Market Update: We break down the business implications, market impact, and expert insights related to Market Update: Corporate earnings to improve, industry discrepancies to widen in 2026 – Full Analysis.
Published: 05 Jan. 2026, 14:42
Cars ready to be shipped overseas are seen parked at a port in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 1. [YONHAP]
Earnings of major Korean companies are expected to improve this year, but discrepancies between industries are likely to widen, a local credit rating firm said on Monday.
The NICE sales index, which is calculated based on the 2026 sales estimates of 78 companies, came to 163.3 this year, up 5.6 percent from the previous year’s figure, NICE Investors Service said in its report.
The NICE industry operating profit index, which uses earnings before interest and tax estimates for the companies, came to 10 percent, up 7.8 percent from a year earlier.
The credit rating agency said robust growth of local chipmakers, power suppliers and electronics producers is expected to lead overall growth amid the United States’ efforts to exclude China from participating in its artificial intelligence supply chain.
But industries that are key to the U.S. economy, such as automobiles, could come under downward pressure, it added.
“Sectors such as cars, could see their demand in the United States weaken and competition worsen amid rising trade barriers and fading effects from pretax demands,” the agency said in the report.
Yonhap