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Earnings documents stored for SKM.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-09SK Telecom Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
MarketBeat
SK Telecom Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
Interested in SK Telecom Co., Ltd.? Here are five stocks we like better. Strong Q2 profitability: SK Telecom reported revenue of KRW 4.36 trillion, up 0.5% year over year, while operating income jumped 67.3% to KRW 566 billion, helped by cost controls and the absence of prior-year cybersecurity incident expenses. AI data-center expansion: The company established SK Hyper with a KRW 750 billion commitment to secure sites, power and resources for large-scale AI data centers. AIDC revenue rose 92.5%, and SK Telecom is targeting phased expansion toward 5 gigawatts, supported by external funding and strategic partners. Mobile recovery and shareholder returns: SK Telecom said its mobile business was stabilizing through retention efforts and higher-quality subscriber additions, while setting its quarterly dividend at KRW 830 per share and reaffirming its commitment to stable shareholder returns. AI Race Accelerates with Amazon's Investment In Anthropic SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) reported second-quarter 2026 consolidated revenue of KRW 4.36 trillion, up 0.5% from a year earlier, as continued data-center growth supported its top line. Consolidated operating income rose 67.3% year over year to KRW 566 billion, reflecting a comparison against cybersecurity incident-related expenses recorded in the second quarter of 2025, along with cost controls and profitability-focused management. Chief Financial Officer Park Jong-seok said the company’s mobile business was showing a “clear recovery” as SK Telecom focused on customer value and profitability. At the same time, the company said its AI operations were moving from strategy development into execution and expansion, led by investments in AI data-center infrastructure, or AIDC. → Sandisk Just Delivered a Blowout Quarter—Here's Why the Stock Is Falling Joby Aviation Goes Airborne as News Flow Accelerates SK Telecom set its second-quarter dividend per share at KRW 830. Park said the company intends to maintain stable shareholder returns while balancing growth investments, financial soundness and dividends. Park said the mobile market had stabilized compared with the prior quarter, and SK Telecom continued to post net additions of handset subscribers by targeting higher-quality customer segments and using differentiated marketing campaigns. → 4 Oil and Gas ETF Plays as Prices Stay Sky-High In July, the company introduced new mobile…Read full documentShow less
Interested in SK Telecom Co., Ltd.? Here are five stocks we like better. Strong Q2 profitability: SK Telecom reported revenue of KRW 4.36 trillion, up 0.5% year over year, while operating income jumped 67.3% to KRW 566 billion, helped by cost controls and the absence of prior-year cybersecurity incident expenses. AI data-center expansion: The company established SK Hyper with a KRW 750 billion commitment to secure sites, power and resources for large-scale AI data centers. AIDC revenue rose 92.5%, and SK Telecom is targeting phased expansion toward 5 gigawatts, supported by external funding and strategic partners. Mobile recovery and shareholder returns: SK Telecom said its mobile business was stabilizing through retention efforts and higher-quality subscriber additions, while setting its quarterly dividend at KRW 830 per share and reaffirming its commitment to stable shareholder returns. AI Race Accelerates with Amazon's Investment In Anthropic SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) reported second-quarter 2026 consolidated revenue of KRW 4.36 trillion, up 0.5% from a year earlier, as continued data-center growth supported its top line. Consolidated operating income rose 67.3% year over year to KRW 566 billion, reflecting a comparison against cybersecurity incident-related expenses recorded in the second quarter of 2025, along with cost controls and profitability-focused management. Chief Financial Officer Park Jong-seok said the company’s mobile business was showing a “clear recovery” as SK Telecom focused on customer value and profitability. At the same time, the company said its AI operations were moving from strategy development into execution and expansion, led by investments in AI data-center infrastructure, or AIDC. → Sandisk Just Delivered a Blowout Quarter—Here's Why the Stock Is Falling Joby Aviation Goes Airborne as News Flow Accelerates SK Telecom set its second-quarter dividend per share at KRW 830. Park said the company intends to maintain stable shareholder returns while balancing growth investments, financial soundness and dividends. Park said the mobile market had stabilized compared with the prior quarter, and SK Telecom continued to post net additions of handset subscribers by targeting higher-quality customer segments and using differentiated marketing campaigns. → 4 Oil and Gas ETF Plays as Prices Stay Sky-High In July, the company introduced new mobile plans that integrate its 5G and LTE pricing structures and simplify its overall offerings. SK Telecom said the changes are intended to improve customer experience and service accessibility, supporting customer retention. The company did not provide subscriber totals, average revenue per user figures or further mobile-service financial details during the call. → No Hangover: Revisiting Microsoft One Week After Earnings SK Telecom announced the establishment of SK Hyper, a dedicated subsidiary for AIDC business development. The company said the new unit will secure land, sites, power and water resources, attract global customers and lead project development for large-scale AI data centers. Park said securing land and power is an essential prerequisite for the AIDC business. He said SK Hyper was designed to obtain those assets preemptively while creating a more flexible business structure that can actively use external funding. SK Telecom has committed KRW 750 billion to SK Hyper, including KRW 330 billion planned for investment this year. The funds will initially be used for such activities as securing sites, including in Ulsan, and building substations needed for gigawatt-scale data-center operations. The remaining commitment is expected to be injected in installments beginning next year. SK Hyper is separate from SK Broadband’s existing data-center business, according to Park. The company said it will use SK Telecom’s relationships with global technology customers and SK Broadband’s data-center construction and operational experience to pursue group synergies. AIDC revenue increased 92.5% year over year in the second quarter, primarily due to the Pangyo Data Center. Construction of a new Seoul data center began in May. SK Telecom plans to pursue phased expansion toward 5 gigawatts of capacity, depending on customer demand. Lee Jae-shin, vice president and head of Global Business Development, said SK Telecom views demand for AI infrastructure as a structural rather than temporary trend. He cited rising demand for inference computing power and broader AI adoption by the public sector and industries. Lee said global technology companies are increasing related investments, while sites with the power, connectivity and water supply required to operate AI data centers remain limited. He said Korea has competitive advantages in serving global technology companies’ AI infrastructure requirements. “Currently, discussions with global tech companies are underway with respect to AI infrastructure demand,” Lee said, adding that SK Telecom plans to respond flexibly to customer needs through phased capacity expansion. Park said the total investment required for the company’s 5-gigawatt goal has not been determined because discussions with potential customers remain ongoing and depend on demand, business models and project schedules. He said SK Telecom expects to use financial investors, strategic partners, project financing and other funding mechanisms for construction and operations. Management acknowledged that gigawatt-scale AIDC projects require substantial capital. Park said SK Telecom does not expect to finance the entire construction and operation of planned capacity itself, and instead intends to lead projects while minimizing direct investment relative to traditional data-center development approaches. Park said the KRW 330 billion planned for this year is manageable given the company’s free cash flow. He added that direct investments would be made with consideration for financial soundness and stable dividend payments. Separately, Choi Dong-hee, vice president and head of the AI Strategy & Planning Office, said SK Telecom has decided to make a capital contribution to an AI company associated with SK Hynix. Choi said the investment is intended to strengthen SK Telecom’s AIDC competitiveness through access to innovative AI companies, global relationships and AI infrastructure value-chain capabilities. The capital contribution will be paid in installments upon request to limit the impact on earnings, he said. SK Telecom said it aims to evolve from Korea’s largest telecommunications operator into what it described as Korea’s leading AI infrastructure company, while continuing to rely on stable telecom income to support its expansion. SK Telecom Co, Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) is South Korea's largest wireless carrier, offering a comprehensive range of mobile telecommunications services. The company operates 5G, 4G LTE and IoT networks, providing voice, data and messaging solutions to consumers and businesses. Beyond traditional wireless services, SK Telecom delivers fixed-line broadband, digital content platforms, cloud computing and cybersecurity offerings designed to support enterprise digital transformation and the growing demand for high-speed connectivity. Established in 1984 as Korea Mobile Telecommunications Services, SK Telecom pioneered cellular service commercialization in South Korea and has continually expanded into new technology areas. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "SK Telecom Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-05SK Telecom Co Ltd (SKM) (Q2 2026) Earnings Call Highlights: AIDC Expansion Drives 67. ...
