💥[Breaking News] SKC Posts KRW 49.6 Billion Operating Loss in Q3…Mobilizes Company-Wide Resources for Glass Substrates to Drive a Turnaround

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SKC reported a consolidated operating loss of KRW 49.6 billion for the third quarter of 2026 (July–September) in its October 28 disclosure, narrowing from an operating loss of KRW 54.9 billion in the same period last year. Revenue increased 26% year over year to KRW 638.9 billion, while net loss amounted to KRW 128.5 billion.

Compared with the previous quarter, revenue declined slightly from KRW 645.4 billion in Q2, while the operating loss widened by KRW 35.2 billion, from KRW 14.4 billion to KRW 49.6 billion.

Ahead of the earnings announcement, securities firms identified inventory losses resulting from the shutdown of SK Nexilis’ Jeongeup plant, estimated by Meritz Securities at approximately KRW 27 billion, as well as initial operating costs and depreciation at new Malaysian facilities, as factors contributing to the deficit. The actual operating loss exceeded estimates from Meritz Securities (-KRW 25.4 billion) and Samsung Securities (-KRW 14.8 billion).

By business segment, the copper foil business continued to struggle. According to Aju Business Daily, the segment recorded revenue of KRW 248.2 billion and an operating loss of KRW 54.4 billion in Q3. The results reflected one-off costs associated with streamlining domestic production facilities and the fixed-cost burden of the Malaysian plant.

In contrast, the semiconductor materials business recorded revenue of KRW 71.8 billion and operating profit of KRW 21.8 billion. Contributing factors included a higher proportion of high-value-added products for AI data centers, increased sales in the non-memory semiconductor segment, and improved profitability of existing memory products. The chemical business also remained profitable for a third consecutive quarter, generating revenue of KRW 317.3 billion and operating profit of KRW 13.4 billion.

SKC also improved its financial structure. Through a rights offering in the first half of the year and equity-like financing by SK Nexilis, the company reduced its debt-to-equity ratio from 233% at the end of last year to 122%.

However, with losses in the copper foil business continuing to weigh on performance, a major challenge remains whether the commercialization of glass substrates, which SKC is pursuing as a next-generation growth business, can translate into future earnings improvement.

Mobilizing Company-Wide Resources for Glass Substrates…Large-Scale Investment Centered on Absolics

The business SKC is prioritizing as a medium- to long-term growth engine is semiconductor glass substrates. While working to improve profitability in its existing copper foil and chemical businesses, SKC is committing substantial capital to commercializing glass substrates for the next-generation semiconductor packaging market.

SKC’s financing and investment decisions this year demonstrate the extent to which the company is concentrating its resources on glass substrates.

In the first half of 2026, SKC raised approximately KRW 1.1671 trillion through a rights offering. It announced plans to invest approximately KRW 590 billion of those proceeds in the glass substrate business in stages over the following three years. Some media outlets, including The Bell and The Elec, reported the rights offering amount as KRW 1.1647 trillion. The reason for the discrepancy between the two figures is Unverified.

At the center of these investments is Absolics, SKC’s U.S.-based glass substrate investment company.

Absolics was established in the United States by SKC in 2021. SKC holds a 70.05% stake, while U.S. semiconductor equipment company Applied Materials (AMAT) owns the remaining 29.95%.

Through Absolics, SKC is pursuing the commercialization process for glass substrates, from building U.S. manufacturing facilities to customer qualification, technology verification, and preparations for mass production.

According to the May 2026 investment prospectus, Absolics’ total planned investment for 2026–2028 amounts to KRW 589.6 billion. Of this, KRW 237.5 billion was allocated to trial operation expenses and KRW 102.6 billion to capital expenditure.

The company also announced plans to execute KRW 37.6 billion in operating expenses (OPEX) as the first phase of its KRW 194.7 billion investment plan for 2026. These funds are intended for customer evaluation and qualification activities, manufacturing personnel, and related operations.

On September 4, SKC’s board of directors resolved to contribute approximately KRW 281 billion to a shareholder rights offering by Absolics. The total amount of Absolics’ rights offering was KRW 401.1 billion, and SKC agreed to acquire 192,416 new shares.

