LG CNS Q1 operating profit surges 19 pct on AI, cloud growth

by Kim Dong-young Posted : April 30, 2026, 10:03Updated : April 30, 2026, 10:03
LG CNS headquarters at LG Science Park in Seoul Courtesy of LG CNS
LG CNS headquarters at LG Science Park in Seoul/ Courtesy of LG CNS
 
SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - South Korean IT services firm LG CNS posted first-quarter operating profit of 94.2 billion won ($63.4 million), up 19.4 percent from a year earlier, as surging demand for artificial intelligence and cloud services fueled growth across its business lines.

According to regulatory filing released Thursday, revenue for the January to March period climbed 8.6 percent on-year to 1.315 trillion won, with the company's AI and cloud division accounting for about 58 percent of the total at 765.4 billion won.

The segment grew 6.7 percent year-on-year, buoyed by the expansion of agentic AI-based multi-agent services into defense, finance, manufacturing and biopharmaceuticals.

Its digital business services division recorded revenue of 321.9 billion won, a 11.9 percent year-on-year rise driven by next-generation IT system buildouts for major financial institutions including NH NongHyup Bank and Shinhan Investment.

The smart engineering segment also gained 10.4 percent to 227.8 billion won on the back of factory automation and logistics projects.

The company is also betting on physical AI, investing in U.S. robotics firm Dexmate to build a lineup spanning bipedal humanoids, quadrupeds and wheeled robots, and plans to publicly launch a proprietary robot training platform next month. Its first overseas AI data center in Indonesia is slated for completion by year-end.

LG CNS has moved to ride the broader AI boom by forging partnerships with global heavyweights such as OpenAI and Palantir, supplying ChatGPT Enterprise to about 10 corporate clients since February while co-developing high-value AI projects through a joint engineering team with the U.S. data analytics firm.

Shares of LG CNS traded at 66,000 per stock at 10:00 a.m., 1.05 percent lower than the day before.