GuruFocus.com
SK Telecom Co Ltd (SKM) (Q2 2026) Earnings Call Highlights: AIDC Expansion Drives 67. ...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: August 05, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) reported a strong 67.3% year-over-year increase in consolidated operating income for Q2 2026, driven by efficient cost control and a favorable base effect from the prior year's cybersecurity incident. The company's mobile service business is showing a clear recovery, with a net addition of high-quality handset subscribers and the introduction of simplified 5G and LTE price plans in July to improve customer retention. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) is aggressively expanding its AI infrastructure business, with AIDC revenue growing 92.5% year-over-year, driven by the Bangyo Data Center. The establishment of SK Hyper, a dedicated subsidiary for AI data center business development, positions SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) to secure land, power, and water resources and target a 5-gigawatt capacity expansion, leveraging SK Group's full-stack AI assets. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) maintains a stable shareholder return policy, declaring a Q2 DPS of 831 won, while balancing growth investments with financial soundness. The company's strategy for its gigawatt-scale AIDC expansion is customer-first, aiming to secure clients before construction and finance projects through external investors and project financing to minimize direct investment burden. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM)'s consolidated revenue growth was modest at only 0.5% year-over-year, indicating limited top-line expansion in its core telecom business. The company's ambitious 5-gigawatt AIDC expansion plan involves significant capital expenditure, with an initial commitment of 750 billion won to SK Hyper, which could strain future cash flows despite installment payments. There is market uncertainty and concern regarding the demand for the large-scale AIDC capacity, as the company's investment plans are based on ongoing discussions with potential customers rather than fully secured contracts. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM)'s decision to contribute over 700 billion won to an AI company related to SK Hynix raises questions about the strategic fit and potential synergies, given SK Hynix's existing financial capacity. The company's heavy focus on AIDC expansion introduces execution risks, including the need to meet high…Read full documentShow less
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: August 05, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) reported a strong 67.3% year-over-year increase in consolidated operating income for Q2 2026, driven by efficient cost control and a favorable base effect from the prior year's cybersecurity incident. The company's mobile service business is showing a clear recovery, with a net addition of high-quality handset subscribers and the introduction of simplified 5G and LTE price plans in July to improve customer retention. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) is aggressively expanding its AI infrastructure business, with AIDC revenue growing 92.5% year-over-year, driven by the Bangyo Data Center. The establishment of SK Hyper, a dedicated subsidiary for AI data center business development, positions SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) to secure land, power, and water resources and target a 5-gigawatt capacity expansion, leveraging SK Group's full-stack AI assets. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) maintains a stable shareholder return policy, declaring a Q2 DPS of 831 won, while balancing growth investments with financial soundness. The company's strategy for its gigawatt-scale AIDC expansion is customer-first, aiming to secure clients before construction and finance projects through external investors and project financing to minimize direct investment burden. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM)'s consolidated revenue growth was modest at only 0.5% year-over-year, indicating limited top-line expansion in its core telecom business. The company's ambitious 5-gigawatt AIDC expansion plan involves significant capital expenditure, with an initial commitment of 750 billion won to SK Hyper, which could strain future cash flows despite installment payments. There is market uncertainty and concern regarding the demand for the large-scale AIDC capacity, as the company's investment plans are based on ongoing discussions with potential customers rather than fully secured contracts. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM)'s decision to contribute over 700 billion won to an AI company related to SK Hynix raises questions about the strategic fit and potential synergies, given SK Hynix's existing financial capacity. The company's heavy focus on AIDC expansion introduces execution risks, including the need to meet high technological and operational requirements of global tech giants and secure necessary infrastructure like power and water in a competitive market. While the company aims to balance investment and shareholder returns, the large-scale AIDC investment plans could create concerns about future changes to its capital allocation policy and dividend payouts. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Sign with SKM. Is SKM fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Q: What is the background behind establishing SK Hyper, and what will its role be in the AIDC business? Also, is there sufficient market demand for the planned 5-gigawatt capacity expansion? A: CFO Chung Seok Park explained that SK Hyper was established to preemptively secure essential assets like land and power for AIDC development and to create a flexible structure for utilizing external funds. Its role is to acquire customers and lead business development based on secured resources. Yijie Shin from the AI Business Development office added that demand for AI infrastructure is a structural trend driven by rising inference power and expanded AI use across industries. They believe Korea has competitiveness due to its AIDC operation experience, network infrastructure, and SK Group's full-stack AI assets. Discussions with global tech companies are underway, and they plan phased expansion to 5 gigawatts in response to customer demand. Q: What is the total estimated investment for expanding data center capacity to 5 gigawatts, and is the 750 billion won capital contribution to SK Hyper sufficient? How will this impact shareholder returns? A: CFO Chung Seok Park stated that while the initial capital commitment to SK Hyper is 750 billion won, the investment may increase given the 5-gigawatt goal, but it's too early to discuss specifics as it depends on customer discussions. He emphasized that the company will secure funds from financial investors and other financing schemes for actual construction. Regarding shareholder returns, he confirmed that this year's investment of 330 billion won is manageable given free cash flow, and the remaining amount will be injected in installments. The company will balance investment with financial soundness and stable dividend payouts, maintaining the DPS at 831 won for Q2. Q: Why did SK Telecom decide to contribute over 700 billion won to the AI company (SK Hynix-related), and what will SK Telecom's role be in creating group synergies? A: Choi Dong Yi, Head of AI Strategy and Planning, explained that investing in the AI company is more effective for strengthening SK Telecom's AIDC business competitiveness, as it will continue to invest in innovative AI companies and strengthen the AI infrastructure value chain. The capital contribution is paid in installments upon request to minimize financial impact. SK Telecom will participate in the board to secure capabilities and networking needed for AI business strengthening, thereby creating synergies across the group. Q: Is SK Telecom's AIDC investment based on secured demand, or is the approach to invest first and find clients later? A: The company's representative clarified that their number one priority principle in AIDC business development is to acquire and secure customers first before building a data center. They are well aware of market concerns regarding the 5-gigawatt investment size. After acquiring customers, they will finance data center construction through financial investors and other financing schemes, minimizing direct investment burden. Q: What were the key financial results for Q2 2026, and what drove the performance? A: CFO Chung Seok Park reported consolidated revenue of 4,359.1 billion won, up 0.5% year-over-year, driven by continued growth in the data center business. Consolidated operating income posted 566 billion won, up 67.3% year-over-year, benefiting from the base effect of cybersecurity incident-related expenses in Q2 2025 and efficient cost control. The mobile service business showed clear recovery with net subscriber additions focused on high-quality customers, and new price plans integrating 5G and LTE were introduced in July to improve customer experience and retention. Q: How is the existing AIDC business performing, and what are the plans for ongoing projects? A: The company reported that AIDC revenue grew 92.5% year-over-year in Q2, mainly thanks to the Bangyo Data Center. Construction of a new data center in Seoul started in May. SK Telecom aims to evolve into Korea's number one AI infrastructure company, strengthening business fundamentals based on stable telecom income while playing a leading role in promoting Korea as Asia's AI infrastructure hub. Q: What is the significance of the new price plans introduced in July for the mobile service business? A: The company introduced new price plans by integrating 5G and LTE price structures and simplifying overall pricing schemes. This is expected to improve customer experience and service accessibility, thereby boosting customer retention. The mobile service business remains committed to achieving quality growth centered on customer lifetime value, with continued net adds to handset subscribers focused on high-quality customers. Q: How will SK Hyper utilize existing group capabilities to maximize business synergies? A: SK Hyper will actively utilize SK Telecom's global big tech customer network and business development capabilities, as well as SK Broadband's data center construction and operational expertise. This approach maximizes business synergies through active mobilization of capabilities available within the group. SK Hyper is a newly established entity separate from SK Broadband's existing data center business, with its own personnel and structure for the 15-gigawatt AIDC business development. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-05SK Telecom: Q2 Earnings Snapshot
Associated Press
SK Telecom: Q2 Earnings Snapshot
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of (AP) — SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of (AP) — SK Telecom Co. (SKM) on Wednesday reported earnings of $313.4 million in its second quarter. The Seoul, Korea, Republic Of-based company said it had net income of 81 cents per share. The telecommunications company posted revenue of $2.9 billion in the period. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SKM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SKM
TranscriptFY2026 Q22026-08-05FY2026 Q2 earnings call transcript
Earnings source - 115 paragraphs
FY2026 Q2 earnings call transcript
Good morning and good evening. Thank you all for joining the conference call for the SK Telecom earnings results. This conference will start with a presentation followed by a Q&A session. If you have a question, please press star and one on your phone during the Q&A. Now we will begin the presentation on SK Telecom's second quarter of fiscal year 2026 earnings results.
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Good afternoon. I'm Tae-hee Kim, IRO of SK Telecom. Let us begin the earnings conference call for the second quarter of 2026. Today, we will first deliver a presentation on the financial and business highlights, followed by a Q&A session. Please note that all forward-looking statements are subject to change depending on various factors such as market and management situations. Let me now present our CFO.
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Good afternoon. This is Jong-seok Park, CFO of SK Telecom.
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Half of 2026 has already passed. With a commitment to restoring customers' trust, the mobile service business is showing a clear recovery with tangible results produced through various efforts to enhance customer value and improve profitability. Supported by business restructuring based on a strategy of focus and prioritization, the AI business has moved beyond the stage of setting new goals and formulating strategies, and is transitioning into the stage of full-scale execution and expansion.
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Given the rapid increase in global demand for AI infrastructure, strong execution capabilities are becoming extremely important for the AIDC business to seize market opportunities at the right time. Against this backdrop, SK Telecom has decided to establish SK Hyper, a dedicated subsidiary for AIDC business development. We will move forward quickly as an AI infrastructure designer and secure leadership in the AIDC market.
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Let me now report on the consolidated financial performance for the second quarter. Consolidated revenue posted KRW 4,359.1 billion, up 0.5% year-over-year, driven by the continued growth of the data center business.
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We posted KRW 566 billion in consolidated operating income, up 67.3% year-over-year on the back of the base effect from the cybersecurity incident related expenses reflected in the second quarter of 2025, and also up 5.3% QoQ, thanks to efficient cost control and profitability focused business management.
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Next is shareholder return. DPS for the second quarter is KRW 830. Even in the process of expanding growth businesses such as AIDC, we will maintain stable shareholder returns while balancing growth investment, financial soundness, and shareholder returns.
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Let me now present business highlights by business line. The mobile service business remains committed to achieving quality growth centered on customer lifetime value. While the market environment stabilized compared to the previous quarter, we continued a net add to handset subscribers focused on high-quality customers by identifying new customer segments and conducting effective marketing activities, including differentiated campaigns.
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In July, we introduced new price plans by integrating 5G and LTE price structures and simplify the overall pricing schemes, which is expected to improve customer experience and service accessibility, thereby boosting customer retention.
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Next is AI business. With the rapid adoption of Gen AI across industries and the expansion of AI demand from training to inference, demand for high performance computing infrastructure is growing significantly.
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Against this backdrop, to meet high levels of technological and operational requirements demanded by potential customers, such as global tech giants, strong execution capabilities to provide necessary infrastructure promptly are needed in addition to differentiated technological capabilities and business experience.
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By establishing SK Hyper, a dedicated subsidiary for AIDC business development, we aim to respond to changing market demand and requirements and secure rapid business execution capabilities so that we can gain an absolute competitive edge in the AIDC market.
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SK Hyper will secure core elements for business development, such as land, sites and power supply, and attract global customers to develop individual projects. Going forward, starting in Ulsan, we will conduct negotiations with diverse potential customers, including global big tech companies, and accelerate business development of expanding capacity to 5 GWs.
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The existing AIDC projects are also proceeding smoothly as scheduled. In the second quarter, AIDC revenue grew 92.5% year-over-year, mainly thanks to the Pangyo Data Center, and the construction of a new data center in Seoul started in May. We will continue to expand the earnings base of the AIDC business through successful construction and operation of the ongoing projects.
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SK Telecom aims to move beyond being Korea's number one telecom operator to evolve into Korea's number one AI infrastructure company.
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While strengthening business fundamentals based on stable income from the telecom business, SK Telecom will do its utmost to play a leading role in promoting Korea as Asia's AI infrastructure hub.
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We ask for the continued support and interest of our investors and analysts. Thank you.
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We would now like to begin the Q&A session.
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Q&A session will begin. Please press star one, that is star and one, if you have any questions. Questions will be taken according to the order you have pressed the number star one. For cancellation, please press star two. That is star and two on your phone.
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The first question will be provided by Eun-jung Shin from DB Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I'm Shin Eun-jung from DB Securities. Thank you for this opportunity. I'd like to ask you two questions. First of all, you announced a plan to expand AIDC capacity in June, you also announced a plan to establish SK Hyper in July. I'd like to understand the background behind your decision to establish a new company, and I would also like to understand the role of SK Hyper in your business. My second question has to do with potential demand for AIDC in the market. With the recent boom for AIDC, a number of companies have announced capacity expansion plans, and SK Telecom's capacity expansion plan seems to be larger than others. Do you believe that there is sufficient demand in the market for AIDC? Thank you.
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Thank you for your questions. As CFO, I will answer your question on SK Hyper. Regarding your question on AIDC demand, Lee Jae-shin, in charge of AI Business Development, will answer the question.
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First of all, let me comment on the background behind establishing SK Hyper and its role.
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In conducting AIDC business, essential prerequisites include securing lands and power. We've decided to establish SK Hyper to secure these assets in a preemptive manner and create a flexible business structure where external funds can be actively utilized.
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SK Hyper is a dedicated subsidiary for AIDC business development, and its role is to acquire customers and lead business development based on the secured land, power, and water resources.
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Now, our capital contribution and commitment is KRW 750 billion, which will be used for initial business development, including securing sites in areas such as Ulsan and building substations needed for the operation of gigawatt-scale AI data center.
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Separate from the existing data center business, which is being pursued by SK Broadband, SK Hyper is a newly established entity for 15 GW AIDC business development, and it already has its own personnel and structure.
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Going forward, SK Hyper will actively utilize SK Telecom's global big tech customer network and business development capabilities, as well as SK Broadband's data center construction and operational expertise so as to maximize business synergies through active mobilization of capabilities available within the group.
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My name is Lee Jae-shin. I'm from the AI business development office. I'd like to comment on your second question regarding potential demand.
