An artist's rendering of next-generation medium satellites No. 1 and No. 2 operating simultaneously. The image is unrelated to the article. [Korea AeroSpace Administration]
An artist's rendering of next-generation medium satellites No. 1 and No. 2 operating simultaneously. The image is unrelated to the article. [Korea AeroSpace Administration]
[FnGuide]
[FnGuide]

Semiconductors drove the Kospi into record territory in the first half of this year, but the research note investors read most was about the space economy. As the first half brought a string of space-industry milestones — including a SpaceX initial public offering and the Artemis project — a report on the space economy drew the highest readership. Strategic reports analyzing structural shifts in future industries such as AI and energy also swept the top rankings, drawing strong investor appetite for long-term sector outlooks.

According to FnGuide, the most-viewed research note of the first half — tallied from Jan. 1 through June 30 — was iM Securities' "The Great Age of Space Exploration: Accelerating Space Economy Growth Starting This Year," with 6,304 views. It outpaced KB Securities' "2026 Second-Half Equity Strategy: Gravity Rules" (2,940 views) and "May Strategy: AI Investment That Can No Longer Stop Itself and the Market's Quickening Tempo" (2,411 views) by a wide margin.

Rounding out the top rankings were Mirae Asset Securities' "Bottlenecks in Act 2 of AI Infrastructure" (2,176 views), Kyobo Securities' "Re-NEWable: The Dawn of Energy Supremacy" (2,162 views), Hana Securities' RFHIC analysis note "Factoring in Upcoming Catalysts, a Ten-Bagger Looks Likely This Time" (2,160 views) and Shinhan Investment's "(First-Quarter Investment Ideas) Kosdaq: We Can't Keep Doubting Forever" (2,087 views).

What the top-ranked reports share is that they answered not "what should I buy?" but "which industries and markets are about to change?" Strategic reports presenting investment opportunities by examining shifts in the space economy, AI infrastructure, energy dominance and a Kosdaq revaluation swept the upper tier.

The top-ranked "Great Age of Space Exploration" framed this year as an inflection point for space economy growth, identifying the Artemis project, the SpaceX IPO, the expansion of low-earth-orbit satellites, reusable launch vehicles and space data centers as new growth drivers. Lee Sang-heon, a researcher at iM Securities, said crewed missions heading toward lunar orbit are set to resume this year, marking the full-scale arrival of a new era of space exploration.

Reports on AI infrastructure and the energy transition also attracted significant attention. KB Securities analyzed the sustainability of the AI investment cycle, while Mirae Asset Securities identified power, fiber-optic communications and packaging companies facing supply chain bottlenecks as the next investment destinations in AI infrastructure. Kyobo Securities highlighted rising power demand driven by AI infrastructure expansion and a reshaping of the energy supply chain, presenting investment opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

Among company-specific research notes, Hana Securities' report on RFHIC drew the highest readership at 2,160 views, followed by notes on Posco International (1,775 views), Sam Chun Dang Pharm (1,698 views), SK hynix (1,690 views), PharmaResearch (1,448 views) and Samsung Electronics (1,397 views).

Compared with last year, the type of reports investors sought has also shifted. In the first half of last year, Hana Financial Research Institute's "Korea Financial Consumer Report 2025" topped the readership chart, with reports on Donald Trump's tariff policy, new government policy, semiconductors, shipbuilding, ESG and stablecoins dominating the rankings. This year, reports on future industries and investment strategy — covering the space economy, AI and energy — swept the top spots, signaling a shift in investor attention away from macroeconomic policy and toward future industries.

Kim Jun-seok, a senior research fellow at the Korea Capital Market Institute, said analysts collect, analyze and evaluate corporate financial data, disclosure information, industry trends and macroeconomic developments to provide to investors. "The less information available about a company, or the more complex and ambiguous that information is, the greater the value analysts can provide," he said.


hajun825@heraldcorp.com