Nice Investors Service Upgrades LG Uplus Credit Rating to AA+

by Kim Youngwon

Published 09 Feb.2026 16:40(KST)

"Sales Growth Continues on the Back of an Expanding Subscriber Base"

Nice Investors Service announced on the 9th that it will upgrade LG Uplus's long-term credit rating from AA to AA+.

As the main basis for the rating adjustment, Nice Investors Service stated, "LG Uplus has been maintaining its sales growth on the back of an expanding subscriber base and an increasing trend in data usage," adding, "The company is expected to continue its gradual growth in scale through sustained growth in data demand and the expansion of its B2B business base, including entrusted operation of IDCs."

Yonhap News Agency

It also said, "Profitability is expected to improve on the back of the streamlining of low-profit businesses and cost reductions such as marketing expenses," and explained, "Even after the repeal of the Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act, telecom operators' marketing expenses have remained at a lower level than in the past. Taking into account this factor, as well as the expected reduction in labor costs resulting from workforce efficiency measures, the company is likely to show improving profitability over the short to medium term."

Nice Investors Service also evaluated that LG Uplus will continue its trend of improving its financial structure. It stated, "As of the end of last year, the company had a very strong financial structure, with a consolidated debt-to-equity ratio of 117.1% and a dependence on interest-bearing debt of 35.8%. Thanks to strong earnings generation and reduced CAPEX following the completion of 5G investments, the company generated free cash flow and reduced its total interest-bearing debt from 7.3761 trillion won at the end of 2023 to 7.0369 trillion won at the end of last year." It went on to say, "Although cash outflows are expected due to increased shareholder returns and investments in AI going forward, we believe the company can respond to these on the basis of its stable cash-generating capability and continue the trend of improving its financial structure."

In addition, Nice Investors Service noted, "Monitoring is necessary because the results of the ongoing investigation into the suspected personal information leak and the follow-up measures could cause fluctuations in earnings. However, considering the company's sales scale and precedents at other companies, we believe the impact of this issue on its financial structure and creditworthiness will be limited."