Samsung Securities raised its target price for Hankook Tire & Technology (KRX: 161390) on the 18th from 85,000 won to 95,000 won, an increase of 11.8%, while reaffirming its Buy recommendation.
The brokerage cited two principal drivers behind the upgrade: the company's expanding share of the European market and the approaching replacement cycle for electric-vehicle (EV) tyres. Hankook Tire's European revenue as a proportion of total sales has grown from 28% in 2015 to 47% in the first quarter of 2026. The company holds a 12–13% share of the European tyre market overall, and leads in Germany with a 40% share.
The European Union's anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese-made tyres took effect on 18th June, and Hankook Tire stands to benefit disproportionately. Its applicable tariff rate is just 3.4%, well below the 30% levied on co-operating Chinese manufacturers and the 52% imposed on non-co-operating ones. Samsung Securities argues that, combined with Hankook's manufacturing plant in Hungary, this tariff advantage positions the company to capture additional European market share.
In the EV segment, Hankook is pushing to establish itself as a top-tier supplier through its dedicated EV tyre brand, iON, launched in 2022. Management has indicated that EV tyres already account for 6–7% of replacement tyre sales as of 2025. The business case is compelling: EV replacement tyres carry an operating margin of 20–30%, and every ten percentage-point rise in their share of replacement sales is expected to lift the company's overall operating margin by 0.8–1.0 percentage points.
Samsung Securities derived its target price by applying a target EV/EBITDA multiple of 4.2 times and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10 times to the average of its 2026 and 2027 earnings forecasts. For 2026, it projects revenue of 22.216 trillion won and operating profit of 2.144 trillion won.
For the second quarter, the brokerage expects revenue of 5.6 trillion won (up 5.0% year on year), operating profit of 518.3 billion won (up 46.6%), and an operating margin of 9.2%. From the third quarter onwards, raw material costs are likely to rise as the conflict in the Middle East pushes up prices for synthetic rubber and carbon black. The company plans to offset this pressure with a further 2–3% price increase in the second half of the year.