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In our view, demand for AI infrastructure is not a temporary phenomenon, but it is a structural trend driven by rising demand for inference power and expanded use of AI in the public sector and across industries. We predict that demand for AI infrastructure will continue to expand in the medium to long run.
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Global big tech companies are increasing relevant investments right now, there are limited sites that are available that have all the critical components needed to build and operate an AI data center, such as power, connectivity, and water supply. In that sense, we believe that Korea has competitiveness in meeting demand by global tech companies for AI infrastructure investment.
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We have the AIDC operation experience and competitive network infrastructure, as well as SK Group's full stack AI infrastructure assets. We believe that we are capable of responding to customer requirements.
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Currently, discussions with global tech companies are underway with respect to AI infrastructure demand, and we plan to pursue phased expansion to 5 GW capacity by responding flexibly to customer demand.
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The following question will be presented by Yoo-jin Choi from Mirae Asset Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I'm Choi Yoo-jin from Mirae Asset Securities. Thank you for the opportunity. I would like to ask you two questions. First of all, what is the total estimated amount of investment that you're planning to make to expand your data center capacity to five gigawatts? You mentioned that your capital contribution is KRW 750 billion to SK Hyper. I'd like to know if this amount is sufficient. If there are any details you can provide, we would appreciate that. My second question has to do with the potential impact of your AIDC expansion plan on shareholder return. You mentioned earlier that you will do your best to return your shareholder return levels to the 2024 level. I wonder if there has been any change to this guidance. Thank you.
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Thank you for your question. Let me first comment on your question related to our investment plans for AIDC business expansion.
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Our initial capital commitment to SK Hyper is KRW 750 billion. Given our 5 GW expansion goal, initial investment may increase further.
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Please understand that it may be too early to discuss any specific investment plans because they are subject to ongoing discussions with potential customers with respect to their demand and requirements as well as business models and schedules.
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Following our initial investment, we plan to secure necessary funds for the actual AIDC construction and operation from financial investors and other financing schemes.
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Let me now comment on your question regarding the potential impact of AIDC investment on shareholder returns.
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As you mentioned, AIDC business requires a large amount of investment, so it is unrealistic for the company to finance the entire construction and operation of all the planned capacity.
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Therefore, we plan to utilize various external funding and financing schemes, such as investment from strategic partners as well as project financing.
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When it comes to expansion for gigawatt-level data center capacity, unlike traditional data center investment approaches, our position is to lead the project while minimizing our direct investment.
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We've committed KRW 750 billion to SK Hyper, this year's investment amounts to KRW 330 billion, which is not too much of a burden given our free cash flow. The remaining amount will be injected in installments starting from next year.
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There may be concerns about potential change to our Capital Allocation policy after announcing our gigawatt-scale AIDC investment. As I mentioned earlier, we will secure external investments as much as possible, and direct investment will be made in consideration of financial soundness and stable dividend payouts.
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Following the first quarter, we've decided our DPS for the second quarter to be KRW 830, which is similar to the past levels. We will continue to balance investment and shareholder returns.
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The following question will be presented by Jae-min Ahn from NH Investment & Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I am Ahn Jae-min from NH Investment & Securities. I have one question regarding your capital contribution to AI company. You've decided to contribute more than KRW 700 billion of capital to AI company. There are concerns for this decision because SK Hynix already has sufficient funds to do business in the semiconductor market in the U.S. There were questions as to why or whether SK Telecom had to make this decision. I'd like to understand what SK Telecom's role will be in AI company and whether we will be able to create synergies across the group.
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Thank you for the question. I'd like to answer your question. My name is Choi Dong-hee, Head of AI Strategy Planning. In the process of AI business expansion, SK Telecom has made a number of strategic investments to secure core technology and new business opportunities.
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With the rapid development of the AI ecosystem in recent years, value of relevant companies has been increasing significantly, along with intensifying global competition to capture promising investment opportunities.
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We've decided that investing in SK Hynix AI company is more effective for SK Telecom to strengthen our AIDC business competitiveness because this AI company will continue to invest in innovative AI companies utilizing their global presence and strengthening AI infrastructure value chain core competitiveness.
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As for the detailed method of capital contribution, capital contribution is paid in installment upon request so as to minimize financial impact on our earnings. Going forward, through AIDC, we are planning to acquire core technology and necessary global partnerships at the right time.
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Currently, the AI company is in the process of putting together the management team, we will participate in the board to secure capacities and networking that is needed for AI business strengthening, thereby creating synergies.
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There are one people waiting in the question queue.
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The following question will be presented by Hwae-jae Kim from Daishin Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I'm Kim Hwae-jae from Daishin Securities. I'd like to ask you one question. You already made your statements, but I like to ask a follow-up question. As SK Telecom is moving really quickly with respect to AIDC business, there are expectations as well as concerns in the market, and that is why I'd like to ask a further question. I'd like to know whether your investment for AIDC business is based on sufficient and secured demand, or whether your approach is to make investment first and acquire or find clients later. Thank you.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-07SK Telecom: Q1 Earnings Snapshot
Associated Press
SK Telecom: Q1 Earnings Snapshot
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of (AP) — SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of (AP) — SK Telecom Co. (SKM) on Thursday reported earnings of $220.2 million in its first quarter. On a per-share basis, the Seoul, Korea, Republic Of-based company said it had net income of 57 cents. The telecommunications company posted revenue of $3 billion in the period. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SKM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SKM
TranscriptFY2026 Q12026-05-07FY2026 Q1 earnings call transcript
Earnings source - 127 paragraphs
FY2026 Q1 earnings call transcript
The conference call for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 earnings results by SK Telecom will commence in a few minutes. Please wait until the conference begins.
[Break] [Non-English content]
Good morning and good evening. Thank you all for joining the conference call for the SK Telecom earnings results. This conference will start with a presentation followed by a Q&A session. If you have a question, please press star and one on your phone during the Q&A. Now we will begin the presentation on SK Telecom's first quarter of fiscal year 2026 earnings results.
[Non-English content]
Good afternoon. I am Kim Tae-hee, IRO of SK Telecom. I first like to ask for your kind understanding that the earnings call started later than scheduled. Let us now begin the earnings conference call for the first quarter of 2026. Today, we will first deliver a presentation on the financial and business highlights, followed by a Q&A session. Please note that all forward-looking statements are subject to change depending on various factors such as market and management situations. Let me now present our CFO.
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Good afternoon. This is Park Jong-seok, CFO of SK Telecom.
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At the beginning of this year, we said that we would focus on strengthening fundamental business competitiveness centered on customer value and restore profitability through sophisticated AI business in 2026. The first quarter was a significant period in which this direction began to translate into actual results.
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Thanks to ceaseless efforts to regain our customers trust, the company recorded a net subscriber add this quarter, and the fundamentals of our core telecom business are rapidly returning to normal.
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The performance of the AI business is gradually improving as a result of business restructuring based on a strategy of focus and prioritization. As these changes led to actual results, we were able to post earnings similar to the levels prior to the cybersecurity incident.
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With business performance returning to normal, the company has decided to resume dividend payments starting this quarter.
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Dividend per share for the first quarter is KRW 830.
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We are pleased that we were able to deliver on the promises that we made during the last earnings call. We will make every effort to restore the dividend level by normalizing earnings on a full year basis through continuous improvement of the telecom business fundamentals and creation of additional results from the AI business.
[Non-English content]
Let me now report on the financial results for Q1. Consolidated revenue posted KRW 4.39 trillion, up 1.5% Q-on-Q on the back of MNO revenue growth driven by subscriber growth and the growth trend of the data center business.
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We posted KRW 537.6 billion in consolidated operating income. Our quarterly operating income exceeded more than KRW 500 billion, which is attributable to extensive efforts to regain customers trust and company-wide initiatives to improve productivity.
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Let me now present business highlights by business line.
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MNO achieved a handset subscriber net add of approximately 210,000 in the first quarter, which is a substantive outcome of diverse measures taken to innovate customer value and restore customers trust.
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We are not complacent, but remain committed to further strengthening business fundamentals and competitiveness with customer friendly products and services. We have expanded customer benefits and usability by restructuring the membership program, and we're currently overhauling price plans to offer more choices to customers.
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The fixed line business is also producing stable results thanks to continued subscriber net adds, an increase in the share of subscribers signing up for higher price plans, including giga price plan, and a stronger subscriber retention trend.
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We will do our utmost to achieve the dual objectives of subscriber recovery and profitability enhancement through constant change and execution based on the philosophy that customers are the essence of our business.
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In the AI business, the effects of the strategy of focus and prioritization are gradually becoming visible.
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AI data center revenue is maintaining a growth trend year-over-year, driven by Pangyo Data Center and higher utilization of Gasan data center. The construction of Ulsan AI Data Center is underway, and we plan to pursue additional scale-up by building new data centers in areas including Seoul.
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New opportunities are emerging for our AI 데이터센터 business due to the surge in demand for AI data centers from global tech companies. Based on business experience and differentiated competitiveness across the entire value chain of AI data centers, we will actively pursue partnerships with global players and keep expanding our AI infrastructure business.
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Within AI B2C business, the agent business is evolving in a direction that creates synergy with the telecom business and enhances fundamental competitiveness. We plan to improve A.'s performance by linking it with our proprietary AI foundation model to strengthen its own competitiveness.
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With the increase in AI adoption, the B2B market is undergoing structural change driven by AI transformation, and new AI based markets are taking shape. SK Telecom will secure leadership in the rapidly evolving market by utilizing full stack AI capabilities across infrastructure models and agents, and mobilizing the customer base and execution capabilities secured from our B2B business.
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We ask for the continued support and interest of our investors and analysts as we overcome the crisis and continue driving change and embracing challenges to achieve greater growth. Thank you.
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We will now like to begin the Q&A session.
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Now Q&A session will begin. Please press star one, that is star and one, if you have any questions. Questions will be taken according to the order you have pressed the number star one. For cancellation, please press star two, that is star and two on your phone.
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The first question will be provided by Seung-Woong Lee from Yuanta Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I'm Seung Wong from Yuanta Securities. Thank you for the opportunity to ask you questions. I have 2 questions. First of all, as you mentioned during your earnings presentation, the company started quarterly dividend payment starting from Q1, and I'd like to understand the overall shareholder return plan and the size of the shareholder return for the entire year of 2026. Secondly, I can see that the company was able to produce earnings results that are similar to the levels prior to the cybersecurity incident. Is it safe to understand that this type of trend will become a new normal? And I'd like to get some guidance from the company on a full year basis earnings outlook. Thank you.
[Non-English content]
First of all, thank you for your questions. I'd like to comment on the question on our annual earnings outlook, and then I will move on to addressing your second question on shareholder returns.
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First, on our annual earnings outlook. In the first quarter, our operating profit posted KRW 537.6 billion, and the trend has reversed from the downward trend after the cybersecurity incident and shown an upward trend to be approaching the pre-incident levels. Our goal is to improve the full year earnings further from the current levels.
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For our telecom business, thanks to our efforts to restore customers' trust, which is our number 1 priority in 2026, we achieved a net addition to handset subscribers in Q1, contributing to the recovery of the bottom line as well as the top line.
