"SK Telecom Target Price Raised Reflecting Anthropic Value, Investment Rating Remains Neutral" [Click e-Stock]

"Anthropic Equity Value Increase Reflected"
"Quarterly Dividend Resumed... Profitability Recovery Expected"
Short-Term Upside Potential Seen as Limited

Eugene Investment & Securities has raised its target price for SK Telecom from 85,000 won to 94,000 won, reflecting the increased equity value of Anthropic, a US generative artificial intelligence (AI) company.

According to Eugene Investment & Securities on May 12, analyst Lee Chanyoung stated the previous day, "Recent media reports suggest Anthropic's corporate value is being discussed at up to 900 billion dollars. Although this is not an official figure, the market generally views it as a realistic level."

However, Lee maintained a neutral (HOLD) investment opinion, noting, "The short-term upside potential based on the current share price is limited." As of the closing price on the 11th, SK Telecom shares stood at 98,200 won.

For the first quarter of this year, SK Telecom posted consolidated sales of 4.3923 trillion won, down 1.4% year-on-year, and operating profit of 537.6 billion won, down 5.3%, slightly exceeding market expectations. The company partially recovered from the shock of a past hacking incident, with a net increase of around 210,000 mobile network operator (MNO) subscribers, benefiting from the impact of rival companies waiving penalty fees. Notably, SK Broadband's operating profit reached a record quarterly high of 116.6 billion won, driving overall corporate performance.

Both earnings and normalization of shareholder returns are becoming visible. Analyst Lee commented, "Annual operating profit is projected to reach 1.9083 trillion won this year, recovering profitability to pre-hacking incident levels," and added, "Quarterly dividends, which had been suspended in the second half of last year, resumed with a payment of 830 won in the first quarter of this year, confirming management's commitment."

Nonetheless, regarding the decision to maintain a neutral investment opinion, Lee explained, "The equity value of Anthropic is already largely reflected in the share price, and the dividend yield (3.8%) offers limited attractiveness compared to government bond yields."

Lee added, "There is not enough justification for a revaluation until the AI business accounts for a significant portion of the company's overall profit," and noted, "Even assuming 1 trillion won in data center revenue and 150 billion won in operating profit by 2030, these would only account for 6% and 8% of the total, respectively."