Korea's Hyosung Heavy Industries (298040) is pushing to power America's AI data centers. The stock rose 8.5% on Monday.

By Mia Park · Korea Desk · September 7, 2026, 2:56 PM ET

Hyosung Heavy Industries 22.9kV solid-state transformer for US AI data center power

Key points

Hyosung pitches its solid-state transformer to US AI data centers
North America is now 57% of its order backlog
Stock rose 8.5% Monday and is up 66% this year
Daishin Securities has a 4.2 million won target

Hyosung Heavy Industries (298040) is expanding its push to supply power equipment to US AI data centers. Its shares rose 8.5 percent in Seoul on Monday, closing just below 3 million won ($2,230).

In a September 7 release, Hyosung outlined plans to target US AI data centers with the 22.9kV solid-state transformer it developed in 2022. It also pointed to its Memphis transformer plant and a Pennsylvania circuit-breaker venture. Chairman Cho Hyun-joon said in the release that "power infrastructure has now become a core industry directly linked to national security." The release identifies no customer order or commercial launch date for the transformer.

A solid-state transformer uses power semiconductors to control voltage and current, where a conventional transformer relies on copper coils and an iron core. The September release describes the technology in those terms and makes no claim about how well it performs. That claim came earlier. When Hyosung showed a submodule of the 22.9kV model at the IEEE PES T&D show in Chicago in May, it said the design sharply improves a data center's power efficiency, without publishing test results.

Why the US matters so much to Hyosung

Hyosung's order backlog was 17.5 trillion won ($13.0B) at the end of June, and North America made up 57 percent of it, up from 44 percent a year earlier, Money Today (머니투데이) reported on September 2. The customer list has changed too. Its US customer base now includes companies developing AI data centers and the energy infrastructure that supplies them. Intersect Power accounts for 13 percent of the US unit's sales, followed by SoftBank at 9 percent, LS Power at 5 percent, and xAI at 3 percent.

The US manufacturing investments predate Monday's announcement. Hyosung has put about $300 million into its transformer plant in Memphis, Tennessee since 2020, and a third expansion running through 2028 is meant to lift its capacity by half. In June, it announced a joint venture with Quanta Services to build high-voltage circuit breakers at Quanta's plant in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, ZDNet Korea (지디넷코리아) reported at the time, with production starting in October. The venture is named Hyosung HICO Breaker. The September 7 release presents these manufacturing investments as one package for data center customers.

The business behind the release is growing quickly. Second-quarter revenue reached 1.687 trillion won ($1.25B). Operating profit rose 60.9 percent to a record 264.3 billion won ($196M), Money Today reported on July 31. Hyosung raised its order target for the year from 8.4 trillion won ($6.2B) to 12 trillion won ($8.9B) at the same time.

What the stock did

Hyosung Heavy closed at 2,965,000 won ($2,203) on Monday, up 8.53 percent, on a day the Kospi rose 4.61 percent after chip stocks rallied. The stock ended 2025 at 1,781,000 won ($1,323), so it's up 66 percent this year by our arithmetic. It closed above 3 million won as recently as August 28, then slipped below it.

The company's market value is about 27.6 trillion won ($20.5B) by our arithmetic, or about 47 times its earnings for the past year, according to the figures in JoongAng Economy News (중앙이코노미뉴스). Huh Min-ho, an analyst at Daishin Securities (대신증권), cut his target to 4.2 million won ($3,120) from 4.8 million won on August 4 while keeping a buy rating. "We raised our earnings and order forecasts for this year and over the medium to long term, but we are lowering the target price to 4.2 million won, reflecting the interest rate increase and bringing the target price to a realistic level within six months, among other factors," he wrote. His target is about 42 percent above Monday's close by our arithmetic. Daishin expects 7.333 trillion won ($5.4B) of revenue and 1.182 trillion won ($878M) of operating profit this year.

The analyst comment is translated from Korean. Won figures are converted at 1,346 won to the dollar, the Naver Finance rate on September 7, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What did Hyosung Heavy Industries announce on September 7, 2026?

Hyosung Heavy Industries said it will target the US AI data center power market with a 22.9kV solid-state transformer it developed in 2022, combined with its transformer plant in Memphis, Tennessee and a circuit breaker joint venture with Quanta Services in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The release identified no customer order or commercial launch date for the transformer. Chairman Cho Hyun-joon said power infrastructure has become a core industry directly linked to national security.

Why did Hyosung Heavy Industries stock rise on September 7, 2026?

The stock closed at 2,965,000 won ($2,203), up 8.53 percent, on a day the Kospi rose 4.61 percent after chip stocks rallied in New York. Korean coverage of the move gave no company-specific reason beyond strong market sentiment. The stock ended 2025 at 1,781,000 won, so it is up about 66 percent this year, and it closed above 3 million won as recently as August 28.

How much of Hyosung Heavy Industries' business is in the US?

North America was 57 percent of Hyosung's 17.5 trillion won ($13.0B) order backlog at the end of June 2026, up from 44 percent a year earlier, according to Money Today. Its US customers now include companies developing AI data centers and the energy infrastructure that supplies them, among them Intersect Power, SoftBank, LS Power and xAI. Hyosung has invested about $300 million in its Memphis transformer plant since 2020 and starts producing circuit breakers in Pennsylvania in October 2026.

What is the analyst target price for Hyosung Heavy Industries?

Daishin Securities analyst Huh Min-ho cut his target to 4.2 million won ($3,120) from 4.8 million won on August 4, 2026, citing the interest rate increase and bringing the target to a realistic level within six months, while keeping a buy rating and raising his earnings and order forecasts. That target is about 42 percent above the September 7 close. Daishin expects 7.333 trillion won of revenue and 1.182 trillion won of operating profit in 2026.