A flag with the CSG NV logo during their company’s listing on Euronext Amsterdam in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Friday January 23, 2026.
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Shares of Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group (CSG) soared more than 30% in its stock market debut on Friday, highlighting sustained investor interest in defense companies amid Europe’s growing push for military sovereignty.
CSG, one of the world’s fastest growing defense companies, has debuted on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Shares were trading up 29% at 32.25 euros ($37.85) as of 1:54 p.m. London time (8:54 a.m. ET), after jumping 32% earlier in the session. This increase implies a market capitalization of around 32.5 billion euros.
The Prague-based company, which manufactures armed vehicles, munitions and advanced defense systems, raised a total of 3.8 billion euros in its IPO.
Euronext said it is the largest defense IPO on record, both in terms of amount raised and market capitalization.
“Today marks a historic milestone for CSG as we join the Euronext Amsterdam market and we welcome the confidence placed in us by investors,” said Michal Strnad, chairman of CSG, in a statement.
“Becoming a publicly traded company demonstrates our commitment to high standards of transparency, disclosure and corporate governance and strengthens our ability to invest in innovation, expand our global reach and fulfill our mission to be a long-term, essential provider of advanced defense and industrial solutions to NATO states and their government partners around the world,” he added.
The listing comes after weeks of growing geopolitical tensions, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to use military force to retake Greenland from NATO ally Denmark.
However, in a surprising development on Wednesday, Trump said he had agreed to a framework of a future agreement with regard to the autonomous Danish territory.
In Europe, meanwhile, investors continued to pour into defense stocks, fueled by a mix of European Union, domestic and private capital.
Strategists have cited Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the end of the US defense umbrella in Europe as causing a so-called “mega-trend in the making”.
— CNBC’s Hugh Leask contributed to this report.
