SK스퀘어

Business Overview & Portfolio Restructuring

SK Square is an investment holding company established in November 2021 through a spin-off from SK Telecom, and received approval for its holding company conversion from the Korea Fair Trade Commission in December 2021 (media compilation, A). Its business segments consist of the investment business, the commerce business (11st), the platform business (ONE store · SK Planet · Dreamus Company), and the mobility business (Tmap Mobility · FSK L&S); as part of a 2026 organizational streamlining, INCROSS was transferred to SK Networks and a portion of the stake in Dreamus Company was transferred to BeMyFriends.

In 2026, the existing portfolio management organization was reorganized into the Strategic Investment Center (SIC), and Choi Jae-won, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation, joined SK Square as Vice Chairman. 11st was incorporated as a subsidiary of SK Planet on 2025-10-29, restructuring it into an SK Square grandchild company (converting from an 80.3% direct holding to a holding via SK Planet), and the 45.78% stake in ONE store was sold in full to Nexus on 2026-06-29, removing it as a holding-company subsidiary (DART filing receipt no. 20260629801078, A).

5-Year Financial Trend

For full-year 2025, consolidated revenue was KRW 1.4115tn, operating profit KRW 8.7974tn, and net income KRW 8.8187tn, roughly doubling year-on-year. Revenue itself is relatively small, reflecting the holding company's reliance on subsidiary dividends and service-fee income, while operating profit and net income are overwhelmingly driven by equity-method gains from SK hynix. Full annual financial statement figures for 2021-2023 were not obtained in this research (not obtained).

Valuation

SK Square's net asset value (NAV) is KRW 309.3tn (2,344,035 KRW per share, as of 2026-07-15 IR, A), of which the value of its SK hynix stake accounts for an overwhelming KRW 304.18tn (98.3%). The discount, calculated by dividing the reference-date market capitalization (KRW 160.75tn, 2026-07-16 close) by NAV, is approximately 48.0% under direct calculation, while media reports show a range of 45.1%-49.6% depending on the source (differences in reference date and NAV calculation method; a mix of E/A).

Peer Group — NAV Discount

SK Square is a pure investment holding company with no direct business competitors; comparison targets are divided between large domestic holding companies (for NAV discount comparison) and SK hynix itself (given its relationship as the asset accounting for about 98% of NAV).

SK Square has one of the lowest discounts among the five peer holding companies compared. Against a holding-company average P/B of 1.6x and ROE of 5%, SK Square's P/B of 3.95-5.78x (varies by reference date) and ROE of 37.8% (year-end 2025) are substantially higher, which some assessments attribute to the surge in the value of its SK hynix stake (media compilation, A).

Supply & Demand Trends (Estimates)

Cumulative net trading (estimate, E) over the 10 trading days from 2026-07-03 to 2026-07-16 was +404,507 shares for foreign investors, -412,042 shares for institutions, and +4,364 shares for individuals, showing net foreign inflows against net institutional outflows in opposite directions. Short-selling (transactions using borrowed shares) is estimated at 3.85% (E) as of 2026-07-16, and the foreign ownership ratio is estimated at 45.76% (E). The figures above are estimates based on an unofficial aggregator (alphasquare.co.kr), since official KRX data login was not configured, and the 2026-06-19 to 2026-07-02 period was not obtained (not obtained).

Governance & Shareholder Returns

The largest shareholder is SK Inc., with a 32.14% stake (as of 2026-03-31, cross-checked against the business report and quarterly report, A); of the 132,087,115 total shares issued, treasury shares number 210,802 (about 0.16%, as of 2025-12-31). Among shareholders holding 5% or more, the National Pension Service is confirmed at 8.80% (based on a 2026-01-02 large-holding report, the latest confirmed figure with no subsequent report).

The 2026 shareholder return plan consists of approximately KRW 200bn in cash dividends and KRW 100-110bn in share buybacks (figures vary by source), a policy of allocating 30% or more of dividend income to share buybacks and cash dividends. On 2026-03-25, the board resolved to retire 128,729 common shares through profit-based retirement (scheduled retirement date 2026-04-01), a method that reduces only the total number of shares issued without reducing paid-in capital. Over the same period, SK hynix carried out capital raising through the issuance of Nasdaq depositary receipts (ADR) (2,555,000 new shares, issue price of 255,500 KRW per DR, subscription/payment date 2026-07-14, with proceeds earmarked for capital expenditure).

Macro Environment

• DRAM contract prices are projected to rise +67% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2026 and +32% quarter-on-quarter in Q3, reflecting a continuing memory-price upcycle (report citing UBS research, 2026-07-04, E).
• As SK hynix accounts for about 98% of SK Square's total NAV, HBM and AI-server memory demand along with the scale of Big Tech capital expenditure are cited as the most direct variables affecting the value of SK Square's stake (media compilation, mix of E/A).
• The US policy rate stands at 3.50-3.75% (held at the 2026-06-17 FOMC meeting, A), while the Bank of Korea raised its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 2.75% on 2026-07-16 (the first hike in 14 months, A). The KRW/USD exchange rate is around 1,493.7 KRW (2026-07-19, A).
• While the core framework of US semiconductor export controls on China, including HBM, remains in place, reports in July 2026 also signaled a partial resumption of small-volume exports for some items (a mixed factor, A).

Recent Share Price Moves & News

• 2026-07-13: The KOSPI plunged -8.95% (closing at 6,806.93), triggering a circuit breaker, and SK Square fell -14.98% (to 1,198,000 KRW). Reports cited Middle East geopolitical risk, caution around AI investment, and foreign profit-taking related to the SK hynix ADR as background factors (A).
• 2026-07-15: Following a surge in the SK hynix Nasdaq ADR after the release of the US June CPI, SK Square briefly rose +17.39% (to 1,397,000 KRW) from the previous close during the morning session (A).
• 2026-07-10: SK hynix's securities registration statement with Korea's Financial Services Commission took effect, finalizing terms of 17.79 million new shares, an issue price of 2,249,751 KRW, and proceeds of KRW 40.0230tn (new shares scheduled to list on 2026-07-29, A, primary filing).
• 2026-06-29: Payment and asset transfer were completed for Nexus's acquisition of an 89.03% stake in ONE store (including SK Square's 45.78%) (A, primary filing).

Risk Factors

• With about 98% of NAV concentrated in a single stake in SK hynix (SK hynix also accounted for 100% of dividend income in Q1 2026), some assessments describe this as an effectively single-stock concentrated exposure structure (media compilation, A).
• The memory semiconductor industry is cyclical by nature; SK hynix in fact recorded an operating loss of KRW 7.7303tn in 2023, which was directly reflected in SK Square's equity-method gains/losses (A).
• Credit rating agencies assess that SK Square's financial stability depends substantially on SK hynix's dividend capacity (as cited in media reports, A; the original rating report itself was not obtained).
• The company has set a target of reducing its NAV discount to 30% or below by 2028, but domestic holding companies' average discount is structurally high, typically in the 50-60% range, so whether this target will be achieved remains to be confirmed.
• As non-core assets (such as 11st and ONE store) continue to be divested, the portfolio composition also carries the structural characteristic of becoming further concentrated toward SK hynix.