SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.22 EPS

Posted by George Bondi on Aug 5th, 2026

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM – Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.22, Zacks reports. SK Telecom had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 2.78%.

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

Operating profit rose 67.3% year over year to KRW 566 billion, aided by the absence of last year’s cybersecurity incident costs, while cost controls also supported a 5.3% quarterly increase. Revenue grew 0.5% to KRW 4.36 trillion.
AI data center revenue increased 92.5% year over year, driven by the Pangyo facility, and construction began on a new Seoul data center. SK Telecom also plans to establish SK Hyper to develop AIDC projects, initially focusing on securing land, power, customers and infrastructure for phased capacity expansion toward 5GW.
Management expects sustained, structural AI infrastructure demand as inference workloads and enterprise and public-sector adoption expand. It said global customer discussions are ongoing and intends to fund much of the planned AIDC build-out through strategic partners, financial investors and project financing rather than direct investment.
SK Telecom committed KRW 750 billion to SK Hyper, including KRW 330 billion planned for this year, but said total investment requirements could rise and specific plans remain dependent on customer requirements, business models and schedules. Management maintained a quarterly dividend of KRW 830 per share and reiterated its goal of balancing AIDC investment with financial soundness and stable shareholder returns.
The company also plans to contribute to SK hynix’s AI investment vehicle through installment payments, seeking access to AI technologies and global partnerships that could strengthen its data center business. Management expects group-level synergies through SK Telecom’s customer network, SK Broadband’s operating expertise and SK hynix’s AI ecosystem investments.

SK Telecom Price Performance

SKM traded up $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,914,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,199,781. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.85 and a 200-day moving average of $32.97. SK Telecom has a one year low of $19.66 and a one year high of $47.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a PE ratio of 58.15, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SK Telecom

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in SK Telecom by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 606,347 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $12,448,000 after buying an additional 405,863 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 327,945 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SK Telecom in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,319,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of SK Telecom by 56,164.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 193,550 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,974,000 after purchasing an additional 193,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 180,581 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SKM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SK Telecom from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. HSBC raised shares of SK Telecom from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised SK Telecom from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce”.

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SK Telecom Company Profile

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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.