South Korea Industrials: 2Q26 Preview: Rotation into defense and robotics; staying constructive on beaten-down names

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South Korea Industrials: 2Q26 Preview: Rotation into defense and robotics; staying constructive on beaten-down names

Equity Research

13 July 2026 | 7:32PM KST

South Korea Industrials: 2Q26 Preview: Rotation into defense and

robotics; staying constructive on beaten-down names

Over the past two weeks, we marketed to investors across Asia, where discussions Do Hyoung Kim

+82(2)3788-1376 |

focused heavily on rotational candidates for 2H26 in Korea. Defense was a commonly dohyoung.kim@gs.com

Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., Seoul

cited sector, where the steep drawdown versus its March-April highs, combined with Branch

potential order momentum in 2H, was frequently brought up. Notably, given the Joshua Kim

sector’s low correlation with AI, defense also positions well as a broadening-out +82(2)3788-1791Goldman Sachs (Asia)| joshua.kim@gs.comL.L.C., Seoul

exposure that helps diversify away from Korea’s heavy skew toward memory names. Branch

We would also highlight that investor interest in the robotics sector was similarly

high. While robotics sits in the application layer of AI and is a longer-duration theme,

the sector’s strong share price reaction throughout the year — followed by a

meaningful pullback — has drawn renewed interest across Hyundai Motor Group

names, actuator suppliers, and pure robotics names. Investors broadly agreed that

we will continue to see strong development in robotics through 2H and into 2027.

Among the most frequently discussed ideas were the part-makers such as Hyundai

Mobis and HL Mando, where current multiples are low enough to be explained by the

existing auto-parts business alone, leaving room to benefit from the optionality of a

robotics angle.

Given we are just ahead of the 2Q26 earnings season that starts from July 23, we