OHB’s Record Rally Pauses as Investors Weigh a €250 P/ E Against €35 Billion in Orbit Spending

OHB SE shares dip 0.5% after hitting €595 high, following 20% surge on KIRK joint venture for Bundeswehr's SPOCK 2 program. Record €3.35B backlog supports growth, but P/E of 250 leaves no room for error.

The dizzying ascent of OHB SE shares hit a temporary speed bump on Wednesday, with the stock dipping about 0.5 percent to €567 after touching an intraday record of €595 the previous session. The modest pullback comes on the heels of a 20 percent surge that has left the space-and-defense group valued at roughly €10 billion — a more than fivefold gain since the start of the year, when the shares were trading at around €117.

The trigger for Tuesday’s explosive move was the formation of the KIRK joint venture, a consortium that brings together OHB, AI specialist Helsing, and defence heavyweights Hensoldt and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace. The alliance is aimed squarely at the Bundeswehr’s SPOCK 2 programme, a tactical surveillance system designed to compress the kill-chain through software-defined satellites and artificial intelligence. With Defence Minister Boris Pistorius earmarking around €35 billion for space-based security by 2030, KIRK positions OHB to capture a significant slice of that spending.

Parallel to the strategic alliance, OHB is benefiting from a powerful location advantage. The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) established a new outpost in Bremen on 19 May, explicitly citing proximity to the company’s headquarters. Bremen’s mayor, Andreas Bovenschulte, described the move as a “knighthood” for the city, noting that it is expected to bring a three-digit number of new jobs. For the defence sector, short physical distances between procurement officials and industrial partners promise faster project approvals — a structural edge that market observers view as a clear plus.

The underlying business provides solid justification for the optimism. In the first quarter of 2026, OHB boosted its total output by 15 percent to €279 million, with adjusted EBIT landing at €16.8 million. The order backlog has swelled to a record €3.35 billion, underpinned by three major contract wins in recent months: the EPS-Sterna deal in which OHB Sweden will build 20 microsatellites for €248 million — the largest order in the company’s history — the ESA Ramses mission to the asteroid Apophis, led by OHB Italia, and the successful launch of eight Eaglet II satellites in late March.

Yet the rally has stretched valuation to extremes. The price-to-earnings ratio now stands at roughly 250, a level that leaves virtually no margin for operational disappointment. Tuesday’s all-time high has prompted some investors to book profits, and the near-term trajectory will hinge on whether KIRK actually secures the SPOCK 2 contract and thereby confirms the lofty growth expectations baked into the share price. If the consortium delivers, OHB could cement its transition from a hardware manufacturer to a linchpin of Europe’s emerging security architecture — but the market is already pricing in that outcome, for better or worse.