SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (SKT) Expands into an AI Utility Through AIDC

[Financial News] Eugene Investment & Securities said on the 26th that, in the long term, SKT could expand into an AI utility related to AIDC (artificial intelligence data centers), broadening its B2B supply base to include factories, large buildings and other customers. It raised its investment rating from “Neutral” to “Buy” and its target price from 94,000 won to 135,700 won.
Lee Chan-young, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, “Combining global AI customer demand and capital with SK Hyper’s development capabilities will expand colocation, GPU cloud and power infrastructure. When regulations are liberalized, electricity will be procured and sold to AIDCs. SK Hyper is the key player that will turn growing opportunities for private-sector participation into actual businesses, coordinating discussions with power generators on power supply, KEPCO’s grid-connection review, and construction of incoming power lines and substations with data center development schedules.”
The researcher emphasized, “Assuming Horizon reaches 314 MW in 2030, with revenue of 1 trillion won and operating profit of 150 billion won, the earnings base of the existing data center business will expand. When all 5 GW is operational, SK Hyper is estimated to contribute approximately 463.1 billion won to SKT’s net income attributable to controlling interests. That contribution would amount to 36% of its usual net income of approximately 1.3 trillion won.”
The researcher added, “If Anthropic goes public, SKT’s volatility is expected to increase. If long-term contracts with data center customers are confirmed, the focus of market flows will shift from stocks seen as alternative investments to Anthropic to AI infrastructure stocks.”

[email protected] Kang Gu-gwi Reporter