Market: KOSPI (017670)
Brokerage : SK Securities
Analyst : Kwan-soon Choi
Investment Rating : BUY (Maintained)
Target Price : KRW 120,000 (Upgraded)
Core Momentum : With 2Q26 cost efficiencies and SK Broadband DC scaling driving 2026 full-year operating profit to KRW 1.93 Trillion (highest since 2013), the establishment of SK Hyper to execute phased 5GW (starting 2029) to 15GW (2035) mega AIDC roadmaps provides powerful re-rating catalysts.
📊 1. [Valuation & Key Financial Metrics]
- Rating & Target Price: BUY (Maintained), Target Price raised by 9.1% to KRW 120,000 (from KRW 110,000, Upside Potential 29.0%).
- Valuation Methodology: Calculated by applying the historical PER band midpoint to 2026E EPS (based on Controlling Net Profit of KRW 1.32 Trillion), supported by fundamental turnaround and AIDC roadmaps.
- 2026 Annual Earnings Estimates (Revised):
- Revenue: KRW 17.65 Trillion (-1.2% vs previous KRW 17.86 Trillion, -0.7% vs consensus KRW 17.78 Trillion)
- Operating Profit: KRW 1.93 Trillion (+79.9% YoY, maintained from previous estimate, OPM 10.9%)
- Controlling Net Profit: KRW 1.32 Trillion (+8.3% vs previous KRW 1.22 Trillion, +5.1% vs consensus KRW 1.26 Trillion, NPM 7.5%)
🚀 2. [Market Opportunities & Business Outlook]
- 2Q26 Earnings Review:
- Consolidated Revenue posted KRW 4.36 Trillion (+0.5% YoY, -1.2% vs consensus), Operating Profit was KRW 566.0 Billion (+67.3% YoY, OPM 13.0%, +3.7% vs consensus), and Controlling Net Profit recorded KRW 471.0 Billion (+24.6% vs consensus), slightly beating market expectations.
- Despite a minor decline in mobile service revenue (-0.2% YoY) due to lower subscriber counts, operating profit expanded significantly thanks to company-wide cost containment including lower depreciation expenses.
- SK Broadband’s operating profit grew 44.3% YoY on expanding data center capacity utilization, boosting consolidated earnings.
- Fully moved past the financial impacts of the 2025 cyber security incident to enter a structural profit expansion cycle (highest annual operating profit since 2013).
- 5GW+ Mega AIDC Roadmap via SK Hyper:
- SK Broadband plans to secure over 300MW (over KRW 1 Trillion in revenue) in data center capacity by 2030.
- Phased commercial operation of 5GW AIDC capacity beginning in 2029, with plans to scale up to 15GW by 2035 based on enterprise demand.
- Established dedicated subsidiary ‘SK Hyper’ with a planned staged capital commitment of KRW 750.0 Billion through 2030 to manage site procurement, power infrastructure, O&M, and project development.
- First-mover advantage expected in the domestic and global AI infrastructure market through enhanced full-stack AI capabilities.
📝 Editor’s Comment (Perspective)
The analyst views SK Telecom as a premier telecommunications provider that has completely resolved the financial aftermath of the prior-year security incident, leveraging core cost optimization and SK Broadband’s data center expansion to reach its highest annual operating profit since 2013. The overarching investment thesis extends well beyond short-term quarterly operational recoveries, highlighting the transformative enterprise value of newly established subsidiary SK Hyper, which is backed by KRW 750.0 Billion in staged capital commitments through 2030 to build and operate a massive 5GW (phased from 2029) to 15GW AIDC infrastructure footprint.
To evaluate whether this investment thesis unfolds as anticipated, key tracking points include whether the company achieves full-year operating profit of KRW 1.93 Trillion supported by disciplined depreciation expenses, SK Broadband’s progress toward securing 300MW (KRW 1 Trillion revenue) in data centers by 2030, the timely deployment of SK Hyper’s KRW 750.0 Billion staged capital commitments for power and land acquisition, and the formal execution of anchor tenant contracts ahead of the phased deployment of 5GW AIDC capacity starting in 2029. These milestones can be monitored through SK Telecom’s quarterly financial disclosures, IR presentations, periodic regulatory filings, and corporate disclosures regarding SK Hyper.
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