SK Telecom said the improvement was driven by a recovery in its wireless business alongside accelerating growth in AI infrastructure services, particularly AI data centers and GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS)
In sum – what to know:
5G recovery – SK Telecom added 210,000 handset subscribers in Q1 as wireless revenue rebounded and customer retention initiatives improved performance.
AI infrastructure – AIDC revenue surged 89.3% year over year, driven by higher GPUaaS demand and increased utilization at key data center facilities.
Enterprise expansion – SK Telecom is scaling its AI B2B strategy through new organizational changes, sovereign AI models and broader enterprise-focused AI services.
Korean carrier SK Telecom reported stronger first-quarter results for 2026 as subscriber growth in its 5G mobile business and rapid expansion of its AI data center operations helped support revenue and profitability recovery.
The South Korean operator said its operating income rose to KRW 537.6 billion in the quarter ($370.4 million), down 5.3% year-on-year, marking the first time quarterly operating profit exceeded KRW 500 billion since the first quarter of last year. Consolidated revenue reached KRW 4.392 trillion in Q1, up 1.4% year-on-year, while net profits amounted to KRW 316.4 billion, down 12.5% year-on-year.
SK Telecom said the improvement was driven by a recovery in its wireless business alongside accelerating growth in AI infrastructure services, particularly AI data centers (AIDC) and GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS).
The carrier added approximately 210,000 handset subscribers during the quarter as it pushed customer retention and trust restoration initiatives, while mobile service revenue increased 1.7% quarter over quarter. The company also revamped its membership program and continued restructuring mobile plans to improve customer choice and engagement.
The Asian telco ended the quarter of the year with a total of 17.8 million subscribers in the 5G segment, up 3.2% from 17.24 million in the same period the previous year.
At the same time, SK Telecom is expanding its AI strategy beyond telecom connectivity. Revenue from its AIDC business climbed 89.3% year over year to KRW 131.4 billion, supported by higher utilization rates at facilities including its Gasan data center in Seoul and increasing GPUaaS demand.
The company said it plans to strengthen competitiveness across the full AI infrastructure value chain as demand from global technology firms for AI infrastructure continues to rise.
SK Telecom is also broadening its push into enterprise AI services. The operator said it recently created a new integrated organization reporting directly to the CEO to lead its AI B2B business strategy.
“As the only domestic provider with full-stack capabilities spanning AI infrastructure, models, and services, and drawing on its accumulated experience in the enterprise business, SK Telecom plans to make a full-scale entry into the AI B2B market going forward,” the company said.
In the consumer segment, SK Telecom plans to further integrate AI services with telecom offerings through its AI assistant platform “A.” (A-dot), which the company said will leverage a sovereign AI foundation model designed to compete with leading global models.
“SK Telecom is a two-sided story. The core telecom business is recovering after last year’s cybersecurity issues, with net adds validating marketing efforts and showing the operator’s ability to rebuild trust. In parallel, the AI infrastructure business continues to scale and is now a meaningful contributor. This makes SK Telecom one of the most interesting operators to watch globally,” Rémy Pascal, practice leader of mobile infrastructure at global analyst firm Omdia, told RCR Wireless News.
