Korea Investment & Securities on Wednesday maintained its buy rating and its target price of 280,000 KRW (about 207 USD) for CJ CheilJedang. It said the company's defensive qualities stand out as the stock market corrects.

Choi Go-woon, a researcher at the brokerage, said that food and beverage companies are drawing attention as defensive stocks, because their share prices and earnings have shown strong resistance to declines. Given that their market positions remain solid, the more bad news there is, the better they fit the defensive profile.

Choi added that CJ CheilJedang may still find growth hard to come by, but it has the advantage of facing little pressure from supply-demand conditions or valuation. Paradoxically, food, materials and bio all performed poorly, so there are many potential rebound points to look for in 2027.

Choi expects a turnaround in the fourth quarter after an uncertain third. In the third quarter, CJ CheilJedang reported revenue of 7.4 trillion KRW (about 5.5 billion USD), up 7% year over year, and operating profit of 309.1 billion KRW (about 231 million USD), down 7%. Both were in line with the consensus forecast.

Choi said that the mood around the recent Middle East war has shifted back toward negotiations, and oil prices have been the first to react, correcting lower. Pressure from raw and other material costs has peaked, and the effects of the price increases made in late July should show up gradually from the fourth quarter.

He added that profitability in the existing bio business already rebounded in the second quarter, and the company is defending its margins even though some war-related benefits have disappeared. The fourth quarter also benefits from a large base effect from last year, so both the lifestyle food and core-technology materials businesses are expected to return to profit growth without much trouble.

Korea Investment & Securities on Wednesday maintained its buy rating and its target price …

Why CJ CheilJedang is the Top Defensive Stock to Buy in 2026: Insights from Korea Investment & Securities