📊 POSCO Holdings: Overseas Steel Bets and Questions About the Pace of Recovery - 2026.10.23

Hi, it’s Dotori 🌰 Let’s start with the big picture today. POSCO Holdings’ share price is sliding, while news has come out of a 6,700,000,000,000 KRW bet on overseas steel. The fact that both are part of the same picture is where today’s story begins.

Why did the share price wobble lower? 📉

During trading on October 23, the stock fell as low as 274,250 KRW, down 11,750 KRW(-4.11%) from the previous trading day, with trading volume at about 160,000 shares ^[1]. It had also fallen 13,000 KRW to 288,000 KRW the day before, and the intraday high was 297,500 KRW ^[2]. Based on the table, it rose to ₩311,000 on October 19, then dropped back to the ₩275,000 level in just two days. Like a roller coaster, right? 🎢 When the direction changes several times in a short span, the numbers alone can make your head spin.

A 6.7 trillion bet—what’s the game plan? 🏭

The news is that the company is betting on an investment of 6,700,000,000,000 KRW in its overseas steel business ^[3]. In Indonesia, it plans to expand the production capacity of the existing PT.Krakatau POSCO and is also pursuing investment in the upstream stainless steel (STS) process ^[3]. Data News covered this as well, noting the attention being paid to its growth potential ^[4].

Taking it a step further, the company plans to use the results of its overseas growth investments for the domestic transition to low-carbon processes and R&D on high-value-added products ^[3]. Think of the value chain as a relay: the baton passes from overseas production to domestic processes. That connection is key. In my interpretation, I’d rank the priorities as follows: first, overseas steel production capacity itself; second, the domestic low-carbon transition; and third, R&D on high-value-added products. But that order is my summary of the article’s flow, not a priority order announced by the company.

Steel or lithium? It’s still a numbers game ⚙️

Both articles point to the pace of recovery in steel and lithium as the key issue ^{[1] [2]}. What’s interesting is that an ETODAY TV video starts from the question of why the market is cool toward the company despite its results and large-scale orders ^[5]. The video reviews the steel business’s downside support and cash-generating capacity, as well as the value of the battery business, including POSCO Future M, with Lee Young-hoon, a director at iM Securities ^[5]. At the same time, it brings up factors such as falling lithium prices, the battery market’s chasm, and doubts about AI investment ^[5].

The video also identifies the reshaping of the AI data center ESS market as an opportunity ^[5]. But that’s a view expressed on the broadcast, not something the company has confirmed, so we should treat it as conditional commentary. Dotori thinks that before focusing on the 6,700,000,000,000 KRW overseas bet, we first need to figure out whether steel has the strength to support the share price right now.

Questions that are still open 🤔

The materials available so far don’t answer how the 6,700,000,000,000 KRW investment will align with the pace of recovery in steel and lithium ^[3]. So there’s just one question: will steel catch its breath first, or will lithium rebound first? Which numbers would you want to look at first?

📰 Reference News (4)

1

POSCO Holdings 274,250 KRW…Steel and Lithium Recovery Are Key - Jobpost (JOBPOST)

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.23

📰 View original

2

POSCO Holdings 288,000 KRW…The Pace of Steel and Lithium Recovery Is Key - Jobpost (JOBPOST)

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.22

📰 View original

3

POSCO Holdings Bets 6.7 Trillion on Overseas Steel…Growth Potential in Focus

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.23

📰 View original

4

POSCO Holdings Bets 6.7 Trillion on Overseas Steel…Growth Potential in Focus - Data News

데이터뉴스 · 2026.10.22

📰 View original

📺 Reference Videos (1)

5

YouTube

"The Signal for a Full-Fledged Rebound Comes 'Now'": POSCO’s Decisive Move [Jjin Economy]

▶이투데이TV·2026.10.22