OHB's Numbers Are Rising, Yet the Stock Keeps Falling — Here's the Reconcile
Published on 09/09/2026 at 13:22 | Editorial boerse-global.de
The disconnect is getting harder to ignore. OHB SE just posted double-digit growth in sales and a near-50 percent jump in operating profit, and the shares still can't catch a bid. The stock slipped another 2.6 percent on Wednesday to €181.80, extending a slide that has now carved roughly 74 percent off the price since the May peak of €688.
For investors, the question is no longer whether the space and defense group is executing — the first-half numbers answer that emphatically — but whether the market's focus on share count and selling pressure will keep overwhelming the operational story.
A Half-Year Scorecard That Checks Every Box
Total output for the first half of 2026 came in at €627.9 million, up 11 percent year on year. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 31 percent to €60.4 million, while adjusted EBIT advanced 46 percent to €38.9 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin widened to 9.6 percent from 8.2 percent in the prior-year period.
Management reaffirmed its full-year guidance of €1.4 billion in total output at an adjusted EBITDA margin between 10.5 and 11 percent. The order book, meanwhile, touched a fresh record of €3.30 billion, and the company puts its pipeline of potential new projects at roughly €20 billion.
The balance sheet has also been fortified. Following the €484 million capital increase completed at the end of June and early July, the equity ratio now exceeds 40 percent. Net debt improved to 1.1 times EBITDA, a marked improvement from the 1.9x leverage recorded in the first half of 2025 — a meaningful shift for a company funding capital-intensive space programs.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying OHB SE?
That capital raise, however, came at a cost. Around €21.4 million in transaction-related expenses weighed on the half-year results.
Why the Share Price Won't Cooperate
The stock's descent from its spring peak isn't a mystery, even if the scale of the move invites scrutiny. Three factors have combined to pressure the shares: a broad valuation correction following an extraordinary run-up in prior months, the dilutive effect of issuing roughly 1.6 million new shares, and a partial disposal by private equity backer KKR.
That June selldown was particularly notable. KKR placed shares at €300 apiece — a substantial discount to the then-prevailing closing price of €405.50. The transaction left ownership largely unchanged in structure: the Fuchs family retains its majority at 60.3 percent, with KKR's Orchid Lux HoldCo vehicle and free float each holding 19.7 percent.
Technical indicators suggest the selling may be nearing exhaustion. The relative strength index stands at 34.6, approaching levels where buyers have historically stepped in, though the secondary source's reading of 36.1 reflects a slightly different measurement window. Either way, the stock is in oversold territory. Elevated volatility — annualized at roughly 76 to 77 percent depending on the measurement period — points to continued two-way swings ahead.
Operational Milestones Keep Landing
The business itself continues to deliver tangible progress. The MTG-I2 weather satellite launched successfully aboard an Ariane 6 from Europe's spaceport in late August. In late July, the Italian space agency ASI awarded OHB Italia the contract for the PRISMA Second Generation hyperspectral Earth-observation mission, with a launch targeted by the end of 2031. Thales Alenia Space Italia and Leonardo are slated as subcontractors for the platform and instrument, respectively.
June also brought a strategic consolidation: OHB acquired the remaining 30 percent of MT Aerospace AG, becoming sole shareholder and bringing key manufacturing capabilities fully in-house — a move consistent with its broader strategy of reducing reliance on external suppliers.
What's on the Calendar
Management has a busy stretch of investor engagement ahead. OHB attends the Jefferies Industrials Conference on September 9-10, followed by the Berenberg & Goldman Sachs German Corporate Conference on September 21. Third-quarter results are due November 12, with a Deutsche Bank Global Space and Defense Tech Summit scheduled for mid-November.
Until then, the market's central debate looks set to continue: whether record orders and improving profitability can eventually outweigh the lingering overhang of dilution and secondary selling. The operational case has rarely looked stronger — the share price, for now, tells a different story.
Ad
OHB SE Stock: New Analysis - 9 September
Fresh OHB SE information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
