Market: KOSPI (017670)
Brokerage : Yuanta Securities
Analyst : Seung-woong Lee (RA: Koeun Kim)
Investment Rating : BUY (Maintain)
Target Price : KRW 118,000 (Maintain)
Core Momentum : Core earnings normalization and labor cost discipline following the dissipation of past incident costs, supported by a 15GW long-term AIDC roadmap and rising Anthropic equity value.
📊 1. [Valuation & Key Financial Metrics]
- Investment Rating & Target Price: BUY maintained, Target Price maintained at KRW 118,000 (40% upside potential from the July 8, 2026 closing price of KRW 84,000)
- 2Q26 Earnings Forecast:
- Consolidated Revenue: KRW 4.435 Trillion (+2.2% YoY, +1.0% QoQ)
- Consolidated Operating Profit: KRW 541.0 Billion (+60.1% YoY, +0.7% QoQ, OPM 12.2%)
- Profit before Income Tax: KRW 570.0 Billion (+137.1% YoY, +22.4% QoQ)
- Net Profit (Controlling Interests): KRW 389.0 Billion (+334.0% YoY, +20.7% QoQ)
- Standalone (SKT) Revenue: KRW 3.1 Trillion (+0.2% YoY), Standalone Operating Profit: KRW 417.4 Billion (+66.4% YoY)
- FY2026 Annual Forecast:
- Annual Revenue: KRW 17.816 Trillion (+4.2% YoY)
- Annual Operating Profit: KRW 1.960 Trillion (+82.6% YoY, OPM 11.0%)
- Annual Net Profit (Controlling Interests): KRW 1.426 Trillion (+249.5% YoY)
- 2026E EPS: KRW 6,639 / BPS: KRW 64,888 / ROE: 10.7% / PER: 12.7x / PBR: 1.3x / EV/EBITDA: 4.8x
🚀 2. [Market Opportunities & Business Outlook]
- Earnings Normalization & Cost Discipline: Complete removal of one-off expenses associated with the 2025 cyber security incident combined with sustained labor cost reductions, positioning the company to restore annual operating profit toward KRW 2.0 Trillion.
- Subsidiary & Data Center Growth: SK Broadband continues to expand earnings, with the data center and fixed-line segments driving top-line expansion across the consolidated entity.
- 15GW Long-Term AIDC Roadmap:
- Phase 1 (Starting 2029): Phased operation of 5GW capacity across Ulsan and two metropolitan sites.
- Phase 2 (Post-2035): Additional 10GW deployment planned, establishing an aggregate 15GW AIDC infrastructure footprint.
- Equity Valuation & Shareholder Returns: Anthropic’s enterprise valuation reaching $1.0 Trillion provides upside potential for SKT’s equity stake. Expectations for the normalization of shareholder return policies gain visibility alongside profit recovery.
📝 Editor’s Comment (Perspective)
The analyst views SK Telecom as an incumbent operator restoring its baseline annual operating profit to the KRW 2.0 Trillion level through labor cost discipline and the dissipation of prior incident costs, while securing medium-to-long-term growth vectors through its 15GW AIDC roadmap and rising global AI equity assets. This perspective establishes core earnings recovery and the anticipated normalization of shareholder returns as downside support, while positioning long-term AI infrastructure buildout and strategic holdings as valuation drivers.
To evaluate whether this investment thesis materializes, key verification points include tracking whether labor cost savings and steady telecom operations sustain annual operating profit near KRW 1.96–2.0 Trillion, confirming the actual implementation of normalized shareholder returns (dividends) alongside earnings recovery, and monitoring tangible infrastructure buildout and enterprise contracting progress for the 5GW AIDC rollout planned across Ulsan and metropolitan locations for 2029. These milestones can be tracked via upcoming quarterly earnings announcements, official IR materials, and regular DART statutory filings.
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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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