KT became the No.1 telecom stock... Surpasses SKT market cap for the first time in 22 years

KT has surpassed SK Telecom, the leading domestic telecom company, in market capitalization for the first time in 22 years.

KT's stock closed at 47,000 KRW on the 24th, up 2.96% (1,350 KRW) from the previous day.

Currently, KT's market capitalization stands at 11.845 trillion KRW, overtaking SK Telecom's 11.7705 trillion KRW by approximately 70 billion KRW.

Based on market capitalization, KT had remained in second place behind SK Telecom in the mobile telecommunications industry since 2003. However, while SK Telecom's stock price rose about 10% over the past year, KT's stock price surged more than 30%, achieving this reversal.

Earlier, in November last year, KT announced a corporate value enhancement plan, pledging to repurchase and retire its own shares worth a cumulative 1 trillion KRW by 2028.

Additionally, in October last year, KT signed a five-year partnership agreement with MS to collaborate on strengthening competitiveness in AI, cloud, and IT sectors. The two companies are working on developing Korean language-specialized AI models and services, Korean-style cloud services, and establishing an AX specialized company. The investment over five years is expected to reach about 2.4 trillion KRW, with projected revenues of approximately 4.6 trillion KRW.

Choi Minha, a researcher at Samsung Securities, analyzed, “Market penetration through mutual cooperation with MS is expected to kick off in earnest starting this year,” adding, “KT’s labor cost burden will decrease, structurally strengthening profit resilience, and one-time sales gains related to the real estate project in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, will also contribute.”

In fact, ahead of last year's earnings announcement, securities firms consecutively raised KT’s target stock price. Mirae Asset Securities raised it from 55,000 KRW to 60,000 KRW, Meritz Securities from 52,000 KRW to 56,000 KRW, and Nomura Securities from 49,000 KRW to 53,000 KRW.