SOUTH KOREA TELECOM SERVICES 2Q26E earnings preview; Mixed earnings as AIDC optionality moves into focus

Research evidence excerpt

SOUTH KOREA TELECOM SERVICES 2Q26E earnings preview; Mixed earnings as AIDC optionality moves into focus

Equity Research

23 July 2026 | 5:32PM KST

SOUTH KOREA TELECOM SERVICES

2Q26E earnings preview; Mixed earnings as AIDC optionality moves into

focus

We expect mixed 2Q26E earnings across the Korean telcos, with KT’s reported results Eric Cha

+82(2)3788-1799 | eric.cha@gs.com

impacted by a high property-development base, LGU delivering a relatively clean sequential Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., Seoul Branch

recovery, and SKT posting a sharp YoY OP rebound, largely on the absence of Vona Lee

data-breach-related costs. Underlying wireless trends should remain subdued across the +82(2)3788-1201Goldman Sachs (Asia)| vona.lee@gs.comL.L.C., Seoul Branch

sector: subscriber momentum has stabilized following the recent penalty-waiver periods,

but the lingering impact of earlier subscriber losses, temporary plan downgrades and

subscriber-acquisition cost amortization should limit meaningful earnings expansion.

Meanwhile, enterprise and data-center operations should remain the principal incremental

growth drivers, supported by KT Cloud’s double-digit growth, LGU’s c.30% AIDC growth

and higher Pangyo DC utilization at SK Broadband. Beyond the quarter, we see

infrastructure-led growth optionality becoming an increasingly important differentiator.

We believe KT offers most favorable risk-reward, supported by its demand-backed and

relatively capital-light plan to expand AIDC capacity to 1GW by 2031, subsea-cable

expansion and continued shareholder returns. For LGU, improving earnings quality and its

plan to expand AIDC capacity to 400MW by 2030 are balanced by valuation. For SKT,

existing SK Broadband data-center operations provide tangible earnings support, but we