KB Securities announced on June 11 that it has raised its target price for SK Telecom from 130,000 won to 150,000 won, citing significant growth in the company's AI infrastructure business. The firm maintained its "buy" rating on the stock.
Analyst Kim Jun-seob from KB Securities noted that SK Telecom has secured both data center and GPU as a Service (GPUaaS) segments, which are critical to its infrastructure business. Since launching its GPUaaS operations in 2024, SK Telecom has been collaborating with NVIDIA to establish a gigawatt-scale AI factory.
Kim stated, "Considering the 1GW AI factory model proposed by Naver, there is potential for revenue to expand to 20 trillion won and operating profit to reach 4 trillion won in the future. The company can quickly stabilize its business by securing initial customers based on internal demand from group affiliates."
The AI data center business, set to begin operations in 2027, is also viewed as a long-term growth driver. Kim pointed out that SK Telecom is progressing the fastest among data center operators, having secured confirmed tenants. He added, "Due to the nature of the data center business, stable revenue generation based on long-term contracts is possible, and many contracts include price increase clauses, enhancing revenue visibility."
SK Telecom plans to sequentially open AI data centers, starting with a 40-megawatt facility in Ulsan in the second half of 2027, followed by a 63MW facility in Ulsan and a 100MW facility in Guro by 2029. Kim projected that if these data centers apply higher pricing compared to standard data centers, operating profit could increase by approximately 800 billion won by 2031.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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