SK Telecom (SKT) has posted its consolidated earnings for the second quarter of 2026, with working revenue rising 67.3% year-on-year to 566 billion Korean gained (US$397.31million), reflecting rising momentum at its AI information middle (AIDC) enterprise.
The South Korean telecom operator completed the quarter with a internet revenue of KRW466 billion ($327 million), marking a 459.8% year-on-year enhance. In the meantime, revenues elevated by 0.5% year-on-year to KRW4.36 trillion ($3.06 billion).
SKT attributed its improved monetary efficiency to tighter price controls and the growth of its information middle enterprise. The corporate additionally cited favorable base results from one-off bills recorded final yr, together with the price of changing USIMs and compensation for retail retailer losses ensuing from the cybersecurity incident in 2025.
“The telecommunications enterprise, which has remained targeted on restoring buyer belief, confirmed a transparent turnaround pushed by efforts to boost buyer worth and enhance profitability. The AI enterprise additionally recorded strong development as execution accelerated underneath the corporate’s technique of focus and prioritization,” SKT mentioned in a assertion on Wednesday.
Quickly increasing AIDC enterprise
SKT’s AIDC income soared to KRW136.2 billion ($95.55 million) within the second quarter of 2026, marking a staggering year-on-year surge of 92.2%, propelled by the corporate’s broadened operations. It’s presently the corporate’s fastest-growing enterprise phase.
“Within the first half of the yr, we targeted on strengthening our fundamentals primarily based on secure telecommunications enterprise profitability whereas laying the muse for the speedy growth of our AI information middle enterprise,” mentioned SKT’s CFO Park Jong-seok.
“Going ahead, we’ll make each effort to play a number one position in enabling Korea to emerge as an AI infrastructure hub in Asia,” he added.
Two weeks in the past, SKT established a brand new subsidiary, SK Hyper, which is able to focus solely on creating the South Korean AIDC enterprise. It has dedicated to investing a complete of KRW750 billion ($526.18 million) on this new enterprise by 2030.
SK Hyper can be chargeable for securing websites, setting up and working substations, buying clients, and commercializing the AIDC enterprise. It plans to open 5GW of AIDC capability in phases, starting in 2029.
The corporate will develop AI infrastructure in phases, starting with a GW-class AIDC cluster in Ulsan and subsequently including extra GW-class AIDCs within the Chungcheong and Honam areas.
Contemplating market demand and different components, SK Hyper is anticipated to broaden in phases towards a complete AIDC capability of 15GW by 2035.
