Finance
The macro picture, the Startup Nation, the defense-export boom, the banks, and the TA-35 at 33-year highs.
About the Economy — macro, hi-tech, banks, TA-35Macro picture
Headline indicators, June 2026.
- $611BGDP (2025)Nominal output. BoI projects 3.8% growth in 2026 — fastest in the G7.
- $60.3KGDP per capitaAhead of both the United Kingdom and France on the IMF's nominal ranking.
- 3.75%Bank of Israel rateCut from 4.5% wartime hold through a disciplined easing cycle.
- 1.9%Inflation (CPI YoY)Near the midpoint of the 1-3% target band; nine months inside the band.
- 3.00Shekel vs USDA 33-year high, up ~20% over the past year on strong external position.
- -1.7%TA-35 (2025)Roughly doubled from October 2023 lows; record foreign inflows in 2025.
Bank of Israel rate vs. inflation
Disciplined easing cycle: 4.50% wartime hold → 3.75% by May 2026.
TA-125 cumulative return
Tel Aviv's broad-market index, rebased to 100 at January 2020.
Shekel exchange rates
How many shekels one unit of each major foreign currency buys, June 2026.
- USD3.00 ₪
- EUR3.41 ₪
- GBP3.96 ₪
- CHF3.71 ₪
- CAD2.20 ₪
- JPY · per 1001.86 ₪
Record headlines
The exits, exports and reserves defining the 2025-26 boom.
- $32B
Wiz acquisition by Google
Largest exit in Israeli history; closed March 2026.
- $19.2B
Defense exports (2025)
Fifth consecutive annual record. Arrow 3 leads the pack.
- 58%
Hi-tech share of exports
Highest share ever recorded. 18.3% of GDP in 2025.
- $238B
FX reserves
All-time high, ~38% of GDP. Backed the 2023 shekel defense intervention.
Israel's Largest Banks
By market capitalization.
Bank Leumi
NIS 97BOldest Israeli bank, founded 1902. #1 by total assets (~$251B).
Bank Hapoalim
NIS 89BLargest by assets. Record NIS 9.8B net profit in 2025.
Mizrahi-Tefahot
NIS 51B#1 in mortgages with ~38% market share. Most consistent ROE in the Big Four.
Israel Discount
NIS 40B#3 by assets and the most aggressive tech-sector lender.
Latest financial news
Israeli Life Sciences Investment Plunged 40 Percent in 2025, IATI Report Finds
A joint IATI-Israel Innovation Authority annual report released Sunday found that investment in Israeli life sciences companies fell from $2 billion in 2024 to $1.4 billion in 2025, below even 2023's $1.7 billion and less than half the $3 billion peaks of 2021-2022. Public market raises collapsed from $637 million in 2024 to just $116 million in 2025, with the decline concentrated in medical devices that had led the 2024 rebound. The report warned that Israel is missing the global biomed recovery, noting that 'such numbers generally indicate that many companies are raising small sums simply to survive until the end of the crisis.' Merger and acquisition activity held nearly steady at $1.3 billion. The findings raise fresh structural concerns for a sector once seen as a global standout, even as AI and defense exports keep the overall Israeli economy expanding.
