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Korea's NPS reports valuation gains through investments in U.S. tech stocks

Published: 06 Nov. 2025, 12:06 Updated: 06 Nov. 2025, 14:52

The National Pension Service's northern Seoul office in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Nov. 3 [NEWS1]

Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) saw significant valuation gains in the third quarter of 2025 through aggressive investments in large-cap U.S. tech stocks amid a bullish market.

The NPS disclosed in a report submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday that it held investments in 552 U.S.-listed stocks as of the end of September. That figure rose slightly from 534 at the end of June. The number of shares held also climbed about 6.4 percent from 808 million to 859.5 million.

Over the same period, the face value of the NPS’s U.S. equity holdings rose 11.2 percent — from $115.83 billion at the end of June to $128.77 billion at the end of September. The increase amounts to $12.94 billion.

The stock that showed the greatest jump in value was Nvidia, a leading company in the artificial intelligence race. The valuation of the NPS’s Nvidia shares soared 25.8 percent — from $7.35 billion at the end of June to $9.25 billion in September. The number of shares held rose 6.5 percent from 46.54 million to 49.55 million.

Apple shares also saw a major jump, with the valuation rising 28 percent from $5.91 billion to $7.57 billion. The number of shares held increased by about 3.2 percent. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and Tesla saw their share valuations climb 42.3 percent and 44.2 percent, respectively. While the number of shares held in those companies only rose by 3.1 percent and 3 percent, sharp stock price increases drove up overall valuations.

Other tech stocks such as Broadcom, Microsoft, Intel and Lam Research also saw modest increases in the number of shares held — between 1.5 and 4.6 percent — while their valuations rose between 8.9 and 52.1 percent.

While some stocks did decline in value, the NPS increased its holdings in most of them, except in a few such as American Express, which dropped 99.9 percent, and Domino’s Pizza, which fell 42.5 percent.

People walk near a screen showing U.S. President Donald Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, at the Nasdaq Market site in New York City, U.S., Aug. 15, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The NPS raised its Netflix holdings by 3.1 percent during the third quarter, but the valuation dropped 7.7 percent — from $1.20 billion to $1.11 billion — likely viewing the stock’s decline as a buying opportunity.

The pension fund also increased holdings by between 1.3 and 2.7 percent in other declining stocks such as Salesforce, Costco, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Walt Disney, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

Among the NPS’s new investments in the third quarter were U.S. airlines and electric vehicle manufacturers, along with conservative-leaning media outlets. As of the end of September, the NPS held 21,170 shares of Delta Air Lines and 6,652 shares of United Airlines Holdings, both up from zero in June. U.S.electric vehicle maker Rivian also made the list with 14,206 shares, as did casino operator Las Vegas Sands Group with 23,464 shares.

The pension fund also newly acquired common and preferred shares in the parent companies of prominent conservative media outlets — 8,648 shares of News Corp, the parent of the Wall Street Journal, and 17,134 shares of Fox Corporation, the parent of Fox News.

Additionally, the NPS increased its holdings in U.S. defense contractors including Lockheed Martin and RTX by 2.8 percent each, and L3Harris Technologies by 4.1 percent.

The top holdings in the NPS’s U.S. stock portfolio by value were Nvidia, accounting for 7.2 percent, followed by Apple with 5.9 percent, Microsoft with 5.7 percent ($7.4 billion), Amazon.com with 3.2 percent ($4.16 billion), and Meta Platforms with 2.5 percent ($3.28 billion).

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]