At the time, SKC described the contribution as the first deployment of capital under its approximately KRW 590 billion investment plan for the following three years.

On September 22, SKC subscribed for an additional approximately KRW 92.1 billion. As a result, its total subscription to the Absolics rights offering increased to approximately KRW 373.1 billion, while Absolics secured approximately KRW 400 billion through the offering.

This is significant because SKC is going beyond merely announcing its entry into the glass substrate business and is actually allocating funds needed for customer qualification and commercialization preparations.

However, the approved capital contributions and subscription amounts represent disclosed investment decisions. They should not all be interpreted as current-period expenses or capital expenditures that have already been fully executed.

Key Glass Substrate Investment and Financial Figures

The planned investments, historical cumulative investments, and rights offering subscriptions in the table use different reference periods and measurement bases. They therefore cannot simply be added together to calculate Absolics’ total cumulative investment.

Georgia Manufacturing Plant and U.S. CHIPS Support

Absolics’ manufacturing base is located in Covington, Georgia, United States.

Construction of the Covington plant began in November 2022. It serves as a core facility for glass substrate manufacturing and customer evaluations. The first plant (SVM), covering approximately 12,000 m², was reportedly completed in March 2024.

Reports have also indicated plans to secure annual production capacity of 72,000 m² once the second plant is completed. However, the exact construction start and completion dates for the second plant, as well as the current validity of the stated capacity plan, remain Unverified.

U.S. government support is another foundation for the project.

Absolics entered into a preliminary agreement related to U.S. CHIPS funding on May 23, 2024, and secured a finalized award of up to USD 75 million in direct funding on December 5.

According to the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the support covers a 120,000-square-foot (approximately 11,148 m²) facility in Covington, Georgia, with an estimated capital investment of USD 343 million.

Separately, secondary sources indicate that USD 100 million in research and development support under the U.S. National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP) was also finalized in January 2025.

NIST’s original project timeline called for first customer shipments in 2025 and production capacity coming online in 2027.

However, these were plans presented at the time and do not establish that commercial mass production has begun or that customer revenue has been generated. The mass-production schedule has subsequently been delayed, and the specific current start date remains Unverified.

The total cumulative investment in the Covington plant has also not been verified through official primary sources. Some secondary sources cite USD 600 million, but this cannot be treated as a confirmed amount of investment already made.

Dual-Track Embedded and Non-Embedded Strategy…Comparing SKC's Technology Approach with Samsung Electro-Mechanics

At the core of Absolics’ glass substrate strategy is a dual-track approach pursuing both embedded and non-embedded products.

Glass substrates are attracting attention in advanced semiconductor packaging as a technology that could replace conventional organic substrates or enable new packaging architectures.

NIST explains that Absolics’ glass substrate technology could contribute to reducing power consumption and system complexity while enabling denser, shorter interconnections in semiconductors for AI, high-performance computing, and data centers.

The first approach pursued by Absolics, embedded glass substrates, involves incorporating passive components such as MLCCs inside the substrate and integrating silicon interposer functionality.

During its second-quarter earnings presentation on July 27, 2026, SKC stated that samples of embedded glass substrates produced at its Georgia plant had completed Hammer Tests and preliminary electrical-characteristic evaluations in Japan.

SKC also stated that it had secured “Good Die” units meeting quality standards and had begun initial package-level reliability evaluations in Taiwan.

The company said it expected to receive related feedback as early as the end of the year. However, as of October 28, whether the final evaluation results have been received and customer qualification has been completed remains Unverified.

The second approach, non-embedded glass substrates, replaces the conventional organic core used in FC-BGA packages with glass.

SKC stated that it was pursuing related projects with multiple global customers and aimed to begin proof-of-concept (PoC) testing within the year by participating in supplier selection projects in the second half of 2026.

However, whether supplier selection has been completed or PoC testing has begun remains Unverified.

Competitor Samsung Electro-Mechanics is also pursuing a glass substrate business.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics officially announced its entry into the business at CES 2024 and established a pilot line in Sejong, South Korea. It has reportedly supplied prototypes to two or three major technology customers and is targeting mass production in 2027. Some reports place the production timeline in 2027–2028.

