CSG Pushes Deeper Into US Defense Market as Shares Sink to 52-Week Low on Investor Impatience
25.06.2026 - 15:07:47 | boerse-global.de
The Czechoslovak Group has picked a battle-hardened veteran to spearhead its assault on the American defense market, even as its stock price continues to bleed. David Jacobs, a former Northrop Grumman and Raytheon executive with more than two decades in the industry, will lead CSG Defense North America from a new Washington office. His brief: orchestrate acquisitions and build production capacity in the world’s largest arms market. Yet the appointment, announced alongside plans to ramp up 155-millimeter shell output in Iowa, has done little to arrest the share price slide.
CSG hit a fresh 52-week low of €12.31 on Thursday, closing at €12.62 — a daily loss of 2.32%. That leaves the stock down roughly 65% from its all-time high of €36.05, reached shortly after its January 2026 IPO at €25. The relative strength index has fallen to 26.7, deep in oversold territory, while the annualized 30-day volatility runs at 58%. Over the past month alone, the shares have shed nearly a third of their value.
The selloff stands in stark contrast to the company’s operating performance. First-quarter revenue rose 14% year-on-year to €1.5 billion, and the order backlog bulges at €17 billion. Management has reaffirmed full-year guidance of up to €7.6 billion in sales and an operating margin of 24%. Some valuation models put the stock’s fair value as high as €55 — more than four times Thursday’s close.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying CSG?
Investors, however, are demanding proof that CSG can convert its strategic ambition into hard orders. The US pivot is the centerpiece of that effort. Jacobs, who spent 15 years at Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, most recently advised Northrop’s board on acquisitions as a vice president. Earlier in his career he logged a decade at Merrill Lynch, where he handled deals worth over $200 billion. He now reports directly to majority owner Michal Strnad.
CSG has already laid a foundation in the US. Last year its subsidiary MSM Group secured a US Army contract to build an artillery shell factory in Iowa, where 155-millimeter rounds will eventually roll off the line. The new Washington office is designed to give CSG institutional access to the Pentagon and Congress. Beyond that, Jacobs is tasked with identifying further production partnerships and technology-transfer opportunities.
For now, the market is treating the US expansion as a story without a payoff. Until the push produces signed contracts or completed acquisitions, the pressure on the stock is likely to persist. The next quarterly results, due in the autumn, will test whether operational strength can finally close the yawning gap between CSG’s fundamentals and its battered share price.
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