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For our AI business, we are reviewing and implementing various measures to improve the structural profitability by pursuing pivoting and discontinuation of low margin businesses through the strategy of focus and prioritization. Data center business is seeing a meaningful growth trend, and the B2B business has revised its strategy to focus on AI full stack capabilities. We believe that these businesses will drive revenue and contribute to bottom line improvements for the remainder of the year.
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Finally, we are working to improve productivity in terms of business operations and processes through enterprise-wide AI tool adoption and AX transformation of call centers, and these measures are having a positive impact on cost efficiency improvement.
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In short, we will do our utmost to recover the annual to be higher than the pre-incident levels through profitability recovery of the telecom business, expansion of growth businesses centered on AI data centers, and continuous productivity enhancement.
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Now I'd like to speak about shareholder returns for 2026.
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As was announced earlier, we resumed quarterly dividend payments with the DPS for the first quarter of KRW 831. I'd like to thank our shareholders very much for their kind understanding and patience. As earnings continue to recover this year, we plan to conduct dividend payments as stably as possible.
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As for the size of the dividends for the whole year, when concrete full year earnings become more materialized, the board of directors will have discussions and make decisions in consideration of business performance and financial structure. I won't be able to share with you any specific number at this point, but I promise that we will do our utmost to restore the dividend levels to the previous levels.
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At the annual general meeting of shareholders in March, the company transferred capital reserves of KRW 1.7 trillion to retained earnings to allow tax-exempt dividends, which is expected to deliver substantive benefits to shareholders. For your reference, according to relevant law, tax-exempt dividends are possible from the 2026 year-end dividends.
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The following question will be presented by Joonsop Kim from KB Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I'm Kim Joonsop from KB Securities. Thank you for the opportunity. I have two questions. One on MNO marketing, the other on AIDC. You have produced a recovery trend in terms of the net subscriber adds as well as a market share. I'd like to understand the overall subscriber market share target for SK Telecom and the marketing direction, and how you're planning to strike a balance between profitability and marketing. Secondly, when you reported that the AIDC revenue in the first quarter has increased by 89% year-over-year, and I'd like to understand how this AIDC business is making meaningful contribution to your profitability. If you can give us some color, I would appreciate it.
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Thank you for your questions. I'd like to address your question on our AIDC business, I will hand over to Mr. Bae Byeong-chan in charge of MNO support, who will answer your question on our MNO subscriber targets.
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First, let me comment on the timeline as to when AIDC business will be able to make meaningful earnings contribution.
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First of all, I'd like to remind you that we only announced AIDC revenue numbers, and we do not disclose any other indicators, including profitability related indicators. We're aware that the market is interested in knowing this, but please understand that we are doing so in consideration of various factors, including the domestic data center market situations.
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What I can say is that the AIDC business is comparable to the existing telecom business in terms of profitability, and there's much room for the AIDC business to become even more profitable going forward.
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Since AIDC is our key growth business, we will think of what we can share, to help investors better understand our AIDC business performance.
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Now I'd like to turn to Mr. Bai in charge of MNO support to answer your question on our MNO subscriber targets.
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I'd like to comment on our MNO subscriber target. The new year 2026 started with the number of handset subscribers reduced by around 986,000 year-over-year.
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Reflecting on our performance in the first quarter, we were able to achieve a net add in subscribers on the back of changes in the competitive landscape back to school marketing to attract new subscribers and Galaxy S26 flagship handset marketing. We were able to achieve net addition to our handset subscribers of 208,000.
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Throughout the year, we will continue to make efforts to recover subscribers by targeting new segments, including foreigners, and strengthening competitiveness in terms of products, services, and sales channels.
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We continue to strengthen fundamental competitiveness through business operation focused on profitability, we believe that the subscriber base and the market share will naturally grow.
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Based on this approach, we will avoid engaging in excessive spending competition aimed solely at increasing subscriber numbers, but rather focus on market operation on securing high LTV subscribers.
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The following question will be presented by Kim Aram from Shinhan Securities. Please go ahead with your question.
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I'm Kim Aram from Shinhan Securities. I'd like to ask you two questions. First of all, telecoms equipment providers, both in Korea as well as abroad are focusing on developing AI RAN, which is about using telecommunications network infrastructure for AI functions such as inference. I'd like to get SK Telecom's view on AI RAN. Secondly, there is an increasing demand and growth for AI traffic, and I'd like to understand what this increase in AI traffic, what kind of business opportunities will this bring to SK Telecom as a telco? Thank you.
[Non-English content]
Thank you for your question. On your questions on AI RAN as well as business opportunities brought by AI traffic, Mr. Jonghoon Lee, in charge of network strategy, will address them.
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I am Lee Jonghoon, in charge of network strategy. I'd like to first talk about expected benefits and commercialization plans of AI RAN.
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AI RAN is evolving in two domains. One is to improve telecommunications network infrastructure using AI, and the other is to use wireless network infrastructure as a platform to provide AI services.
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In the first domain, we expect to be able to automate base station operations through AI-based failure prediction, optimization of traffic and resources, and power efficiency improvement. This will lead to higher efficiency and improved customer experience. As for the second domain, we may be able to create new business opportunities and generate profit from the provision of AI services, such as inference and media processing by utilizing AI computing resources at the base stations.
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We are actively participating in technology research and standardization together with global players and manufacturers such as Samsung, Docomo and NVIDIA for the evolution of AI RAN.
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AI RAN is still in an early stage, so we will consider the adoption of AI RAN by comprehensively considering various aspects, such as technology maturity, standardization, validation on commercial networks, and other aspects.
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We will continue to maintain technology leadership in the next generation network technology areas, including AI RAN, and use the technology leadership to proactively secure new business opportunities.
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Next, I like to make some comments on AI traffic.
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While there is significant increase in AI traffic, the share of AI traffic in the entire traffic is still not very high.
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However, we're considering ways to make AI traffic increase with a connection with AI RAN and how to distribute traffic across the networks. We will continue to look into technology to be able to do so.
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There are no questions in the queue right now.
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This concludes the earnings conference call for 2026 first quarter of SK Telecom. If you need further explanations or have additional questions, please contact IR anytime. Thank you.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-02-05SK Telecom Co Ltd (SKM) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges and Leveraging ...
GuruFocus.com
SK Telecom Co Ltd (SKM) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges and Leveraging ...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Consolidated Revenue: KRW17,099.2 billion, down 4.7% year-on-year. Operating Income: KRW1,073.2 billion, down 41.1% year-over-year. Net Income: KRW375.1 billion, down 73% year-over-year. Dividend Per Share (DPS) for Fiscal Year 2025: KRW1,661, subject to approval at the Annual General Shareholders Meeting. AI Data Center Revenue: Continued two-digit growth trend. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with BOM:526797. Is SKM fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: February 05, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) is focusing on operational improvements and monetizing its AI business to strengthen competitiveness. The AI data center (AI DC) business showed strong growth with a two-digit increase in revenue, driven by high utilization rates and new acquisitions. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) is expanding its AI business with plans to build additional data centers and enhance its AI agent and B2B AI businesses. The company is committed to restoring market leadership through customer value innovation and improving customer experience. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) is leveraging AI to boost productivity and profitability across its telecom business, including marketing and network operations. Consolidated revenue decreased by 4.7% year-on-year due to sales of subsidiaries and a decline in subscribers following a cybersecurity incident. Operating income fell by 41.1% year-over-year, impacted by costs related to the cybersecurity incident and business restructuring. Net income dropped by 73% year-over-year, primarily due to penalty payments from the cybersecurity incident. The company decided not to pay out quarterly dividends for the fourth quarter due to the financial impact of the cybersecurity incident. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) faces challenges in returning revenue to pre-cybersecurity incident levels, with ongoing impacts on subscriber numbers and revenue. Q: What is the outlook for SK Telecom's dividend policy in 2026, and what are the strategic priorities for the new management? A: The company aims to restore earnings to pre-cybersecurity incident levels by improving telecom profitability and AI business self-sustainability. The dividend payout will be considered based on bu…Read full documentShow less
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Consolidated Revenue: KRW17,099.2 billion, down 4.7% year-on-year. Operating Income: KRW1,073.2 billion, down 41.1% year-over-year. Net Income: KRW375.1 billion, down 73% year-over-year. Dividend Per Share (DPS) for Fiscal Year 2025: KRW1,661, subject to approval at the Annual General Shareholders Meeting. AI Data Center Revenue: Continued two-digit growth trend. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with BOM:526797. Is SKM fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: February 05, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) is focusing on operational improvements and monetizing its AI business to strengthen competitiveness. The AI data center (AI DC) business showed strong growth with a two-digit increase in revenue, driven by high utilization rates and new acquisitions. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) is expanding its AI business with plans to build additional data centers and enhance its AI agent and B2B AI businesses. The company is committed to restoring market leadership through customer value innovation and improving customer experience. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) is leveraging AI to boost productivity and profitability across its telecom business, including marketing and network operations. Consolidated revenue decreased by 4.7% year-on-year due to sales of subsidiaries and a decline in subscribers following a cybersecurity incident. Operating income fell by 41.1% year-over-year, impacted by costs related to the cybersecurity incident and business restructuring. Net income dropped by 73% year-over-year, primarily due to penalty payments from the cybersecurity incident. The company decided not to pay out quarterly dividends for the fourth quarter due to the financial impact of the cybersecurity incident. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) faces challenges in returning revenue to pre-cybersecurity incident levels, with ongoing impacts on subscriber numbers and revenue. Q: What is the outlook for SK Telecom's dividend policy in 2026, and what are the strategic priorities for the new management? A: The company aims to restore earnings to pre-cybersecurity incident levels by improving telecom profitability and AI business self-sustainability. The dividend payout will be considered based on business performance and financial positions. Strategic priorities include restoring market leadership through customer value innovation, enhancing business productivity with AI, and focusing on core strengths in the AI business. Q: What is the status of SK Telecom's equity stake in Anthropic, and what are the plans for the proprietary foundational model project? A: Details on the equity stake in Anthropic are confidential, but updates will be in the 2025 business report. No decisions have been made regarding equity disposal. The A.X K1 model, Korea's first hyperscale AI model, is expected to create business opportunities in both B2C and B2B sectors, with plans to expand its use in various projects. Q: How has the waiver of cancellation fees by competitors impacted SK Telecom's MNO business, and what are the subscriber targets for 2026? A: The waiver led to a temporary expansion in the carrier switching market, but SK Telecom saw many voluntary win-back customers. The focus will be on strengthening core business competitiveness rather than short-term marketing gains. The company aims to restore profitability and build a foundation for long-term growth. Q: What are SK Telecom's plans for the AI business and data centers in 2026? A: The company plans to accelerate growth by expanding data center business opportunities, including the construction of the Ulsan AI DC and an additional data center in the Seoul metropolitan region. The focus will be on creating synergies with AI DC solutions and enhancing the efficiency of AI agent and B2B AI businesses. Q: What measures is SK Telecom taking to address the financial impact of the cybersecurity incident and improve business fundamentals? A: SK Telecom is focusing on customer value innovation, operational optimization, and AI integration to improve telecom business profitability. The company is also restructuring its business portfolio and organization to restore financial performance and shareholder trust. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
TranscriptFY2025 Q42026-02-05FY2025 Q4 earnings call transcript
Earnings source - 16 paragraphs
FY2025 Q4 earnings call transcript
Good afternoon. I am Tae-hee Kim, IRO of SK Telecom. Let us begin the earnings conference call for fiscal year 2025. Today, we will first deliver a presentation on the financial and business highlights, followed by a Q&A session. Please note that all forward-looking statements are subject to change depending on various factors, such as market and management situations. Let me now present our CFO.
