LS Group's market capitalization is soaring above 60 trillion won, buoyed by demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related power infrastructure and key resources. LS ELECTRIC, riding a boom in the power equipment industry, has climbed to 18th in market capitalization, leading the group's growth, while related affiliates such as LS Cable & System and LS MnM are also drawing attention.
According to the securities industry on the 7th, the combined market capitalization of LS Group — including holding company LS and key listed affiliates LS ELECTRIC, E1, and Inveni — stood at approximately 64 trillion won as of 9 a.m. that day. LS Group's market capitalization doubled from 26 trillion won at the end of last year to 57 trillion won on the 24th of last month, placing it among the top 10 groups, and has continued its steep upward trajectory.
LS ELECTRIC is leading LS Group's growth. LS ELECTRIC alone boasts a market capitalization of about 47 trillion won, ranking 18th among all companies. LS ELECTRIC is the affiliate that supplies power equipment such as ultra-high-voltage transformers and energy storage systems (ESS) needed for AI data centers. As global Big Tech firms race to expand AI data centers, LS ELECTRIC is rapidly increasing its order backlog, centered on North America.
Notably, subsidiary LS Power Solutions signed a $70.26 million (about 100 billion won) ultra-high-voltage transformer supply contract with a U.S. energy infrastructure company on the 6th of last month. It will supply 345kV-class ultra-high-voltage transformers for the microgrids powering Big Tech data centers.
In the first quarter of this year, LS ELECTRIC posted 300 billion won in sales in North America — where Big Tech firms are concentrated — up 80% year-on-year, with total sales climbing 33.4% to 1.3766 trillion won. Operating profit also rose 45% over the same period to 126.6 billion won.
In particular, ultra-high-voltage transformer sales grew 83%, while ESS sales tripled. LS ELECTRIC also saw sales at its Vietnam and Indonesia subsidiaries rise 45% and 75%, respectively, as it expands into Southeast Asian markets. The company said it plans to maintain growth on the strength of its 5.6 trillion won order backlog. Expectations are also rising that it is well-positioned to seize the emerging direct current (DC) power equipment market alongside its existing alternating current (AC) business.
NH Investment & Securities said, "Product diversification is emerging, from AC to DC power equipment," adding, "Because LS ELECTRIC has been developing products for a long time, expanded cooperation with various Big Tech firms is expected."
Securities firms are also focusing on key unlisted affiliates such as LS Cable & System and LS Mtron, following LS ELECTRIC. Meritz Securities said, "The recent rise in LS Group's share prices largely reflects the increase in LS ELECTRIC's market value, but the values of LS Cable & System and LS MnM remain at 2023 levels." It added, "We judge that the next catalyst for share price gains will be a revaluation of these two companies' enterprise value, which has yet to be sufficiently reflected in share prices."
LS Cable & System ranks first in Korea and among the top five globally in the ultra-high-voltage cable market needed for AI data centers. Although unlisted, the company recorded annual sales of 7.6 trillion won last year — more than LS ELECTRIC (about 5 trillion won) — and has continued growing this year, raising expectations that its performance will be fully reflected in group share prices.
In February, LS Cable & System supplied 700 billion won worth of ultra-high-voltage cables to a U.S. customer, while subsidiary LS Eco Energy grew first-quarter sales and operating profit by about 30% year-on-year. LS Eco Energy also entered the rare earth business in earnest, forging a partnership worth a total of 60 billion won with Lynas, the world's second-largest rare earth supplier and the largest outside China.
LS MnM, which handles non-ferrous metal materials, also posted record sales of about 15 trillion won last year, driven by surging demand for gold, silver, platinum, other precious metals, and sulfuric acid products used in data center cables and components. This year, the company plans to sustain growth through electrolytic copper smelting — used for high-quality cable copper — and by expanding its battery materials business through an electric vehicle battery materials (EVBM) plant in the Onsan National Industrial Complex in Ulsan. It also plans to strengthen its supply of nickel, a key battery material, by investing about 590 billion won in Indonesian non-ferrous metal smelter PT Teluk Metal Industri (PT TMI).
