It Soared 192% in a Year... A Stock Now Targeted at 1.2 Million Won [This Week's Hot Stock]

Q1 Results Fall Short of Expectations, But Stronger Second Half Projected

Anticipation Builds for Supplying Key Parts to the Humanoid Robot "Atlas"

KB Securities Sets Target Price at 1.2 Million Won, Up 60% from Previous Level

Buoyed by momentum in the robotics sector, the share price of Hyundai Mobis—a key component manufacturer within Hyundai Motor Group's robotics business—experienced a sharp rally last month. Several securities firms in Yeouido have been raising their target prices, with one even setting a target of 1.2 million won per share.

On May 29, Hyundai Mobis shares closed at 768,000 won, marking an all-time high. Compared to May 29 last year, when the closing price was 263,000 won, this represents a 192% increase.

Hyundai Mobis is a core parts affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group. The company is engaged in three major module businesses—chassis, cockpit, and front-end modules—as well as in after-sales (A/S) parts. It is also expanding its business into smart mobility, urban air mobility (UAM), and robotics.

First Quarter Results Fell Short of Expectations...But Outlook Remains Strong

Hyundai Motor Group Atlas. Yonhap News.

In the first quarter, Hyundai Mobis reported sales of 15.5605 trillion won, a 5.5% increase year-on-year, and operating profit of 802.6 billion won, up 3.3%. Operating profit was slightly below the FnGuide consensus (the average forecast by securities firms) of 834 billion won.

By segment, the after-sales (A/S) business led growth. The A/S segment's sales and operating profit rose by 7.4% each, to 3.519 trillion won and 923.9 billion won, respectively. The modules and core components segment posted sales of 12 trillion won (up 4.9% year-on-year), but operating loss remained at 121.3 billion won. Although the proportion of non-captive (external) and high-value electronic components increased, which boosted the company's overall size, profitability deteriorated due to one-off expenses and rising costs in the electrification sector.

However, the outlook for the second half of the year is positive, especially for the A/S segment. Kyobo Securities estimates that Hyundai Mobis's A/S segment sales will reach 14.3 trillion won for the year, up 7.4% year-on-year, with operating profit rising 11.6% to 3.664 trillion won. Hanwha Investment & Securities projects sales of 14.208 trillion won (+6.7%) and operating profit of 3.506 trillion won (+6.8%) for the same period.

Kwansik Kim, a researcher at Kyobo Securities, stated, "The effect of the tariff rate reductions implemented last November will become more pronounced in the second quarter, and considering that the average tariff for the past three quarters has been around 70 billion won, we estimate tariff savings of over 25 billion won." He added, "If the current high exchange rate trend and the global increase in vehicle age lead to additional demand, strong results are expected for the A/S segment." He also noted, "The launch of new hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in the U.S., increased sales of eco-friendly vehicles (xEVs) in Europe, and the ramp-up of new electrification plants are expected to drive growth in the second half of the year."

Brokerages Continue to Raise Target Prices..."Reevaluating as a Robotics Parts Company"

Securities firms in Yeouido have been successively raising their target prices for Hyundai Mobis. KB Securities raised its target price to 1.2 million won, a 60.0% increase from the previous target. Eugene Investment & Securities set its target at 910,000 won, up 63% from before, while both Meritz Securities and Samsung Securities raised their targets to 900,000 won, up 80% and 57.89%, respectively.

The reason Hyundai Mobis is attracting market attention is the expectation that it will supply key components for Hyundai Motor Group's ongoing robotics business, particularly the humanoid robot 'Atlas.' The company is known to be jointly developing body actuator technology with Boston Dynamics, Hyundai Motor Group's robotics affiliate, and is planning to establish a mass production base in the United States. Related sales are expected to start being recognized next year, with an initial production target of 350,000 units by 2028.

KB Securities, which set the target price at 1.2 million won, forecasts that Hyundai Mobis's actuator-related sales and operating profit will reach 186 trillion won and 14 trillion won, respectively, by 2035. These figures are based on the assumption that the humanoid market will expand as the working-age population declines after 2028. Jiyoon Kim, a researcher at KB Securities, predicted, "If Atlas achieves a 60% market share (1.5 million units) in industrial humanoids in 2035 and 28% of Atlas's sales price is spent on actuators, such results can be expected."

Jaeil Lee, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, commented, "(Hyundai Mobis) is pursuing the sale of its bumper business unit following the sale of its lamp business unit in the first half of the year, and is restructuring its business portfolio to focus on electrification and software." He added, "Suppliers of actuators for humanoid robots are currently valued at price-to-earnings ratios (P/E) of over 50 times, and by becoming the exclusive supplier of actuators and key components for Atlas, the value of the parts business will be reassessed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.