Kongsberg is a global leader in civil maritime technology, with a wide range of opportunities in the offshore oil and gas production, liquefied natural gas transport, and wind turbine installations sectors, amongst others.
This first segment accounts for just under half of consolidated revenue. It has grown steadily and has undergone a spectacular turnaround in recent years, with its operating margin rising from zero to 11% in seven years.
The second segment comprises defense activities, with a range of traditional weapon systems, aerospace technology—Kongsberg is a key link in the F-35 program and manufactures the renowned NASAMS air defense system—as well as marine and submarine systems.
This business segment is more profitable than Lockheed Martin's. It is also the main source of Kongsberg's recent growth, with a record H2 of 2025, as six-month after-tax profit reached $388m, compared with $217m in the same period last year.
Recent financial commitments by NATO member countries, the success of the F-35s used by Israel during the bombing campaign in Iran, and European rearmament—with national budgets expected to triple or even quadruple this year compared to 2015 levels—are all tailwinds for the Norwegian company.
Kongsberg has already tripled its revenue and quintupled both its earnings per share and dividend payouts over the past decade, thanks to a highly successful restructuring program and a series of shrewd acquisitions, including those of Finnish defense group Patria and Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine.
In the meantime, its valuation has gone from that of an industrial group struggling to grow to that of a stock market star, with an EV of 8x its operating profit in 2015, compared with more than 37x today.
It is unclear whether such a multiple is sustainable in the long term. Last month, the stock began to correct after a meteoric rise triggered by the start of the war in Ukraine.