Good afternoon. This is Jong-seok Park, CFO of SK Telecom. It is my first time to greet to investors and shareholders as CFO. I wish you a happy new year, and I also wish all of you good health and happiness in the new year. In 2025, SK Telecom put priority on expanding operational improvements across the company and monetizing AI business and made strenuous efforts to strengthen fundamental business competitiveness and secure a foundation for new growth drivers. However, the cybersecurity incident and its subsequent developments also led us to a period of careful reflection, realizing that understanding and innovating on customer value, which is the essence of our business, is a prerequisite for a sustainable future. We will do our utmost to build SK Telecom with strong fundamentals grounded in the trust of our customers. Let me now report on the financial results for fiscal year 2025. Consolidated revenue posted KRW 17.099.2 trillion, down 4.7% year-on-year due to sales of subsidiaries, net decline in subscribers following the cybersecurity incident and implementation of the Accountability and Commitment Program, including tariff discounts. Operating income reported KRW 1.073.2 trillion, down 41.1% year-over-year, on the back of the decline in revenue, costs related to the cybersecurity incident, including USIM replacements, and costs incurred during business restructuring at the end of 2025. Net income came in at KRW 375.1 billion, down 73% year-over-year, mainly due to penalty payments arising from the cybersecurity incident. Let me report on shareholder return. The financial impact of the cybersecurity incident persisted into the fourth quarter and substantial costs were incurred in the process of business portfolio restructuring. As a result, the company decided not to pay out quarterly dividend for the fourth quarter. Accordingly, the Board of Directors resolved to set the DPS for fiscal year 2025 at KRW 1,660 including the quarterly dividends already paid, which will be finalized after being approved at the Annual General Shareholders Meeting in March. We will strive to restore our financial performance to return to previous dividend payout levels. Next, let me report on the current status and future directions of our telecom business and AI business. In 2025, our MNO business focused on addressing changes to the business environment caused by the cybersecurity incident. In 2026, with our priority on customer value innovation, we will strive to adhere to fundamental principles and standards in all areas, including quality, safety and security and to fully regain our customers' trust. We aim to improve our products and channels and achieve operational optimization centered on customer lifetime value to regain fundamental business competitiveness and become the #1 service provider from the customer's perspective. Through this, we will also ensure that our financial performance recovers to previous levels. For AI business, we focused on solidifying a foundation for new growth in 2025. Starting this year, we plan to concentrate on areas where we excel to achieve tangible results. In 2025, AIDC revenue continued a 2-digit growth trend, thanks to the increase in utilization rates of Gasan and Yangju data centers and the acquisition of Pangyo data center. Also, construction of Ulsan AIDC has been underway since September last year. This year, we aim to accelerate growth by actively developing business expansion opportunities through business scale up with an additional data center in the Seoul metropolitan region. We plan to create new possibilities through in-house development and external partnerships for the AIDC solution business, which was launched to create synergies with AIDC business. Also, we will scale up the undersea cable business initiated in 2025. Furthermore, we aim to enhance efficiency and productivity of AI agent business and B2B AI business to produce meaningful outcomes. We plan to secure preferential opportunities to participate in various projects through our own AI Foundation Model Project, which is in its second phase. SK Telecom is determined to improve MNO's business fundamentals by strengthening core competitiveness in all business areas centered on customer value and to restore profitability by producing AI business results driven by AI data centers. We ask for the continued support and interest of our investors and analysts as we work to turn this crisis into an opportunity to restore our customers' trust. Thank you.
Now we would like to begin the Q&A session.
[Operator Instructions] The first question will be provided by Jae-min Ahn from NH Investment & Securities.
I'm Ahn Jae-min from NH Investment & Securities. I can see that we now have new CFO, COO as well as IRO. So there are new members to the management. And I believe that the market has high expectations upon this change. And so congratulations to all of you, and I hope that there will be good results coming from this management this year. I'd like to ask you two questions. The first question is that we would like to get some color on our dividend policy for 2026. Last year, due to some sluggish business performance, the size of the dividend payout to shareholders was reduced. So what can we expect in terms of dividend payout for 2026 as well as the possibility of earnings normalization? And my second question has to do with the overall strategic directions and priorities for the new management this coming year.
Thank you for your questions. First, I'd like to answer your question on this year's earnings outlook as well as dividend payout direction. First of all, to comment on 2025 earnings performance, I understand that many people would like to know whether we can return to the pre-cybersecurity incident earnings levels. Due to sales of certain noncore subsidiaries and decline in MNO subscribers, revenue did not recover to the 2024 levels. However, in terms of operating income, we aim to return to the 2024 level as much as possible by improving profitability of the telecom business and improving self-sustainability of the AI business. We will utilize AI across the telecom business, including marketing and network, to boost productivity and improve profitability. Also, we plan to focus on striking a balance between cost and benefit when it comes to subscriber acquisition. For AI business, we plan to continue to focus on areas where we can make meaningful earnings contribution. In particular, we will pursue meaningful expansion of data center business to create new revenue streams and improve profitability through economies of scale. Now let me comment on the dividend payout outlook in connection to earnings expectation. First of all, we sincerely apologize to our shareholders for not being able to pay the yearly and year-end dividend in the fourth quarter following the third quarter. The cybersecurity incident has had direct financial impact and one-off costs were incurred in the process of restructuring our business portfolio and organization in 2025. Please understand that we had to reduce the size of the annual dividend payout for these reasons. Our number one priority in 2026 is to restore earnings through the measures that I mentioned earlier, and we will do our best to return the previous dividend payout levels. We will also consider other measures to increase shareholder value such as tax-free dividend to restore the trust of our shareholders and investors and to ensure that SK Telecom is a company that people want to invest in. More details will be discussed at the Board in consideration of business performance, financial positions and funds for growth investments to achieve a balance in overall capital allocation. Now I'd like to comment on the key strategic priorities for the new management. So our priority for this year is to strengthen practical and substantial competitiveness in both telecom and AI business. And for this, we plan to pursue three main strategic directions: first of all, restore market leadership through customer value innovation. We will place priority on customer value, which is the essence of our business, based on which we are currently redesigning all elements of our telecom business including products, memberships and channels to offer real value that customers want. We will share more details in the future. Second, we will innovate business productivity through A.X acceleration. We will apply AI in all areas including marketing, network and customer touch points to improve customer experience and boost productivity. We will advance AI-based lifetime value modeling to provide personalized offerings and to use AI to automate network operations including design, construction and operation. Third, we will enhance sustainability of our AI business by focusing on our core strengths. We will pivot according to changing business environment to focus on areas where we excel and improve profitability through cost structure improvement. AI data centers are already a strong growth driver for SK Telecom. We will quickly build the Ulsan AIDC and plan to add another data center in the Seoul region to scale up the AIDC business and create new business models to offer diverse solutions related to AIDCs. So to sum up, we will focus on strengthening core business competitiveness in all business areas centered on customer value and demonstrate how SK Telecom will make another leap forward.
The following question will be presented by Tae-hyun Kim from IBK Investment & Securities.
I am Kim Tae-hyun from IBK Investment & Securities. I would like to ask two questions. First of all, there's a lot of interest in the market about the value of the equity stake that you have in Anthropic. And I would also like to understand whether you're planning to liquidate your equity stake going forward. The second question has to do with your proprietary foundational model project. What is the strength that SK Telecom has in this regard? And what are some of the potential business opportunities we can expect going forward?
Thank you for your questions. I'd like to answer the first question on our equity stake in Anthropic. And then the Head of AI Strategy Planning will address your second question on our own foundation model project. First, let me comment on the current status and future plans regarding our equity stake in Anthropic. First of all, please understand that we cannot disclose accurate details on shareholding ratio and value at the time of change due to confidentiality clauses in the contract. However, our invested assets are regularly revalued and reflected in the business report. So the 2025 business report to be disclosed very soon will have updates on our equity stake. We understand that the market is quite interested in a possible equity disposal or equity valuation, but please understand that no decisions have been made in this regard, and there's nothing that we can share at this point in time about the possibility of using it as part of funds for dividend. Now I'd like to hand over to the Head of AI Strategy Planning to comment on the second question.
I'm Choi Dong-hee, Head of AI Strategy Planning. Let me answer your question on our competitiveness in the foundation model and business opportunities. The A.X K1 that SK Telecom is developing together with the consortium members is Korea's first hyperscale AI model with more than 500 billion parameters. This model is recognized as possessing differentiated competitiveness as it can provide high-quality responses in consideration of cultural context because it is developed using the largest Korean data set. We expect that A.X K1 will create a lot of business opportunities for both B2C and B2B business. For B2C, we plan to add the model to A., which has more than 10 million users, to ensure that a large number of customers can access the model. We also plan to add references through Liner, a member of the consortium. For B2B, we plan to add this model to A. Biz for work productivity enhancement and provide a model to our manufacturing affiliates, such as SK hynix and SK Innovation, to strengthen their competitiveness. Within the consortium, we plan to expand the use of the model to vertical services such as KRAFTON. We will continue to develop this hyperscale model in a cost-effective manner with government support. If we are selected as 1 of the top 2 at the end of 2026, we expect that we can secure preferential opportunities to participate in various projects, such as national B2C projects to maximize benefits of AI, AX projects to enhance industrial competitiveness and productivity and projects to upgrade systems and services in the public sector.
The following question will be presented by Hoi-jae Kim from Daishin Securities.
I'm Kim Hoi-jae from Daishin Securities. I'd like to ask you two questions regarding your MNO business. Due to the waivering of cancellation fee recently by your competitor, I can see that there was some impact on your business results. For instance, LG U+ has demonstrated that they have seen an increase in their MNO subscriber base as well as MNO revenue in 2025, thanks to this development. So I'd like to understand to what extent you benefited from this trend for SK Telecom as well. And I'd also like to understand your subscriber target for 2026 as well as MNO revenue outlook. My second question is that you have now new members in the MNO management as well as the company management. So what will be the key areas that you will focus on in your MNO business in 2026?
Thank you for your questions. Regarding your two questions on the MNO business, I'd like to turn over to our Head of MNO Support.
