SK Telecom: Earnings Recovering From a 2025 Dip While the Share Price Falls From Its Peak

Thesis

The data supports a partial earnings recovery. Trailing operating income of ₩1.27T is above 2025's ₩1.07T, and trailing net income of ₩747.4B is well above 2025's ₩408.4B. Free cash flow of ₩1.36T is also solid against borrowings of ₩1.06T.

The data does not show a return to the earlier profit level. Revenue of ₩17.06T is slightly below 2025's ₩17.10T and below 2024's ₩17.94T. The trailing return on equity of 5.5% is well under the 10.8% of 2024. The price-to-earnings ratio of 22.9 reflects depressed earnings rather than a high price alone.

The share price is up 46.0% over one year but down 7.0% over three months and 12.3% over one month. Investor flow, foreign ownership and short-selling data are not available, so the data does not show who is buying or selling.

Business overview

SK Telecom is a KOSPI-listed telecom company, founded on 1984-04-20 and listed on 1989-11-07. The CEO is listed as 정재헌. It has 214,790,053 listed shares and a market capitalisation of about ₩17.12T at a close of ₩79,700 on 2026-10-12.

Revenue has been steady in a narrow range, from ₩16.75T in 2021 to ₩17.94T in 2024, then ₩17.10T in 2025. Among the listed peers, KT has a market cap of ₩12.58T and LG Uplus ₩6.25T. The data contains no segment breakdown, so the sources of revenue are not available.

Financial analysis

These figures come from filed financial statements (DART). Revenue was ₩17.10T in 2025, down 4.7% from ₩17.94T in 2024, after growth of 1.9% in 2024 and 1.8% in 2023.

Operating income fell from ₩1.82T in 2024 to ₩1.07T in 2025, with the operating margin dropping from 10.2% to 6.3%. Net income fell from ₩1.25T to ₩408.4B. The 2021 net income of ₩2.41T was much higher than operating income of ₩1.39T, so it likely included non-operating items, though the data does not say what.

For the twelve months to H1 2026, revenue was ₩17.06T, operating income ₩1.27T (7.5% margin) and net income ₩747.4B (4.4% margin). ROE was 5.5%. Liabilities to equity were 109.3%. Cash was ₩1.20T against borrowings of ₩1.06T, so cash covers borrowings. Free cash flow was ₩1.36T.

Valuation

The price-to-earnings ratio is 22.9, the price-to-book ratio 1.1, price-to-sales 1.0 and EV/EBITDA 3.6. The dividend yield is 2.1%. Enterprise value is about ₩16.98T.

At the end of 2025 the price-to-earnings ratio was 28.1 and the price-to-book ratio 0.9, so the earnings multiple has eased while the book multiple has risen. Earlier year-end multiples are not available in the data. Peer multiples for KT, LG Uplus and the others are also not available, so a comparison with similar companies cannot be made.

Catalysts

• The half-year report for June 2026 was filed on 2026-08-13 and showed the trailing profit recovery described above.
• A company split decision was filed on 2026-08-27, though the data gives no details on its scope or effect.
• A sale of shares in another company and a treasury share sale decision were filed on 2026-08-27, followed by a treasury share disposal result report on 2026-09-01.
• A change in the largest shareholder's holdings and several insider shareholding reports were filed on 2026-09-01.
• A news headline dated 2026-10-13 says a brokerage cut its target price but viewed fundamentals as not impaired and SpaceX concerns as overblown; the data gives no further detail.

Risks

• Trailing operating margin of 7.5% remains well below the 10.0% to 10.2% earned in 2023 and 2024.
• Revenue has not grown, with a 4.7% decline in 2025 and a trailing figure slightly below 2025.
• The share price has fallen 12.3% in one month and sits well below its 52-week high of ₩139,500, showing high recent volatility.
• The details and financial impact of the company split decision are not available in the data, which creates uncertainty.
• Investor flow, foreign ownership, short balance and peer valuation data are not available, which limits the view of market positioning.

Closing view

The filed numbers show a company with stable revenue, improving but still reduced profitability, positive free cash flow and cash that covers borrowings. The multiples are mixed: the price-to-earnings ratio of 22.9 is elevated by lower earnings, while the price-to-book ratio of 1.1 is modest.

The recent price drop, the corporate actions filed in late August and the missing flow and peer data leave open questions. Whether margins return toward earlier levels, and what the split means, are the key unknowns that the data cannot answer.

Model estimate of fair value

The valuation model has no estimate for this company yet (not enough data, or no positive value with the base case).

Report history

1. Oct 13, 2026InitiationSK Telecom: Earnings Recovering From a 2025 Dip While the Share Price Falls From Its Peak