What Did the NPS Buy in U.S. Stocks to Scale Up KRW 33 Trillion in Just Three Months?

U.S. Stock Valuations Surge by KRW 33 Trillion Over Previous Quarter

Number of Shares Held Up 2.1%, Valuation Soars 17.8%

Driven by the overwhelming strength of U.S. big tech and the semiconductor sector, the National Pension Service (NPS) is estimated to have earned approximately $23.4 billion (about KRW 33.2 trillion) from the U.S. stock market in the second quarter of 2026.

U.S. Stock Holdings Surge by KRW 33 Trillion Over Previous Quarter

According to the financial investment industry on August 14, the NPS stated in a report submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 13 (local time) that, as of the end of June, it was investing in 552 listed U.S. stocks, and the total value of those holdings had reached $155.08 billion (about KRW 219 trillion).

While the number of stocks decreased by 10 from the previous quarter (562 stocks, $131.68 billion), the valuation soared by $23.4 billion (an increase of 17.8%, or about KRW 33 trillion). The total number of shares held rose 2.1%, from 908.86 million shares to 928.05 million shares. Compared to the end of last year ($135.07 billion), the total valuation of holdings increased by $20.01 billion (14.8%, or about KRW 28.3 trillion) in the first half of this year. The global stock markets have seen a sharp rebound, particularly in semiconductors, since April, which has led to a substantial jump in the valuation of their holdings.

Up to 3.3% Increase in 'M7' Holdings Including Nvidia and Apple

During the second quarter, the NPS increased its holdings in the so-called ‘M7’ stocks: Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet (combined A and C shares), Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla by as much as 3.3%. The NPS did realize some gains by partially selling Nvidia shares (-0.9%) and Alphabet C shares (-0.6%).

While the overall number of shares held in the seven stocks increased only 0.9%, from 151.65 million to 153.08 million shares, the valuation jumped 14.3% from $38.2 billion to $43.6 billion. Alphabet (combined A and C shares) saw the largest jump, with the number of shares up 1.0% and the valuation surging 25.1%, from $6.72325 billion to $8.40881 billion.

In the semiconductor sector, the NPS both increased its position and realized some gains. Micron holdings increased by 0.4%, but the value of its holdings soared from $971.65 million at the end of the first quarter to $3.33147 billion at the end of the second quarter—a 242.9% jump. Seagate also saw its number of shares held and valuation rise by 0.8% and 148.4%, respectively.

Notably, the NPS also increased its holdings in Broadcom (+2.5%) and Texas Instruments (+0.9%). In contrast, it sold off portions of its holdings in Intel (-2.0%), Lam Research (-0.1%), and ON Semiconductor (-19.9%).

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New 3.5 Million-Share Investment in SpaceX—Now Holds $600 Million Worth

The NPS also continued its investments in sectors such as space development and virtual assets. On June 10, U.S. space company SpaceX succeeded in the largest-ever initial public offering (IPO), and the NPS newly acquired 3.5 million shares. As of the end of that month, the value of these shares was tallied at $598.01 million.

Valuation of the NPS’s shares in U.S. space company Rocket Lab also surged from $44.40 million to $69.31 million, although the number of shares held decreased slightly from 691,000 to 682,000 shares, down 1.4%. This is interpreted as profit-taking after a rapid short-term increase.

The NPS also boosted its shareholdings in Bitcoin-related firms such as MicroStrategy and Coinbase Global by 10.4% and 23.8%, respectively. However, MicroStrategy's valuation plunged 23.1% during this period due to a sharp drop in its stock price, falling from $102.58 million to $78.88 million.

The NPS additionally increased its stakes in U.S. defense industry companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Palantir, and RTX by between 1.0% and 4.3%, expanding its investments in this sector as well.

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