A specific subset of Borsa Istanbul (BIST) listed companies derive substantial portions of their revenue in foreign currencies — exporters, holding companies with international operations, and Turkish multinationals with significant cross-border activity. These companies' earnings are partially insulated from TRY depreciation because their revenue stream itself is FX-denominated. For Turkish retail investors and for foreign portfolio investors with TRY-related allocation considerations, holding equity in these companies provides an indirect lira hedge through the underlying business economics — a different mechanism from direct FX allocation, gold, or USDT, and one that has specific advantages and trade-offs.
This piece walks through the mechanism, identifies the specific 2026 BIST 100 constituents that meet the foreign-revenue criterion, compares the hedge to alternative mechanisms, and discusses how the strategy fits within broader lira-adjacent saving and trading approaches.
The Mechanism
Turkish companies operating in pure-domestic businesses face a structural P&L pressure as the lira depreciates: revenue grows nominally in lira terms (matching inflation) but cost-side imports and capital expenditure rise faster, compressing margins. The earnings translate to USD-equivalent value at a continuously declining rate.
Companies with substantial foreign-currency revenue face a different pressure. Their revenue stream itself rises in lira terms as the lira depreciates — a $1 of foreign revenue translates to more lira when the lira weakens. Costs that are foreign-denominated also rise but typically the revenue effect dominates because the company's specific business model has been calibrated for FX-revenue exposure.
The result: companies in this category tend to outperform pure-domestic peers during periods of lira weakness, because their earnings in lira terms appreciate while pure-domestic companies' margins compress.
For a Turkish retail investor, holding equity in these companies provides exposure to:
- The FX appreciation effect on revenue
- The international business growth dynamics
- The company's specific competitive positioning
- The TRY-denominated equity market's general dynamics
The combined exposure is partially lira-hedged but not fully. The retail investor still bears the equity risk, the specific company risk, and any TRY equity-market risk premium. The hedge is meaningful but not pure.
The 2026 BIST 100 Foreign-Revenue Cohort
Specific BIST 100 constituents with substantial foreign-currency revenue exposure as of 2026 include several categories.
Industrial conglomerates with significant export exposure. Turkish industrial holding companies operating across cement, steel, manufacturing, automotive, and food processing with substantial export markets. Major examples include Koç Holding, Sabancı Holding, and Tofaş — large diversified groups with international operations and exporter subsidiaries.
Energy and petrochemical groups. Tüpraş (refining and petrochemicals) and Petkim (petrochemicals) generate revenue partly in USD-denominated international markets. The companies' margins are sensitive to the relationship between TRY-denominated costs and USD-denominated revenue.
Aviation and travel-related companies. Turkish Airlines (THY) has substantial USD and EUR-denominated revenue from international ticket sales, freight, and ancillary services. The company's earnings are heavily exposed to international travel demand and to USD-denominated jet fuel costs.
Cement and construction materials. Çimsa, Akçansa, and Mardin Çimento operate cement and related businesses with substantial export markets in Africa, Middle East, and Mediterranean Europe. FX-denominated revenue is meaningful.
Specific manufacturers. Aselsan (defence electronics), Tüpraş (refining), and selected automotive component manufacturers derive substantial revenue from FX-denominated international sales.
Selected banking groups with international operations. Some Turkish banks have meaningful international banking operations or substantial FX-denominated balance sheet activity that translates into TRY-resilient earnings characteristics.
The specific 2026 list of foreign-revenue-exposed BIST 100 constituents shifts as company business models evolve, but approximately 25-35 of the 100 index constituents have meaningful foreign-currency revenue exposure on the order of 30 percent or more of total revenue.
The Hedge Performance
The strategy's performance through 2024-2026 has been observable and broadly aligned with the theoretical mechanism.
A simple "long foreign-revenue BIST stocks" approach over 2024-2025 has outperformed the broader BIST 100 index in TRY terms by a meaningful margin — approximately 8-15 percentage points cumulative depending on the specific selection and weighting. The outperformance reflects the combination of:
- TRY depreciation translating into nominal earnings appreciation for FX-revenue companies
- International business dynamics affecting specific companies favourably
- Some stocks attracting foreign portfolio inflows specifically because of their TRY-resilient characteristics
The outperformance is not uniform — specific stocks have substantially outperformed (Tüpraş, Sabancı, Koç) while others have underperformed despite the foreign-revenue characteristics (specific industrial companies affected by international demand weakness). The strategy is not a pure factor bet; it requires specific company selection and ongoing rebalancing.
