▲ AI PRISM* Personalized Economic Briefing
* Editor's note: AI PRISM (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an artificial intelligence-based personalized news recommendation and summarization service developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six news items tailored to each reader type.
[Key Issue Briefing]
■ Caution on AI borrowing: SpaceX posted third-quarter net profit of $4.4 billion (about 5.8 trillion won), more than double market estimates, yet its bond prices weakened. Aggressive artificial intelligence investment plans stoked concerns about expanding borrowing, widening both credit derivative spreads and prices for credit default swaps (CDS), derivatives used to buy and sell default risk.
■ Debate over commitments and undervaluation: In a Goldman Sachs survey, 84% of global limited partners (LPs) said they would maintain or increase the size of their commitments next year, and geopolitical tension was named the biggest investment risk for the third consecutive year. At an investor summit in New York, Lee Chang-hwan, chief executive of Align Partners, pointed to SK's price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 1.0 times as evidence of undervaluation, and SK shares jumped 12.15% in a single day after the presentation.
■ Tightening and Middle East variables: The Bank of Korea held its benchmark rate at 3% but made clear it would maintain a tightening stance, projecting that growth and inflation would exceed its earlier forecasts. Meanwhile, reports that the United States and Israel are considering resuming airstrikes on Iran pushed West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures back above $100 a barrel.
[News of Interest to Global Investors]
- Key summary: SpaceX delivered results that far exceeded market expectations, yet its bonds weakened. The company, valued at $2 trillion, posted third-quarter net profit of $4.4 billion (about 5.8 trillion won), well above the $1.88 billion (about 2.5 trillion won) estimate, while revenue rose 161% from a year earlier. But concerns about expanding debt spread after Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said the company was investing aggressively in superintelligence computing and in Starlink broadband and mobile services. As a result, the spread on its 6.6% bonds maturing in 2046 widened to 2.64 percentage points. The price of its five-year CDS also climbed to about 232.6 basis points (1 bp = 0.01 percentage point), setting fresh highs several times this month.
2. Goldman Sachs Surveys 225 Global LPs; 84% Say They Will Raise or Maintain Commitments
- Key summary: More than eight in 10 global LPs plan to increase or maintain the size of their commitments next year, a survey found. Goldman Sachs' alternatives business surveyed 225 major LPs worldwide from June to August, and 37% said they would expand deployment. Another 47% said they would keep commitments at a similar level, while only 11% said they would scale back. Geopolitical tension was named the biggest investment risk for the third consecutive year, included among the top five risks by 82% of respondents, while 28% of LPs cited job displacement from technological advances as a new risk factor. By asset class, the outlook was bright for infrastructure and secondary funds, while more than 35% held a negative view of private credit.
- Key summary: Lee Chang-hwan, chief executive of Align Partners, said of SK that it is "a tremendously good company standing at the center of the global artificial intelligence (AI) revolution" and that "when you weigh its value, it is shockingly cheap." At the 13D Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York, where firms including BlackRock and Elliott gathered, Lee disclosed a 1.5% stake in SK and gave a presentation on a global AI asset trading at a PER of 1.0 times. SK shares surged 12.15% the previous day. Based on Align's estimate of 24.431 trillion won in net profit attributable to SK next year, the PER works out to 1.0 times, ranking 176th within the KOSPI 200 — effectively last once preferred shares and loss-making stocks are excluded. Lee was reserved, however, on speculation about a merger between SK and SK Square (402340), saying it was "a stage of watching the value-up plan the company is preparing."
[Reference News for Global Investors]
4. "The Fruit of Patient Hoeing": Bank of Korea Pauses for Now, While Market Sees 3.75% Next Year
- Key summary: The Bank of Korea held its benchmark rate at 3% at its Monetary Policy Board meeting on the 22nd. Governor Shin Hyun-song explained the decision by saying, "We need to examine the ripple effects of the two preceding rate increases," and all seven board members voted in favor of the hold. The board, however, projected that growth this year and next would exceed its August forecasts of 3.3% and 2.9% by a considerable margin and that inflation would also top earlier projections — signaling that a tightening stance would continue. Market expectations now lean toward two additional increases, while Kim Ji-man, an analyst at Samsung Securities (016360), forecast three hikes — in November and in February and May next year — bringing the terminal rate to 3.75%.
5. U.S. and Israel Weigh "Three-Day Concentrated Airstrikes" on Iran, Stirring Oil Prices Again
- Key summary: The United States and Israel are reportedly considering resuming large-scale military attacks on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections next month. The New York Times reported that military authorities in both countries have drawn up attack plans targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, missile and drone forces, and energy infrastructure, including a plan for three days of concentrated airstrikes. Iran has warned it would retaliate against Saudi Aramco facilities and refineries, oil fields and power grids in the Gulf region, heightening concerns about a wider war. In Asian trading on the 22nd, WTI futures for December delivery moved back above $100 a barrel.
6. [Global Hot Stock] AI Agents Spread; Palo Alto Grows Rapidly on Security Demand
- Key summary: As AI evolves from conversational models into agents that carry out tasks on their own, the cybersecurity market has entered a new growth phase. Palo Alto Networks identified the spread of AI agents, more sophisticated exploitation of vulnerabilities and the diffusion of open models as the three major changes in the security market, assessing that demand for integrated security platforms is growing. Remaining performance obligations (RPO) and next-generation security annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 hit record highs of $21.2 billion and $9.1 billion, respectively. Prisma AIRS, a product dedicated to AI, surpassed $100 million in ARR just four quarters after launch. Acquisition benefits are also becoming visible, with Chronosphere's ARR rising from $85 million at the time of the deal to more than $500 million.
