Telecoms set for mixed Q2 as AI investment race looms

Major telecom companies — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus — are expected to report mixed second-quarter earnings, as diverging cost structures and one-off factors shape performance ahead of a broader push into artificial intelligence (AI) investments in the second half of the year. SK Telecom is expected to see a sharp rebound from the damage of its hacking incident last year and LG Uplus will see stable growth, while KT is expected to see earnings decline amid continued cost pressures. According to consensus forecasts compiled by FnGuide, the three telecom operators are expected to post combined second-quarter revenue of 15.2 trillion won ($10.1 billion) and operating profit of 1.45 trillion won. Revenue is forecast to rise 2.6 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit is expected to decline 12.7 percent, largely due to weaker performance at KT. SK Telecom is projected to post a sharp rebound in operating profit. Its estimated second-quarter revenue is at 4.41 trillion won, while operating profit is 527.9 billion won, up about 56 percent from a year earlier. The improvement lar