SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• SK Telecom beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.57 EPS versus the $0.47 consensus, though revenue of $2.92 billion came in slightly below estimates.
• On the conference call, the company said Q1 consolidated revenue reached KRW 4.3923 trillion and operating income was KRW 537.6 billion, with results recovering to pre-cybersecurity-incident levels.
• The company resumed quarterly dividends with Q1 DPS of KRW 830 and plans stable payouts in 2026, while also highlighting growth in AI/data-center revenue and continued subscriber additions.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. SK Telecom had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 2.84%.

Here are the key takeaways from SK Telecom's conference call:

• SK Telecom reported Q1 consolidated revenue of KRW 4.3923 trillion (up 1.5% Q/Q) and operating income of KRW 537.6 billion, stating results have recovered to pre-cybersecurity-incident levels.
• The company resumed quarterly dividends with Q1 DPS of KRW 830, plans to pursue stable dividend payments for 2026 and transferred KRW 1.7 trillion to retained earnings to enable tax-exempt year-end dividends.
• MNO saw roughly 210,000 handset net adds in Q1 and intends to grow subscribers by targeting high‑LTV segments while avoiding excessive spend, prioritizing profitability.
• AI/data‑center revenue grew ~89% YoY; SKT is expanding capacity (Gasan, Pangyo, Ulsan, planned Seoul sites) and pursuing global partners, but it has not disclosed detailed AIDC profitability metrics beyond saying they are comparable to telecom.

SK Telecom Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SKM traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,546,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,006,170. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $14.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.01, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.61. SK Telecom has a 12-month low of $19.66 and a 12-month high of $40.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SK Telecom

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SKM. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SK Telecom by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 606,347 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $12,448,000 after purchasing an additional 405,863 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 80,378.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 328,353 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $6,741,000 after buying an additional 327,945 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in SK Telecom in the 3rd quarter worth $4,319,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 56,164.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 193,550 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $3,974,000 after buying an additional 193,206 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 108.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 347,750 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $7,511,000 after buying an additional 180,581 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SKM shares. HSBC upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of SK Telecom from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research lowered SK Telecom from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded SK Telecom from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

About SK Telecom

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.

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