Market: KOSPI (017670)
Brokerage : Hana Securities
Analyst : Hong-sik Kim (RA: Sang-ho Lee)
Investment Rating : BUY (Maintained)
Target Price : KRW 140,000 (Maintained)
Core Momentum : With 2026 full-year operating profit targeting KRW 2 Trillion driven by disciplined cost containment and SK Broadband growth, SK Telecom stands out as an industry Top Pick backed by 4Q tax-free quarterly dividends and structural AI upside across SK Hyper AIDC and AI RAN.
📊 1. [Valuation & Key Financial Metrics]
- Rating & Target Price: BUY (Maintained), Sector Top Pick Maintained, 12-Month Target Price KRW 140,000 (Maintained).
- Valuation Multiples: 2026F P/E 15.28x (Consensus 15.3x), P/B 1.42x, EV/EBITDA 4.39x, DPS KRW 3,600 / 2027F P/E 15.42x, P/B 1.37x, EV/EBITDA 3.97x, DPS KRW 3,800.
- Financial Estimates:
- 2024A: Revenue KRW 17.94 Trillion, Operating Profit KRW 1.82 Trillion, Pre-tax Profit KRW 1.76 Trillion, Net Profit KRW 1.25 Trillion, EPS KRW 5,810, ROE 10.83%, DPS KRW 3,540.
- 2025A: Revenue KRW 17.10 Trillion, Operating Profit KRW 1.07 Trillion (-41.1% YoY), Pre-tax Profit KRW 722.3 Billion, Net Profit KRW 408.4 Billion (-67.3% YoY), EPS KRW 1,901, ROE 3.33%, DPS KRW 1,660.
- 2026F: Revenue KRW 17.66 Trillion (+3.3% YoY), Operating Profit KRW 1.95 Trillion (+81.4% YoY), Pre-tax Profit KRW 1.71 Trillion, Net Profit KRW 1.29 Trillion (+214.7% YoY), EPS KRW 5,983, ROE 9.67%, DPS KRW 3,600.
- 2027F: Revenue KRW 18.22 Trillion (+3.2% YoY), Operating Profit KRW 2.01 Trillion (+3.4% YoY), Pre-tax Profit KRW 1.73 Trillion, Net Profit KRW 1.27 Trillion, EPS KRW 5,927, ROE 9.12%, DPS KRW 3,800.
🚀 2. [Market Opportunities & Business Outlook]
- 2Q26 Earnings Review:
- Consolidated Operating Profit recorded KRW 566.0 Billion (+67% YoY, +5% QoQ), beating market consensus.
- Marked a robust recovery from both the cyber-attack low base in 2Q25 and 1Q26 performance.
- Growth drivers: 1) Expanded profit contributions from SK Broadband (2Q consolidated operating profit of KRW 132.5 Billion), 2) Flat labor and administrative expenses following workforce optimization, 3) Stabilized marketing costs from capped SAC amortization, 4) Election-related business messaging revenue, and 5) Strong AIDC revenue expansion.
- Reaching 1H cumulative operating profit of KRW 1.10 Trillion places the full-year KRW 2 Trillion operating profit target firmly within reach.
- Dividend Appeal & Shareholder Returns:
- Introduction of tax-free dividend structures in 4Q26 is expected to yield an attractive quarterly payout of KRW 1,050 per share (post-tax).
- Meaningful profit generation from SK Hyper’s project SPCs will channel dividend inflows back to SKT, driving multi-year DPS growth visibility.
- AI Leadership & Valuation Differentiation:
- AIDC initiatives will operate via project-specific Special Purpose Companies (SPCs) under SK Hyper, ensuring verified profitability and transparent financial reporting over unconstrained Capex.
- Selection as a national AI initiative partner, expanding AI RAN deployment, and entering the verification phase for AI base stations support wireless ARPU and dividend expansion.
- Domestic physical AI policy support could accelerate 5G Standalone (SA) deployment and discussions around new 5G tariff launches for the first time in 7 years.
- Positioned not merely as a defensive dividend play, but as a direct beneficiary of AI infrastructure growth, offering market-outperformance potential during bull cycles.
📝 Editor’s Comment (Perspective)
The analyst views SK Telecom as an industry Top Pick that is consolidating a structural earnings rebound toward KRW 2 Trillion in annual operating profit through rigorous operational cost containment and subsidiary performance, while unlocking distinct valuation multiples by evolving into an AI infrastructure leader. The overarching thesis looks past traditional telco defensive characteristics, emphasizing the near-term catalyst of a KRW 1,050 post-tax tax-free quarterly dividend in 4Q26 alongside the long-term enterprise value generated by SK Hyper’s AIDC SPC pipeline and AI RAN commercialization.
To evaluate whether this investment thesis unfolds as anticipated, key tracking points include the achievement of the KRW 2 Trillion full-year operating profit milestone following strong 1H results, the formal board approval and execution of the tax-free 4Q quarterly dividend (KRW 1,050 post-tax), the establishment of project SPCs under SK Hyper and their subsequent dividend distributions to SKT, and measurable wireless ARPU inflections stemming from 5G SA rollouts and AI base station commercialization. These metrics can be monitored through SK Telecom’s quarterly financial disclosures, IR presentations, periodic regulatory filings, and official dividend announcements.
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Source: This content has been structured and newly written based on officially disclosed financial facts and data from brokerage reports.
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