Reports in November 2025 also stated that Samsung Electro-Mechanics had decided to establish a glass-core joint venture (JV) with Sumitomo Chemical and Dongwoo Fine-Chem.

The differences between the two companies can be seen in their publicly disclosed approaches.

SKC is pursuing embedded and non-embedded products simultaneously through Absolics’ production facilities in Georgia. In particular, it highlights embedded technology that incorporates passive components and integrates interposer functionality as a differentiating factor.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics, by contrast, is developing glass substrate technology primarily through its Sejong pilot line, supplying prototypes to customers, and preparing for mass production.

However, the currently available disclosures do not allow a direct comparison of the two companies’ yields, manufacturing costs, customer qualification levels, or mass-production competitiveness. Nor do they establish that either company’s technology is superior.

LG Innotek is also pursuing a glass substrate business with Gumi as its production base. At CES 2026, CEO Moon Hyuk-soo projected that sufficient market demand would emerge around 2030, pushing back the company’s previous 2027–2028 outlook.

Intel unveiled glass substrate prototypes in 2023 and had targeted adoption around 2030. However, reports in 2025 indicated that it was considering withdrawing from internal development.

TSMC is prioritizing CoPoS technology over glass substrates, with related mass-production plans targeting the second half of 2028.

Technology development and customer validation are progressing across the industry, but companies differ in their mass-production schedules and commercialization strategies.

Some media reports have described Absolics using expressions such as “pursuing the world’s first mass production of embedded glass substrates,” “the world’s first semiconductor glass substrate factory,” and “completion of the world’s first glass substrate mass-production plant.”

However, these are descriptions used in individual media reports and do not mean that commercial mass production or revenue from mass-produced products has been verified.

Absolics’ production timeline was initially delayed from 2024 to 2025. In June 2026, reports stated that SKC had acknowledged difficulties in specifying a mass-production date. Some secondary sources project actual mass production to begin in 2027 or later.

Accordingly, the technological progress that can currently be confirmed extends to prototype production, preliminary testing, entry into reliability evaluation, and preparations for customer technology verification. The start date for commercial mass production remains Unverified.

Market Growth Expected…Earnings Improvement Depends on Customer Qualification and Production Yields

Growing demand for AI semiconductors and high-performance computing, together with advances in semiconductor packaging technology, is driving interest in glass substrates.

According to projections published by market research firm Counterpoint Research in a 2026 report, the combined market for fan-out panel-level packaging (FO-PLP) and glass substrates is expected to grow from approximately USD 650 million in 2024 to more than USD 8.1 billion by 2030.

That represents approximately 12.5 times the 2024 market size.

However, this forecast covers FO-PLP and glass substrates combined and must not be interpreted as the market size for glass substrates alone.

Independent research firm Growth Research projected that the glass substrate market would increase from USD 23 million in 2024 to USD 4.2 billion in 2034.

However, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% stated in the related article is inconsistent with the accompanying market size figures and is therefore classified as Unverified.

Forecasts for commercialization timing also vary.

TrendForce expects full-scale mass production of glass substrates to take place after 2030. LG Innotek also anticipates sufficient market demand emerging around 2030.

Therefore, forecasts for overall market expansion should not be equated with the timing at which individual companies will begin generating mass-production revenue.

SKC has also indicated that it will prioritize product quality and yield improvements over large-scale capacity expansion in the near term.

During the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings presentation, CFO Park Dong-joo stated that SKC’s short-term priority in glass substrates was achieving quality and yield targets rather than significantly expanding production capacity. Additional expansion would be pursued after customer evaluations.

This indicates that Absolics is currently focusing on customer qualification and product reliability rather than expanding production capacity itself.

From an earnings perspective, these commercialization preparations are also generating costs.

SKC’s new businesses segment, which includes glass substrates, recorded an operating loss of KRW 17.9 billion in Q2 2026. Investments in customer evaluation and qualification, trial operations, and manufacturing personnel are also continuing.

However, the KRW 17.9 billion figure represents the operating loss of the broader new businesses segment, which includes glass substrates, rather than a separately disclosed loss attributable solely to glass substrates.

