Hana Securities maintained a 'Buy' rating and a target price of 70,000 won for SK Telecom on the 22nd, citing it as a beneficiary of the AI industry growth.
Researcher Kim Hong-sik said, "SK Telecom has been actively investing in AI recently," adding, "They are particularly focused on attempts to monetize and charge for AI services, but so far, they are concentrating on building the ecosystem and enhancing the attractiveness of their products."
Previously, SK Telecom directly invested $100 million in Anthropic, a US-based AI development company, and established financial and strategic partnerships. They also formed a global AI alliance with Deutsche Telekom and Singtel. Next year, they are expected to launch a telecom operator-type AI model to introduce AI services for mobile phones.
Researcher Kim noted, "The most promising aspect is that SK Telecom is securing a favorable position in the competition for leadership and standardization in the telecom AI sector," adding, "They led the popularization of AI domestically through the AI speaker NUGU over 10 years ago, and recently have been actively evolving AI services through A. Dot. By 2025, they are expected to launch a telecom operator-type AI model to offer AI services for mobile phones."
He also said, "Although interest in AI-related stocks is high, unfortunately, there are no direct service providers domestically, and most AI-related stocks are emerging from AI component makers or some service providers utilizing AI," adding, "By 2025, SKT is expected to alleviate this demand by providing AI services combined with various telecommunications, media, and commerce sectors through a monetized fee structure."
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