I am Bai Byeong-chan, Head of MNO Support. Let me address your questions on the impact of KT's cancellation fee waivers as well as our win-back target for 2026. With the cancellation fee waivers by our competitor, the carrier switching market expanded temporarily in the beginning of the year. However, since then, we are seeing an overall market stabilization trend. A large share of customers who joined SK Telecom during that period were voluntary win-back customers who returned after having switched to another carrier last year following the cybersecurity incident. We believe that the customer appreciation package that includes substantial benefits such as subscription tenure, restoration and membership benefits as well as diverse measures to strengthen our security has been effective in restoring the trust of our customers. Going forward, we will not rely on disruptive marketing competition for short-term gains, but rather focus on strengthening core business competitiveness through customer value innovation to continue to expand our customer base. So to this end, we are currently working on restructuring our product offerings and market operations. And as soon as they are ready and become available, we will share more concrete directions and results with the market and our subscribers. Now let me comment on our MNO revenue outlook for 2026 and strategies to recover our subscriber base. We have started the new year under rather challenging circumstances due to the year-over-year decline in handset subscribers. And throughout 2026, we will strive to minimize revenue impact by winning back subscribers and implement various measures to create growth by developing new customer segments. However, despite these measures that we have in plan, with the prolonged impact of customer attrition, it is challenging to bring revenue back to the pre-cybersecurity incident level. So for MNO business this year, we plan to focus on boosting profitability. We will reorganize our products and channels to cater to customer preferences and improve cost efficiency through optimized operations based on customer lifetime value. In addition, we will use AI to further improve our operations including products, marketing and network operation and create a productivity-based business structure to enhance customer value and maximize performance relative to input. So through these efforts in 2026, we aim to restore the profitability of the MNO business and build a structural foundation for medium and long-term growth.
There are no questions in the queue right now.
With no further questions, we would like to conclude the earnings conference call for 2025 for SK Telecom. If there are additional inquiries or questions, please feel free to contact IR. Thank you. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2025-11-06KT Corporation to Report Q3 Earnings: How to Approach the Stock Now?
Zacks
KT Corporation to Report Q3 Earnings: How to Approach the Stock Now?
KT Corporation (KT) will report its third-quarter 2025 results on Nov. 7, after market close. Based in South Korea, the company is one of the largest wireless carriers in the country, offering a host of telecommunications and data communications services. KT is rapidly shifting beyond its traditional telecom origins, embarking on a bold transformation into an Artificial Intelligence and Information and Communications Technology (“AICT”) company. As an AICT firm, KT combines IT and AI with its telecommunications capabilities to provide unique services and added value to customers. The company delivered a solid second-quarter 2025 performance, powered by strong operational execution and expanding AI businesses. Revenues surged 13.5% year over year to KRW 7,427.4 billion, while operating profit was up 105.4% to KRW 1,014.8 billion, reflecting robust performance from the traditional telecom business and AI-driven efforts. Disciplined cost management and gains from asset rationalization aided profitability numbers. A steady telco business, as well as increasing AI efforts, is likely to have buoyed performance in the third quarter. In the last reported quarter, wireless service revenue was up 1.6% with 5G penetration at 79.5%. AI IT business revenues increased 13.8% year over year. The company is accelerating its AI pivot. Under the AICT roadmap, KT is developing a comprehensive AI lineup anchored by its proprietary Mi:dm2.0 large language model (“LLM”). The model, launched in July, serves as the foundation for AI platform build projects for the enterprise and public sectors, with early contract wins from the Gyeonggi provincial government and Korea Water Resources Corporation. For its AICT push, KT Corporation has also teamed up with Microsoft. It has integrated an AI agent, powered by Azure OpenAI-powered LLM, into Genie TV, boosting the AI use case. The company plans to introduce an AI model tailored for Korea, powered by ChatGPT for Omni and secure public cloud, in the second half of 2025. KT Corporation also has a licensing partnership with Palantir. Its subsidiary, KT Cloud, is likely to have gained from surging demand for cloud infrastructure, AI training workloads and digital transformation projects. In the second quarter, revenues from KT Cloud were up 23%, driven by growing data center momentum and DBO project wins. B2B revenues were up 4.5% on growth fr…Read full documentShow less
KT Corporation (KT) will report its third-quarter 2025 results on Nov. 7, after market close. Based in South Korea, the company is one of the largest wireless carriers in the country, offering a host of telecommunications and data communications services. KT is rapidly shifting beyond its traditional telecom origins, embarking on a bold transformation into an Artificial Intelligence and Information and Communications Technology (“AICT”) company. As an AICT firm, KT combines IT and AI with its telecommunications capabilities to provide unique services and added value to customers. The company delivered a solid second-quarter 2025 performance, powered by strong operational execution and expanding AI businesses. Revenues surged 13.5% year over year to KRW 7,427.4 billion, while operating profit was up 105.4% to KRW 1,014.8 billion, reflecting robust performance from the traditional telecom business and AI-driven efforts. Disciplined cost management and gains from asset rationalization aided profitability numbers. A steady telco business, as well as increasing AI efforts, is likely to have buoyed performance in the third quarter. In the last reported quarter, wireless service revenue was up 1.6% with 5G penetration at 79.5%. AI IT business revenues increased 13.8% year over year. The company is accelerating its AI pivot. Under the AICT roadmap, KT is developing a comprehensive AI lineup anchored by its proprietary Mi:dm2.0 large language model (“LLM”). The model, launched in July, serves as the foundation for AI platform build projects for the enterprise and public sectors, with early contract wins from the Gyeonggi provincial government and Korea Water Resources Corporation. For its AICT push, KT Corporation has also teamed up with Microsoft. It has integrated an AI agent, powered by Azure OpenAI-powered LLM, into Genie TV, boosting the AI use case. The company plans to introduce an AI model tailored for Korea, powered by ChatGPT for Omni and secure public cloud, in the second half of 2025. KT Corporation also has a licensing partnership with Palantir. Its subsidiary, KT Cloud, is likely to have gained from surging demand for cloud infrastructure, AI training workloads and digital transformation projects. In the second quarter, revenues from KT Cloud were up 23%, driven by growing data center momentum and DBO project wins. B2B revenues were up 4.5% on growth from telecom and AI/IT businesses. KT’s AICT pivot positions it to capture emerging opportunities in AI infrastructure, cloud computing and enterprise digital transformation. Management expressed confidence in maintaining momentum into the second half of 2025, citing a “solid service revenue uptrend.” Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Nonetheless, KT’s ambitious push into AI demands significant upfront capital investment and also entails execution risk. Competition from SK Telecom (SKM) and LG Uplus remains a concern as each invests aggressively in an AI-first strategy. Headwinds from a heavily penetrated domestic telecom market offer limited scope for organic expansion. While second-quarter operating profit was impressive, a portion stemmed from one-off real estate gains. This raises questions about profit sustainability. Broader macroeconomic uncertainty and its impact on spending cycles remain concerning. KT stock has declined around 5.7% over the past six months, underperforming the Zacks Wireless Non-US Markets growth of 20.6%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research In comparison, SKM was down 3.5% while other industry peers like América Móvil, S.A.B. de C.V. (AMX) and Ceragon Networks (CRNT) were up 33.8% and 11.7%, respectively. America Movil offers enhanced communications solutions in 25 countries in Latin America, the United States and Central and Eastern Europe. Headquartered in Rosh HaAyin, Israel, Ceragon provides wireless backhaul and fronthaul solutions that enable cellular operators and other wireless service providers to increase operational efficiency KT stock is trading at a substantial discount, with a price/book multiple of 0.72X compared with the industry’s 2.28X. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research In comparison, SKM, AMX and CRNT trade at multiples of 0.95X, 2.83X and 1.28X, respectively. At present, KT carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Despite ongoing AICT transformation, the stock’s near-term outlook appears somewhat clouded. Rising AI investment and stiff competition from SK Telecom and LG Uplus remain concerns. Limited growth prospects in South Korea’s penetrated telecom market constrain upside potential. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report America Movil, S.A.B. de C.V. Unsponsored ADR (AMX) : Free Stock Analysis Report SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (SKM) : Free Stock Analysis Report KT Corporation (KT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Ceragon Networks Ltd. (CRNT) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2025-10-31SK Telecom Co Ltd (SKM) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges and Seizing AI ...
GuruFocus.com
SK Telecom Co Ltd (SKM) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges and Seizing AI ...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Consolidated Revenue: KRW3,978.1 billion, a decline of 11% to 12.2% year on year. Operating Income: KRW48.4 billion, a 90.9% year-on-year drop. Net Income: Turned negative due to penalties from the cybersecurity incident. 5G Subscribers: Increased by approximately 240,000 to 17.26 million. AI Business Revenue: 35.7% year-on-year increase. AI DC Revenue: KRW149.8 billion, up 53.8% year on year. AIX Business Revenue: KRW55.7 billion, a 3.1% year-on-year growth. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 13 Warning Signs with ALLDF. Is SKM fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: October 30, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. The number of 5G subscribers increased by approximately 240,000, reaching 17.26 million. Revenue from the AI business achieved a 35.7% year-on-year increase, driven by the acquisition of the Pangyo Data Center and the GPU Leasing Report Program. The Ulsan AI Data Center, a key driver of data center revenue growth, is under full construction and expected to contribute significantly to future revenue. SK Telecom launched 'Air', a digital communication service for unlocked devices, aimed at broadening the mobile customer base. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI to jointly build an AI data center in Korea, positioning itself for new opportunities in the AI infrastructure market. Consolidated revenue declined by 11% to 12.2% year-on-year, with a significant drop in operating income by 90.9% due to the cybersecurity incident. The company decided not to declare dividends for the third quarter due to financial instability caused by the cybersecurity incident. The cybersecurity incident led to a net income turning negative, with penalties impacting financial performance. The customer appreciation package, including a 50% discount, contributed to a significant revenue decline. The company experienced a loss of many customers due to the cybersecurity incident, impacting overall financial performance. Q: Can you provide insights on the decision not to declare a dividend for Q3 and the outlook for Q4 and 2026 dividends? A: The decision not to declare a dividend for Q3 was due to the financial impact of the cybersecurity incident, which affected cash flow and financial stability. For Q4, the B…Read full documentShow less
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Consolidated Revenue: KRW3,978.1 billion, a decline of 11% to 12.2% year on year. Operating Income: KRW48.4 billion, a 90.9% year-on-year drop. Net Income: Turned negative due to penalties from the cybersecurity incident. 5G Subscribers: Increased by approximately 240,000 to 17.26 million. AI Business Revenue: 35.7% year-on-year increase. AI DC Revenue: KRW149.8 billion, up 53.8% year on year. AIX Business Revenue: KRW55.7 billion, a 3.1% year-on-year growth. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 13 Warning Signs with ALLDF. Is SKM fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: October 30, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. The number of 5G subscribers increased by approximately 240,000, reaching 17.26 million. Revenue from the AI business achieved a 35.7% year-on-year increase, driven by the acquisition of the Pangyo Data Center and the GPU Leasing Report Program. The Ulsan AI Data Center, a key driver of data center revenue growth, is under full construction and expected to contribute significantly to future revenue. SK Telecom launched 'Air', a digital communication service for unlocked devices, aimed at broadening the mobile customer base. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI to jointly build an AI data center in Korea, positioning itself for new opportunities in the AI infrastructure market. Consolidated revenue declined by 11% to 12.2% year-on-year, with a significant drop in operating income by 90.9% due to the cybersecurity incident. The company decided not to declare dividends for the third quarter due to financial instability caused by the cybersecurity incident. The cybersecurity incident led to a net income turning negative, with penalties impacting financial performance. The customer appreciation package, including a 50% discount, contributed to a significant revenue decline. The company experienced a loss of many customers due to the cybersecurity incident, impacting overall financial performance. Q: Can you provide insights on the decision not to declare a dividend for Q3 and the outlook for Q4 and 2026 dividends? A: The decision not to declare a dividend for Q3 was due to the financial impact of the cybersecurity incident, which affected cash flow and financial stability. For Q4, the Board will review the dividend once the full-year performance and cash flow are finalized. The company aims to restore dividends to pre-incident levels by 2026 as operations normalize and performance improves. Yang Seop Kim, CFO Q: How has customer churn been managed post-cybersecurity incident, and what are the plans for the new Air service? A: After the contract cancellation fee waiver period ended, customer churn was contained, resulting in a net neutral balance. The focus is on qualitative recovery and strengthening competitiveness. The Air service, launched for unlocked devices, aims to meet the needs of younger customers and is expected to expand the subscriber base with minimal impact on ARPU. Unidentified Company Representative Q: What is the progress on the Ulsan AI Data Center, and are there plans for additional data centers? A: The Ulsan AI Data Center began construction on September 1 and is progressing as planned, with profit generation expected from 2027. The company is also planning additional AI data centers in Seoul and exploring collaborations for projects in Korea and the APAC region. Unidentified Company Representative Q: With over 10 million subscribers for A. Service, are there plans to monetize it? A: The B2C paid model for A. Service is under review, likely as a subscription or bundled product, targeting a launch in the first half of 2026. The B2B profit model is expected to generate revenue from Q4 2025. Jihoon Kim, AI Product Strategist Q: Can you clarify the dividend policy in light of the recent decision not to declare a dividend? A: The dividend policy is based on returning 50% of adjusted consolidated net income. Non-operating expenses like the administrative fine are classified as non-recurring, while costs related to core business activities are not. The company remains committed to providing dividends above the minimum target. Yang Seop Kim, CFO For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
TranscriptFY2025 Q32025-10-30FY2025 Q3 earnings call transcript
Earnings source - 20 paragraphs
FY2025 Q3 earnings call transcript
Good morning, and good evening. Thank you all for joining the conference call for the SK Telecom earnings results. This conference will start with a presentation followed by a Q&A session. [Operator Instructions] Now we will begin the presentation on SK Telecom's Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2025 Earnings Results.
