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 : Operational earnings turnaround and quarterly dividend resumption driven by cost cuts and AI DC growth, supported by rising equity value from Anthropic.
📊 1. [Valuation & Key Financial Metrics]
- Investment Rating & Target Price: BUY maintained, Target Price maintained at KRW 118,000 (27% upside potential from the May 7, 2026 closing price of KRW 93,200), Sector Top Pick
- 1Q26 Results Summary:
- Consolidated Revenue: KRW 4.392 Trillion (-1.4% YoY, +1.5% QoQ)
- Consolidated Operating Profit: KRW 538.0 Billion (-5.2% YoY, +351.3% QoQ, OPM 12.2%, beating consensus of KRW 513.0 Billion)
- Net Profit (Controlling Interests): KRW 322.0 Billion (-11.5% YoY, +186.5% QoQ)
- Standalone (SKT) Revenue: KRW 3.1 Trillion (-1.9% YoY), Standalone Operating Profit: KRW 409.5 Billion (-15.1% YoY)
- FY2026 Full-Year Forecast:
- Annual Revenue: KRW 17.840 Trillion (+4.3% YoY)
- Annual Operating Profit: KRW 1.894 Trillion (+79.3% YoY, referenced as ~KRW 1.9 Trillion in report body)
- Annual Net Profit (Controlling Interests): KRW 1.164 Trillion
- 2026E EPS: KRW 5,419 / BPS: KRW 64,888 / ROE: 8.9% / PER: 17.2x / PBR: 1.5x / EV/EBITDA: 5.7x
- Dividends & Shareholder Returns:
- Resumption of quarterly dividends officially confirmed with 1Q26 DPS of KRW 830 (Total payout of KRW 176.8 Billion)
- Annual dividend payouts projected to recover to historical baseline levels alongside earnings normalization
🚀 2. [Market Opportunities & Business Outlook]
- Core Operational Recovery & Cost Discipline:
- Net addition of approximately 210,000 handset subscribers, partially recovering the user base on the back of competitor penalty fee waivers.
- MNO ARPU rebounded to KRW 29,261 (+1.4% QoQ).
- Labor cost reductions from the 2025 voluntary retirement program (SKT+SKB), combined with the dissipation of prior one-off expenses, drive full-scale profit recovery.
- SK Broadband & AI DC High Growth:
- SK Broadband generated 1Q26 operating profit of KRW 116.6 Billion (+21.4% YoY), propelling consolidated earnings improvement.
- AI Data Center revenue reached KRW 131.4 Billion (+89.3% YoY), fueled by higher utilization at new facilities, consolidation of the Pangyo DC, and GPUaaS revenue contributions.
- Anthropic Valuation Upside:
- Anthropic’s enterprise valuation increased to the range of $800 Billion to $1.0 Trillion.
- SKT’s 0.3% equity stake is estimated at over KRW 3.5 Trillion, providing significant upside support to corporate value.
📝 Editor’s Comment (Perspective)
The analyst views SK Telecom as an operator successfully re-establishing its baseline KRW 1.9 Trillion operating profit structure and quarterly dividend execution via labor cost reductions and mobile subscriber net adds, while securing tangible valuation drivers through SK Broadband’s surging AI DC (GPUaaS) business and its Anthropic equity holding. This perspective relies on fundamental cost restructuring and dividend restoration as downside support, while highlighting AI infrastructure expansion and global AI equity value as key catalysts for multiple re-rating.
To evaluate whether this investment thesis materializes, key verification points include confirming that labor cost savings and positive mobile net adds sustain annual operating profit near KRW 1.89–1.90 Trillion alongside normalized annual dividend totals, tracking whether SK Broadband’s AI DC division maintains its rapid top-line growth (ramp-up of new DC capacity and GPUaaS uptake), and monitoring continuous valuation developments regarding Anthropic. These factors can be verified via upcoming quarterly earnings announcements, official IR presentations, and periodic DART statutory filings.
📢 Disclaimer & Source
Source: This content has been structured and newly written based on officially disclosed financial facts and data from brokerage reports.
Investment Risk Notice: This content is provided for informational and linguistic reference purposes only. Under no circumstances does it constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any specific securities. All investment decisions and financial responsibilities rest entirely with the investor.
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