SK Securities on the 10th said SK Telecom is expected to continue its earnings improvement on the back of rising 5G subscribers. It maintained its "Buy" recommendation and raised its target price to 110,000 won from 90,000 won. SK Telecom closed the previous trading day at 93,800 won.
SK Securities forecast SK Telecom's first-quarter revenue at 4.3931 trillion won and operating profit at 526.3 billion won. That would be down 1.4% and 7.2%, respectively, from a year earlier.
However, Choi Gwan-soon, an analyst at SK Securities, said, "Strength in core businesses is expected to continue, including an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) driven by growth in 5G subscribers, more subscribers to subsidiary SK Broadband's ultra-high-speed internet and IPTV, and higher data center utilization."
Choi added, "With competition for subscriber acquisition in the mobile market easing since February and depreciation expenses stabilizing, operating profit could slightly top the market consensus."
The likelihood of dividends resuming was also judged to be high. Choi said, "Dividends, which were suspended in the second half of last year, are expected to resume," adding, "A quarterly dividend of 830 won and a year-end dividend of 1,050 won, similar to 2024, look likely."
Full-year results are also expected to improve. Choi said, "With expense stabilization continuing in 2026, annual operating profit is projected at 1.8576 trillion won, surpassing the 2024 level on the back of top-line growth from a recovery in mobile subscribers and higher data center revenue, putting the company past the fallout from the 2025 cyber intrusion incident."
The rising equity value of artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic was also cited as a positive factor. SK Telecom held about 0.3% of Anthropic as of the end of last year, and after a funding round in Feb., the company's valuation is estimated at about $380 billion. The industry is also raising the possibility that Anthropic could go public within the year.