Primary:(1)Secondary:(2)(3)(4)US AI Giant Crusoe to Invest $10B in Israeli Data Centers, Targeting 150 MW
American neocloud company Crusoe announced a $10 billion investment in Israeli data center capacity over the next 10 to 15 years, expanding its leases by 100 megawatts with the Anan Group, owned by singer Omer Adam alongside Maor Melul and Nessim-Sariel Gaon, and Zahi Nahmias's MegaDC. Crusoe Israel head Alon Yariv said the company will deploy at least 45,000 of Nvidia's newest Vera Rubin processors, anchored by a flagship 58 megawatt site at the Idan HaNegev Industrial Park near Rahat. Within two years Crusoe expects roughly 150 megawatts of Israeli capacity, overtaking Dutch-Israeli rival Nebius and making Israel one of its largest global markets. The announcement caps a string of mega-deals that have turned Israel into a top destination for AI infrastructure, validating the government's February designation of data centers as national infrastructure. Crusoe, which counts OpenAI and Oracle among its clients, is valued at $10 billion after raising $1.375 billion last October.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)TASE Routed as US-Iran MOU Erases Wartime Rally; TA-125 Down Nearly 11% in June
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange suffered a brutal June, with the TA-125 down roughly 10.5% month to date and the TA-90 off nearly 11%, after the June 14 US-Iran memorandum of understanding deflated the wartime rally that had made TASE one of the world's best performers. Defense, banking, and energy names led losses, with the defense index off 25% over three months as investors priced in a smaller security premium. Israeli investors, unlike cheering Wall Street, read the Washington-brokered framework as a strategic letdown that preserves the Iranian threat rather than dismantling it. Year to date, the TA-125 remains up over 31%, a reminder that Israel's economy proved its resilience through the longest war in its history. The shekel held steady near 2.91 to the dollar, signaling that the selloff reflects repricing rather than capital flight.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)Smotrich pledges shekel-relief package as currency hits 33-year high vs dollar
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said an assistance package for Israeli high-tech firms harmed by the strong shekel will be unveiled 'in the coming days,' as the currency trades around NIS 2.90 to the dollar, its strongest level since October 1993. Tech founders, who book revenue in dollars but pay salaries and rent in shekels, report that 2026's $8.6 billion in startup raises is worth roughly 20 percent less in local-currency terms than the same fundraises a year ago. Among proposed measures: allowing multinationals such as Nvidia and Microsoft to pay certain corporate taxes in dollars rather than converting to shekels. The IMF still projects 3.5 percent Israeli growth this year, well ahead of the US (2.3 percent) and EU (1.3 percent), underscoring that the strong shekel reflects underlying economic resilience even amid war.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)Israel Innovation Authority expands Startup Fund for early-stage DeepTech
The Israel Innovation Authority announced upgrades to its flagship Startup Fund supporting Pre-Seed and Seed DeepTech companies. Maximum public co-investment rises from NIS 1.5M to NIS 2M at Pre-Seed and from NIS 5M to NIS 6M at Seed, with a six-month window for founders to close matching private capital. The changes, reflecting heavier capital needs of quantum, advanced-chip and autonomous-systems startups, take effect July 15, 2026.
Primary:(1)(2)Secondary:(3)(4)(5)Israel weighs landmark US IPOs for state defense champions IAI and Rafael
Bloomberg reported that Israel is considering listing 25-30% of Israel Aerospace Industries (estimated at NIS 100B / $33.7B) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (~NIS 60B / ~$20B) on a US exchange, with an Israeli delegation set to travel to Washington in mid-July to meet investors, underwriters and regulators. Both makers of Arrow and Iron Dome posted record 2025 results, with order backlogs exceeding $30B and $20B respectively. Foreign orders are 70% of IAI's total and roughly half of Rafael's, and a US listing could ease disclosure rules around classified projects compared with a Tel Aviv float.
Sources:(1)(2)Tourism rebounds with 1.3 million visitors in 2025
Israel recorded roughly 1.3 million tourist entries in 2025, up about 34-35% from 2024 but still far below prewar levels. The United States, France and the United Kingdom led inbound tourism, while Tourism Minister Haim Katz said Israel was entering 2026 as 'a year of recovery' for the sector.
Sources:(1)(2)AppsFlyer raises over $1B from Google, Meta, Unity and Moloco at $2.7B valuation
Israeli mobile attribution leader AppsFlyer announced a Series E round of more than $1 billion from four global ad-tech giants, Google, Meta, Unity and Moloco, at a $2.7 billion post-money valuation. The company has roughly 1,300 employees, about $500M in annual recurring revenue, is cash-flow positive, and serves over 15,000 brands worldwide. AppsFlyer says it intends to use the round to accelerate omnichannel measurement and agentic AI workflows ahead of a future IPO.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)May CPI falls 0.3% as annual inflation drops to 1.9%
Israel's Consumer Price Index fell 0.3% in May, a steeper decline than economists had expected, and annual inflation dropped to 1.9%. The monthly decline was led by cheaper household equipment and clothing, while the Bank of Israel's benchmark target range remained 1-3%.
Sources:(1)(2)Shekel strengthens toward NIS 2.90 per dollar, up over 8% YTD
The shekel traded around NIS 2.9030 to the dollar in late June, its strongest level since October 1993 and more than 8% stronger against the dollar since the start of 2026. Globes tied the move to institutional foreign-exchange sales, foreign-resident flows, global market performance and Israel's falling risk premium; the stronger shekel curbs imported inflation even as exporters warn about competitiveness.
Sources:(1)(2)