South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) increased its exposure to U.S. equities in the fourth quarter of 2025, adding to major technology holdings despite market volatility tied to artificial intelligence valuations.
According to a Form 13F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on 02/11, the pension fund held stakes in 561 U.S.-listed companies as of 12/31/2025, up from 552 in the prior quarter. Total shares owned rose 3.36% to 888.4 million, while the market value of its U.S. portfolio climbed 4.89% to $135.07 billion. From a year earlier, the portfolio’s value increased 27.82% from $105.67 billion.
Alphabet recorded the largest quarterly gain in dollar terms. The combined value of its Class A and C shares rose about 33% to $7.16 billion, largely driven by price appreciation. Apple holdings increased 8.45% to $8.21 billion, Eli Lilly surged 42.9% to $1.74 billion, and Micron Technology jumped 84.9% to $870 million.
NPS modestly raised stakes in Broadcom, Meta Platforms and Palantir, while trimming Tesla by 0.2% and Intel by 2.3%. It reduced positions in Roblox, Applied Materials, AppLovin, Nike, Booking Holdings and Walt Disney.
The fund sharply expanded select holdings, including Estée Lauder, and significantly increased stakes in Reddit, Dollar Tree, Ulta Beauty and Natera. New investments included 544,640 shares of Spotify valued at about $320 million and 643,174 shares of Rocket Lab worth roughly $45 million.
In defense, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics holdings rose more than 25% each, while some positions in RTX, Northrop Grumman and L3Harris declined modestly. Chevron and Exxon Mobil stakes also increased.
Nvidia remained NPS’s largest U.S. holding at $9.34 billion, followed by Apple at $8.21 billion, Alphabet at $7.16 billion and Amazon at $4.58 billion.
Despite late-2025 turbulence, the pension giant continued to lean into large-cap technology, signaling sustained confidence in long-term sector growth.