Good morning. I am Chung Hee-Jun, IRO of SK Telecom. Let us begin the earnings conference call for Q3 of 2025. Today, we will first deliver a presentation on the financial and business highlights, followed by a Q&A session. Please note that all forward-looking statements are subject to change depending on various factors such as market and management situation. Let me now present our CFO.
Good morning. This is Kim Yang-Seob, CFO of SK Telecom. The third quarter of 2025 was the period where we renew our mobile business by implementing the accountability and commitment program to overcome the cybersecurity incident and reassess company-wide AI capabilities, thereby renew our goals and determination for the future. In this quarter, the accountability and commitment program has had a significant financial impact. The consolidated revenue posted KRW 3,978.1 billion, 12.2% decline year-on-year. The M&A revenue fell by approximately KRW 547.7 billion year-on-year due to 50% tariff discount in August for all customers with the customer appreciation package and series of team membership discounts. The significant sales decline led to 90.9% year-on-year drop in operating income to KRW 48.4 billion. The net income turned negative due to the penalties from the cybersecurity incident. Given the unprecedented deterioration in the financial performance, the company inevitably decided not to declare dividends for the third quarter. While the financial impact of the incident continues to weigh on the results, we are fully committed to restoring stability and resuming dividend payments going forward. Now let me report on business updates. The fixed and mobile business are showing gradual recovery from the cybersecurity incident. The number of 5G subscribers increased by approximately 240,000 Q-on-Q to 17.26 million, and broadband and IPTV subscribers also recorded positive net additions. As part of our mobile business innovation, the company recently launched Air, a digital communication service exclusively for unlock device. Designed with an emphasis on simplicity and practicality based upon in-depth analysis of the needs of the customers in their 20s and 30s, this service is expected to play a key role in broadening our mobile customer base. The AI business is bringing together previously distributed AI capabilities under one structure. Functions and organizations, including AI DC, A dot B for enterprises, A dot service for B2C and global AI partnerships and investment and AI R&D are being reorganized into the AI CIC, establishing a more cohesive and efficient business structure. Revenue from the AI business achieved a 35.7% year-on-year increase in revenue, further expanding the foundation for achieving its mid- to long-term goals. Driven by the acquisition of the Pangyo data center and the award of the GPU leasing support program, AI DC revenue posted KRW 149.8 billion, up 53.8% year-on-year. The company continues to expand the scale and profitability of its data center operations. The Ulsan AI data center poised to be a key driver of data center revenue growth, held its groundbreaking ceremony in late August and is now under full construction. In addition, the company recently signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI to jointly build an AI data center dedicated for OpenAI in Korea's Southwest region, positioning itself to capture new opportunities in the rapidly evolving AI infrastructure market. Revenue posted KRW 55.7 billion, up 3.1% year-on-year. Officially launched in late June, AIX an AI agent designed for enterprise use, has received positive initial feedback as workplace AI tools that helps employees focus more on their core tasks. In this quarter, the service was rolled out to about 10 SK Group affiliates, including the company and is planned to be expanded to a total of 25 affiliates by the end of this year. Through its latest upgrade this quarter, A. has integrated cutting-edge ALM such as AX 4.0 and GPT5 while introducing a new AI message feature that alerts users to potential spam or phishing text. In addition, with its recent integration into T Map in September, A. is now accessible to a broader base of users, allowing more people to experience the service firsthand. Building on its long-standing expertise in LLM, the SK Telecom Consortium was selected in August as a core team for the proprietary AI foundation model project led by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Through the project, the company aims to further strengthen its AI competitiveness, pursue new business opportunities, and contribute to the development of sovereign AI. The past 6 months have been the most challenging period for SK Telecom since its founding. The entire organization has been fully mobilized to respond to the cybersecurity incident. While it served as an opportunity to emerge as a stronger and more secure company, it also led to the loss of many customers and continued financial impact. To move beyond this crisis toward recovery and renewed growth, the company has set a clear goal of driving continuous innovation in information security. We will strengthen execution across key areas such as increased security investment, adoption of next-generation technologies, and enhancement of the external verification system. In the telecom business, we will place customer trust restoration at the highest priority and focus on reinforcing our core competitiveness to reclaim our position as Korea's leading telecom company. At the same time, in the AI business, we will focus on delivering tangible results. SK Telecom is determined to turn this crisis into an opportunity for renewed growth and to emerge as a stronger, more resilient company. We sincerely ask for the warm encouragement and continued support of our investors and analysts as we embark on this new beginning. Thank you. Now we'll begin the Q&A.
[Operator Instructions] The first question will be provided by Jae-min Ahn, from NH Investment & Securities.
I have 2 questions. The first question is about dividends. During the presentation, you said that you will not declare the dividend for the third quarter, which is regrettable. And I'd like to hear about your focus on the fourth quarter dividend. And it might be a bit too early to discuss about the 2026 dividend policy. Can you give us a heads up as to whether the dividend of 2026 will return to the level of '24? The second question is about the performance. The third quarter's poor performance is something to be expected. And I'd like to ask you about the fourth quarter outlook because the free offering of the 50-gigabyte data and the discount are still ongoing. So, there could be the potential for the tariff down selling. So, I would like to hear about your 4Q performance outlook.
Thank you for this question. I'd like to respond to your second question first, the impact of the incident on the third quarter performance. The financial impact from the cybersecurity incident in Q3 was mostly reflected on the revenue side. Mobile revenue declined about KRW 500 billion Q-on-Q, nearly all attributable to the incident. The largest factor was the 50% discount on August tariffs offered to all customers as part of the customer appreciation package, while enhanced membership benefits also contributed to the revenue decline. On the cost side, KRW 134.8 billion of fines imposed by the Personal Information Protection Commission was recognized as a non-operating expense in Q3. As the customer appreciation package, such as additional data and the membership benefits, will continue through the year-end. So, some decline in mobile revenue is expected to persist in Q4, but the impact should be significantly smaller than in Q3. That said, Q4 typically involves concentrated spending activities, so a cautious approach is warranted regarding operating profit. While it is too early to provide detailed guidance for fiscal year '26 before finalizing management plans, the company aims to drive a steady recovery in mobile revenue through restored customer trust while maximizing cost efficiency to return to pre-incident operating profit levels. The company's AI business, including AI DC, continues to show solid growth momentum, which is expected to contribute to a turnaround in overall performance. Further details on FY '26 guidance will be provided once management plans are finalized. Thank you. So let me respond to the question about dividends for the whole year FY'25 and FY'26. As mentioned earlier, following a resolution by the Board, the company has decided not to declare a dividend for the third quarter. This was an unavoidable decision, taking into account the financial impact of the cybersecurity incident, cash flow condition, and overall financial stability. We ask for your kind understanding. As for the Q4 dividend, it is difficult to make any definitive statement at this time, but the Board will review the matter once the full-year performance and cash flow are finalized, taking into consideration the company's growth investment capacity, financial structure, and overall capital allocation balance. As the impact of the cybersecurity incident will be mostly reflected in 2025, the operations are expected to normalize from 2026, and all the operational improvement measures will be fully implemented. And we will make every effort to restore the dividend to the pre-incident level in line with improved performance.
The following question will be presented by Heejin Lim from Citi Securities.
I have 2 questions. First, is that this is the first earnings call after the incident and the implementation of the rectification measures. So, the question is that how much of the customers that you have lost in the previous quarter, you have regained in this quarter? And what are your plans to win back this customer? And I'd like to learn about your marketing plans. The second question is about the Air that was mentioned during the earlier presentation. So, it seems that the Air is a smart service that is offered at an affordable price range. So, I'd like to understand its implications on the top line and ARPU.
Thank you for this question. And this question will be answered by the marketing strategy team.
After the contract cancellation fee waiver period ended on July 14, the company focused on rebuilding customer trust to reverse the market trend. Through these efforts, the customer churn was successfully contained in August and September, resulting in a net neutral balance between additions and losses. Going forward, rather than focusing on numerical recovery of the customer churn, which could overheat the market, the company plans to pursue qualitative recovery centered on strengthening fundamental competitiveness and improving customer and revenue quality. Through granular customer analytics, we provide optimized products, subscription methods, rate plans, and value-added services tailored to customer needs across different distribution channels. The recently launched air service is a prime example designed to meet diverse customer demand. The company will continue to enhance customer satisfaction by offering segment-optimized products and services while strengthening its overall competitiveness in the market.
So let me respond to your second question about Air. On October 13, the company officially launched Air, a digital communication service exclusively for unlocked devices. AI represents SK Telecom's new initiative to respond to the shift in mobile usage patterns among customers in their 20s and 30s towards SIM-only and fully digital experiences. It allows customers to complete all service procedures directly through the app without visiting offline stores. The service offers 6 simple rate plans focused on the most commonly used data tiers. While it does not support teamwork, team membership, fixed mobile bundles, or family discounts, it provides only the essential features at more affordable prices. While existing pay service cater to customers seeking a wide range of benefits such as family bundle discounts or device subsidies, Air is designed for unlocked device users who value digital convenience and practical benefits. Through the launch of Air, the company expects to meet the needs of wider customer base and broaden its marketing reach. By offering a new telecom service for unlocked device users, Air is expected to gradually expand the overall wireless subscriber base and continue to top-line growth. In terms of its price, it will be in the same range as the chief direct plan, so its impact on ARPU will be minimal.
