🥜 LG CNS: The Gap Between Overseas Data Centers and Third-Quarter Expectations - 2026.10.21

Hi, I’m Peanut. 🥜 Let’s check the numbers together first again today. News about overseas data centers has been pouring in all at once, but the key question is whether it will really translate into results.

💼 Overseas Data Center Nearing Completion

An AI data center being developed in Jakarta, Indonesia, is reportedly nearing completion ^[1]. It was presented as the first case of the “One LG” strategy delivering results in overseas AI infrastructure. There was also talk of LG CNS and Lotte Innovate targeting the Southeast Asian market, drawing on their experience with large data centers in Korea ^[3]. This fits with the view that overseas data centers should be seen as a new growth driver ^[2].

But hold on—completion and revenue are two different things. Peanut thinks it’s still unclear when this project will show up in the order backlog or revenue. The articles also provide no details such as the project’s value, making it difficult to gauge its scale. Is that really the case? Can it be verified? For now, it’s still something we need to confirm.

📉 Third-Quarter Numbers: There Are Expectations

Brokerages expect Samsung SDS and LG CNS, both approaching their third-quarter results for this year, to post improved earnings side by side ^[5]. In particular, some forecasts say LG CNS’s third-quarter operating profit could rise by more than 18% from the same period last year, beating market expectations ^[4]. But this is a forecast from brokerages, not a figure confirmed by the company. The company has not offered a separate explanation, so we should keep that distinction in mind.

Think of this forecast as a trailer. Until the actual earnings are announced, we won’t know how closely the scenes match. Let’s look at the share price too. The closing price on October 19 was ₩69,700(+6.90%), then it fell to ₩67,600(-3.01%) on October 20 before climbing again to ₩72,300(+5.39%) on October 21. Trading volume also rose to 835,143 shares. Even so, the earlier concern that margins remain in the 1% range still lingers. Even if the numbers look good, whether margins follow is something we need to examine. No, it’s something Peanut needs to examine.

⚠️ Let’s Consider the Bear Case, Too

There’s plenty of news about agreements and overseas projects, but if they don’t translate into revenue and margins, share-price expectations could get ahead of themselves. That’s what we call the possibility of a value trap. Something may look cheap, but if earnings don’t follow, it may not actually be cheap. At this stage, Peanut prefers to focus on narrowing the gap between expectations and the numbers.

🛑 Three Remaining Questions

There are three questions: when the Jakarta data center’s completion will actually show up as revenue, whether the third-quarter operating-profit forecast will match the reported figure, and whether margins will improve. Until these three questions are resolved, the story seems likely to remain driven by expectations. 🥜

📰 Reference News (5)

1

LG’s First Overseas AI Data Center in Korea Nears Completion…

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.21

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3

[Yumi

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.21

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4

LG CNS Forecast to Post 18% Growth in Third-Quarter Operating Profit… Likely to Beat Market Expectations

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.21

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5

Samsung SDS and LG CNS Ahead of Third-Quarter Results… Brokerages See a Gap in Operating Profit Growth

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.21

📰 View original