For 2026 year-to-date, the strategy has continued to perform with continued outperformance of approximately 4-7 percentage points versus the broader BIST 100 index in TRY terms, with the relative performance reflecting the specific market conditions affecting individual sectors.
How This Hedge Compares With Alternatives
For Turkish retail investors thinking about how to position in 2026 with TRY-related risk, the BIST 100 foreign-revenue strategy is one of several alternatives.
| Mechanism | TRY hedge quality | Liquidity | Operational complexity | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRY deposit | None | Highest | Lowest | Lowest |
| BIST 100 (broad) | Partial | High | Low | High (TRY-equity) |
| BIST 100 foreign-revenue subset | Better partial | High | Medium | High |
| Direct USD bank deposit | Strong | High | Medium | Lowest |
| Direct EUR bank deposit | Strong (EUR) | High | Medium | Low |
| Gold (physical/account) | Strong | High | Low | Medium |
| USDT | Strong | High | Medium | Low (peg-stable) |
| US equity (via offshore) | Strong + equity beta | Medium | High (offshore broker) | Medium-high |
| Real estate | Strong (long-term) | Lowest | Lowest (after acquisition) | Medium |
The BIST foreign-revenue subset offers a hedge that is partial but accessible through Turkish banking and brokerage infrastructure. It does not require the user to navigate FX conversion limits, USDT custody, or offshore broker complexity. The trade-off is that the hedge quality is partial — equity beta and Turkish-market dynamics still affect the position substantially.
For investors who already have substantial equity allocation, shifting toward the foreign-revenue subset is a low-cost rebalancing that improves the TRY-hedge quality without changing the broad asset class allocation. For investors without substantial equity allocation, the strategy involves accepting equity risk that direct-FX or gold mechanisms do not require.
The Tactical Considerations
Several tactical considerations apply to executing the strategy.
Sector concentration. The foreign-revenue subset is concentrated in specific sectors (energy/refining, industrial conglomerates, aviation). Equal-weighting across the subset produces sector concentration that may be undesirable in a broader portfolio. Adjusting for sector balance reduces the hedge purity.
Specific company risk. Individual companies in the cohort face company-specific risks (regulatory, operational, competitive) that do not affect all members equally. Concentrated bets in specific companies amplify these risks.
Foreign portfolio flow timing. Some BIST stocks attract foreign portfolio flow specifically because of TRY-resilient characteristics. The flow timing affects price movements at frequencies that broader equity timing does not.
Dividend treatment. Several Turkish foreign-revenue companies pay dividends in TRY at conversion rates that differ from the underlying revenue's FX denomination. The dividend-yield component of total return interacts with the hedge mechanism.
Tax treatment. Turkish capital gains tax and dividend tax treatment may differ from how the same exposure achieved through direct FX would be taxed. Specific tax planning is meaningful for substantial portfolios.
The Decision Reading
For Turkish retail investors with substantial allocation to lira-related risk in 2026, the BIST 100 foreign-revenue subset is one mechanism among several for indirect FX hedging through equity exposure. The hedge is partial and equity-correlated rather than pure. The mechanism is operationally accessible without offshore broker or cryptocurrency complexity.
The strategy's role in a typical retail portfolio is supplementary rather than primary. Direct FX deposits, USDT, gold, and other mechanisms provide more pure FX-hedge capacity at lower equity-correlation. The BIST foreign-revenue subset adds equity-return potential to the hedge mix at the cost of equity volatility.
For traders specifically, the strategy is more relevant for medium-to-long-term positioning than for short-term tactical trading. The hedge mechanism operates over quarters and years rather than days. Specific company-level catalysts can produce trading opportunities at higher frequency, but the structural-hedge function is a longer-horizon proposition.
For foreign portfolio investors with TRY allocation considerations, the BIST foreign-revenue subset is a known tactical adjustment that some emerging-market allocators use during periods of expected lira weakness. The pattern is established and repeatable.
Honest Limits
The specific stock identifications in this piece reflect publicly available company financial reporting through Q1 2026 and may not capture more recent business developments. The performance figures are typical-case approximations rather than precise audited returns. The hedge mechanism described above is a structural feature that operates with significant noise; specific time periods produce variations from the typical pattern that can be material. Equity investment involves risk of capital loss; the strategy's equity-correlation means that broad equity drawdowns can affect the hedge cohort substantially. None of this constitutes investment or financial advice; specific allocation decisions should account for the individual investor's circumstances, time horizon, and risk tolerance.