The following question will be presented by Sohyun Park from UBS.
Two questions I have. The first question is about the Ulsan DC, this is something that you are working together with AWS and understand that the groundbreaking ceremony was held sometime at the end of August. So, I'd like to understand the progress of the Ulsan AI DC project. And when do you foresee the completion of this construction and the beginning of the operation? And if you have any additional plans to add other data center facility, please do share? The second question is about A. service. You have recently surpassed the 10 million subscriber landmark and now was able to secure a quite sizable user base. So, I'd like to understand if you have any plan to actually charge the service.
So thank you for this question. First question will be answered by the AI DC development team. And the second question will be answered by the AI growth strategy team.
So let me respond to you about the progress of the Ulsan AI DC project. Construction of the Ulsan AI data center began on September 1 and is progressing smoothly according to the plan. The revenue from the Ulsan AI data center will follow a ramp-up structure and increasing in proportion to the utilization. The profit generation is expected from '27 and expected to grow steadily thereafter. The Ulsan AI data center will also serve as a key reference case marking SK Telecom's successful attraction of global big tech partners to Korea and will act as an important catalyst for future expansion of the company's AI data center business. In addition, the company is in active discussions with global investment firms and other major technology companies considering AI data center projects in Korea and across the broader APAC region, exploring various form of collaboration. Next, I'd like to discuss our data center expansion plan. As mentioned in the previous earnings call, the company aims to achieve KRW 1 trillion level revenue by operating a cumulative 300 megawatts or more of data center capacity by 2030. To this end, we are currently pursuing the construction of an additional AI data center in Korea Seoul, and the design work has just begun. Given that this location represents the last valuable site in Seoul with secured power capacity for data center development, it offers ample land to accommodate large-scale facilities. We anticipate a strong demand for the project. We will provide further details to the market as the project progresses and plans become more concrete.
This is the Head of AI Business Strategy, Kim Ji Hoon. Let me respond to your second question of the plan to charge the A. service. As of the end of September, the cumulative subscriber for A. has surpassed 10,560,000, and that is a growth of 8.3% versus the end of June. When we include the other A. function users outside of the A. app, which mainly refers to the phone and the BTD, and the total MAU exceeded 10 million as well. So, we were able to achieve this performance within 2 years from the official launch, the achievement, meaning that subscriber over 10 million and the AU exceeding 10 million. That is thanks to the continuous service sophistication and active expansion into the external platform. Last June, we have launched note and briefing. In August, we offered 4.0 update on the agentic workflow function has been added, and this has garnered a strong response from the users. In September, A. is made available in T Map and contributed further to the increase in AU. The B2C paid model will be reviewed -- are under review, and that will be most likely in the form of the subscription or the branded products centering around A. pillar services, and our target launching period is the first half of 2026. Until that time, we will continue to focus on improving usability of A.'s core services and expand the customer base. So, regarding the B2B profit model, including the A. agentic workflow, that will be implemented into the T Map, and we expect the revenue generation from the fourth quarter, and that will be the beginning, and we expect a gradual expansion of the revenue.
The last question will be presented by Hong-sik Kim from Hana Securities.
I will have to ask some difficult questions. Then you have started the quarterly dividend payout. But this quarter, you have decided not to declare the dividend. And from the perspective of the investors who have been waiting for this cash flow from the dividend, we are at a loss, and I'd like to understand more visibility into the future. And according to the business report, there are some companies that are showing higher degree of the visibility or the productivity when it comes to the dividend. So, in that line, I'd like to ask the company, do you have any plan for the future dividend? And if so, please share. So, if you are not able to provide any dividend for the third quarter, I believe that there should be some sufficient response going forward. So please specify them. And at this point, this is, I believe the high time that you need to revisit the plan to provide dividend on a quarterly basis because you have made the disclaim or announcement some time ago, but you are not able to provide this quarterly dividend for this quarter. So, this is extremely a regrettable situation, I have to say. And the second question is that according to the report that the ground or the basis of providing the dividend is the 50% of the consolidated net income. And it is our existing understanding is that it is adjusted consolidated net income, but it turns out the decision to waiver the third quarter dividend is based upon not adjusted, but the net income of this quarter. So does that suggest that in case of any future incidents that might involve the significant onetime expenses, then there will be some wavering of the dividend for the particular quarter. So please share with us your dividend profile.
So let me respond to your question. This is the CFO. So, as you might understand and appreciate that we have been providing the stable provision of the dividend based upon the strong performance. But due to these unforeseeable incidents that we're not able to provide the dividend for this quarter. As a CFO, this is an extremely unsettling situation, and I'd like to extend my sincere apology to the investors. So, we take your question and the feedback with great heart and try to figure out the best way forward. And I'd like to give you this commitment as a CFO that we will make every effort to normalize our business environment, and this is something that I will share the commitment to you on behalf of every single employee of SK Telecom. So let me respond to your question about the 50% of the adjusted consolidated net income. So, in relation to our shareholder return policy, the company classified items such as operating revenue and operating expenses, which arise from its principal business activities, as recurring income or loss items. And conversely, nonoperating income and expenses are not directly related to the operating activities are categorized as nonrecurring items. The administrative fine imposed by the PIPC this year is classified as a nonrecurring item. The customer appreciation packages, and the SIM card replacement costs are directly associated with the company's core business activities and therefore, are not regarded as one-off or nonrecurring items. The company's shareholder return policy, which is returning 50% of adjusted consolidated net income, represent a symbolic lower bound. This threshold expresses our commitment to provide dividends at a higher level than the minimum target. And historically, our dividend payout ratio has remained above this level. For additional inquiries, please contact our IR organization, and we will make sure that you get the full response.
This concludes our Q3 '25 earnings call. If you have any further questions, please contact us. Thank you.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2025-08-07SK Telecom Co Ltd (SKM) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges with Strategic ...
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SK Telecom Co Ltd (SKM) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges with Strategic ...
Consolidated Revenue: KRW4,338.8 billion, a decline of 1.9% year on year. Operating Income: KRW338.3 billion, down 37.1% year on year. Net Income: KRW83.2 billion, down 76.2% year on year. 5G Subscribers: Declined by approximately 220,000 quarter on quarter to 17.02 million. AI Business Revenue Growth: 13.9% year on year. AIDC Revenue: KRW108.7 billion, up 13.3% year on year. AIX Revenue: KRW46.8 billion, up 15.3% year on year. Second Quarter DPS: KRW831 with the record date of August 31. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Signs with BOM:532156. Release Date: August 06, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) has announced a significant investment of KRW700 billion over the next five years to build a world-class information protection system, enhancing cybersecurity measures. The AI business revenue grew by 13.9% year on year, partially offsetting the decline in telecom revenue, indicating strong growth potential in AI-related sectors. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) plans to establish a hyperscale AI data center in collaboration with AWS and SK Group affiliates, aiming to secure a hub for AI Infrastructure Superhighway. The company has introduced a customer assurance package, including free mobile device security solutions and a cybersecurity damage compensation insurance program, to regain customer trust. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) has been selected as a key player in the government's sovereign AI model development project, positioning itself as a leader in AI technology in Korea. The cybersecurity incident led to a decline in MNO revenue due to net subscriber losses and suspension of new subscriber sign-ups, impacting overall financial performance. Operating income decreased by 37.1% year on year, with significant one-off costs incurred due to the cybersecurity incident and related compensation measures. Net income fell by 76.2% year on year, reflecting the substantial financial impact of the cybersecurity incident on the company's earnings. The company has lowered its annual revenue guidance from KRW17.8 trillion to KRW17 trillion, anticipating further financial impact in the second half of the year. The suspension of new subscriber acquisition and cancellation fee waivers resulted in a loss of 750,000 handset subscribers, highlighting challenges in custo…Read full documentShow less
Consolidated Revenue: KRW4,338.8 billion, a decline of 1.9% year on year. Operating Income: KRW338.3 billion, down 37.1% year on year. Net Income: KRW83.2 billion, down 76.2% year on year. 5G Subscribers: Declined by approximately 220,000 quarter on quarter to 17.02 million. AI Business Revenue Growth: 13.9% year on year. AIDC Revenue: KRW108.7 billion, up 13.3% year on year. AIX Revenue: KRW46.8 billion, up 15.3% year on year. Second Quarter DPS: KRW831 with the record date of August 31. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Signs with BOM:532156. Release Date: August 06, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) has announced a significant investment of KRW700 billion over the next five years to build a world-class information protection system, enhancing cybersecurity measures. The AI business revenue grew by 13.9% year on year, partially offsetting the decline in telecom revenue, indicating strong growth potential in AI-related sectors. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) plans to establish a hyperscale AI data center in collaboration with AWS and SK Group affiliates, aiming to secure a hub for AI Infrastructure Superhighway. The company has introduced a customer assurance package, including free mobile device security solutions and a cybersecurity damage compensation insurance program, to regain customer trust. SK Telecom Co Ltd (NYSE:SKM) has been selected as a key player in the government's sovereign AI model development project, positioning itself as a leader in AI technology in Korea. The cybersecurity incident led to a decline in MNO revenue due to net subscriber losses and suspension of new subscriber sign-ups, impacting overall financial performance. Operating income decreased by 37.1% year on year, with significant one-off costs incurred due to the cybersecurity incident and related compensation measures. Net income fell by 76.2% year on year, reflecting the substantial financial impact of the cybersecurity incident on the company's earnings. The company has lowered its annual revenue guidance from KRW17.8 trillion to KRW17 trillion, anticipating further financial impact in the second half of the year. The suspension of new subscriber acquisition and cancellation fee waivers resulted in a loss of 750,000 handset subscribers, highlighting challenges in customer retention. Q: Can you provide more details on the response measures and financial impact of the cybersecurity incident? A: The response includes a customer assurance package and a KRW700 billion investment in information protection over five years. Financial impacts began in Q2, with MNO revenue declining due to subscriber losses and increased costs from free SIM replacements and dealer compensation. The incident will significantly affect 2025 earnings, with revenue guidance lowered to KRW17 trillion. Q: What are your plans regarding dividend payouts and strategies to regain lost customers? A: The Q2 dividend per share is KRW831, with future dividends to be discussed based on full-year earnings visibility. Strategies to regain customers include restoring subscription years and membership grades for returning customers and offering membership discounts. The abolition of the Handset Subsidy Law allows for more promotional flexibility. Q: Can you elaborate on the AI data center investment in Ulsan and its impact on CapEx? A: SK Broadband will invest in the Ulsan AI data center, with AWS providing AI computing facilities. The project will increase SK Broadband's CapEx by nearly 10% year over year, but overall CapEx will remain stable due to completed 5G network investments. The data center aims for KRW1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030. Q: What are SK Telecom's plans for the national AI model development? A: SK Telecom is actively participating in government-led AI projects and was selected as a finalist for developing sovereign AI foundation models. The company aims to support AI adoption through open-source releases and proprietary technology development, positioning itself as a key partner in Korea's AI ecosystem. Q: How does SK Telecom plan to enhance its cybersecurity measures following the incident? A: SK Telecom has restructured its security system, installed next-generation security solutions, and completed SIM information encryption. The company plans to invest KRW700 billion over five years to strengthen its IT security to global top levels, following the US National Institute of Standards and Technology's cybersecurity framework. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

