SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

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

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 Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:SKM traded up $1.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.81. 2,546,749 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,006,170. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. SK Telecom has a 1-year low of $19.66 and a 1-year high of $40.49. The firm has a market cap of $14.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SKM has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lowered SK Telecom from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised SK Telecom from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded SK Telecom from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research cut SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered shares of SK Telecom to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Institutional Trading of SK Telecom

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in SK Telecom in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SK Telecom in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of SK Telecom in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of SK Telecom during the 1st quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of SK Telecom by 408.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,265 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427 shares in the last quarter.

SK Telecom Company Profile

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.