s operating profit will reach 1.5 trillion won by 2030.”
Daol Investment & Securities also recently raised its target price on HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to 1.04 million won from 910,000 won. The brokerage judged that the entry of Himsen engines into the US data center market leading to follow-up contracts and earnings upgrades is a natural next step.
The floating data center (FDC) business is also emerging as a new growth axis for shipbuilding stocks. Samsung Heavy Industries obtained Approval in Principle (AIP) for a 50MW-class FDC concept design from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Lloyd’s Register (LR) of the UK at Data Center World (DCW) 2026, held from the 20th to the 23rd (local time). Based on this, Sangsangin Securities recently raised its target price on Samsung Heavy Industries to 43,000 won from 39,000 won.
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