SK InnovationSK이노베이션

SK Innovation's trailing profit is negative after a weak first half of 2026, even though operating income stays positive and the share price has recovered over three months.

SK Innovation is a large Korean energy and chemicals group covering refining, petrochemicals, LNG and power, batteries and upstream oil and gas. On trailing twelve months to H1 2026 it reports revenue of ₩93.3T and operating income of ₩6.6T, but a net loss of ₩1.2T, with borrowings of ₩37.3T against cash of ₩13.3T. The shares closed at ₩137,000 on 2026-10-26, down 8.2% over one month but up 17.4% over three months.

What stands out

• Trailing operating margin is 7% and revenue has grown from ₩78.1T in 2022 to ₩93.3T, yet the company posted net losses in 2024 and 2025 and a trailing net loss of ₩1.2T.
• Trailing free cash flow is roughly flat at about -₩12B, and liabilities are 169.7% of equity, so the balance sheet is highly leveraged.
• The stock trades at 0.9 times book value and 0.2 times sales, with no dividend paid (yield 0%); P/E is not meaningful because earnings are negative.
• Recent filings are mostly routine: subsidiary loan provisions and debt assumption decisions in late September, a major supply contract amended in October, and an investor relations event.
• Foreign ownership rose to 16.4% from 14.7% over about 60 days, while retail investors sold about ₩314B net over the last 20 trading days; institutions bought about ₩258B.
• Headlines include a Meritz Securities note raising its target price to ₩210,000; this is a third-party view reported in the news, not a recommendation from this summary.

What to watch

• Next quarterly results and whether the operating profit trend holds against the trailing net loss.
• Progress on the subsidiary loan and debt decisions filed in September, given the ₩37.3T borrowings.
• The share price sits about 17% below its 52-week high of ₩165,400 and about 56% above its 52-week low of ₩87,700, and it fell more than 7% intraday on 2026-10-22; watch for further volatility.