The specific profit or loss attributable to the glass substrate business within SKC’s KRW 49.6 billion operating loss in Q3 2026 remains Unverified. There is also no direct evidence that the glass substrate business improved the company’s Q3 earnings.

The confirmed positive contributors in the third-quarter segment results include operating profit of KRW 21.8 billion from semiconductor materials and KRW 13.4 billion from chemicals. By contrast, the copper foil business posted an operating loss of KRW 54.4 billion.

Rather than being confirmed as a business currently contributing profits, glass substrates remain at a stage requiring investment and evaluation expenditures in preparation for commercialization.

Regarding its third-quarter results, SKC stated that improvements in the underlying competitiveness of its businesses and signs of an earnings turnaround were becoming clearer. The company is also focusing on reliability evaluation and securing production yields in glass substrates.

However, this company assessment must be distinguished from a claim that glass substrates have already contributed to an improvement in consolidated operating results.

For the glass substrate business to support SKC’s future earnings improvement, the company will need to complete customer qualification, obtain technology verification results, establish a mass-production schedule, achieve sufficient yields, and begin generating commercial revenue.

Based on information disclosed to date, SKC’s glass substrate strategy is focused on large-scale financing, establishing a U.S. manufacturing base, and preparing for commercialization through technology validation.

The planned investment of approximately KRW 590 billion and participation in Absolics’ rights offering demonstrate that SKC is directing substantial management resources and capital toward the glass substrate business. However, the timing of actual revenue and profit generation has not yet been confirmed.

Q3 Earnings Improvement Challenges and Upcoming Schedule

SKC’s third-quarter results showed a smaller operating loss than a year earlier, but a wider deficit compared with the previous quarter.

In the copper foil business, SKC is pursuing a transition toward a Malaysia-centered production and sales system while strengthening cost competitiveness.

SK Nexilis’ Malaysian subsidiary expects to turn profitable at the operating level in Q4, supported by improving electric vehicle copper foil sales, expanding demand in the North American energy storage system (ESS) market, and the gradual reflection of selling price increases. This is the company’s forecast, and whether it is achieved must be confirmed in future financial results.

The semiconductor materials and chemical businesses are already generating operating profits, while the glass substrate business continues commercialization preparations centered on customer evaluations, technology verification, and yield improvements.

SKC’s priorities therefore differ by business segment. The company is working to improve profitability in its existing businesses while preparing to turn its investment in glass substrates through Absolics into tangible business results.

SKC is holding an earnings presentation for investors on the afternoon of October 28, followed by a separate investor relations session on the morning of October 29.

At present, the third-quarter profit and loss figures for the copper foil, semiconductor materials, and chemical businesses have been confirmed through Aju Business Daily’s reporting. However, the detailed third-quarter results of the new businesses segment, which includes glass substrates, remain Unverified.

In addition, further explanations that may be presented during the Q3 investor relations session—including whether glass substrate reliability evaluation results have been received, the outcome of non-embedded substrate supplier selection, customer qualification, and the mass-production schedule—remain Unverified.

SKC plans to continue investing in the commercialization of glass substrates while working to restore profitability in its existing businesses. However, the point at which investment commitments and projected market growth will translate into actual earnings improvement has not yet been established.

※ This article summarizes industry and corporate developments based on disclosures, press releases, and media reports published as of October 28, 2026, together with previously released information. It does not constitute investment advice. Company plans and forecasts have been distinguished from confirmed results, and information that could not be verified is marked “Unverified.”

Sources: [Yonhap News Agency (2026.10.28)], [EToday (2026.7.28)], [Newspim (2026.10.22)], [SKC IR], Aju Business Daily (2026.10.28), SKC Newsroom (2026.9.4), SKC Newsroom (2026.9.22), U.S. Department of Commerce CHIPS (2024.12.5), NIST CHIPS Absolics, The Bell IR Briefing (2026.7.27), The Elec (2026.7.27), BusinessKorea (2026.9), Market Ink citing Counterpoint Research, ZDNet Korea (2026.1.10), Techworld, InvestNews, Weekly Silicon (secondary source), Growth Research (2025.8.11).pdf)