Telus said it is resetting its quarterly dividend, cutting the annualized payout by 55% as it focuses on debt reduction.
The company now expects:
2026 service revenue: flat to down 2%, versus up 2% to 4% previously
2026 adjusted EBITDA: down 2% to 4%, versus up 2% to 4% previously
2026 free cash flow: about C$1.8 billion, versus about C$2.5 billion previously
Drivers behind the weaker quarter
The company pointed to several factors behind the results:
TELUS Digital weakness — lower external revenues, including client ramp-downs and unfavorable currency impacts, weighed on service revenue and EBITDA.
Mobile ARPU pressure — mobile phone average revenue per user continued to decline, though at a slower rate, due to lower-priced rate plans, competitive promotions and lower roaming revenues.
Cost reduction efforts — workforce reductions and cost transformation programs, including synergies from TELUS Digital privatization, helped offset some margin pressure.
Q2 loss driven by impairment charge
Canada's Telus posted a second-quarter net loss of C$1.83 billion, driven by a C$2.1 billion non-cash impairment charge.
Q2 consolidated service revenue fell 1% year over year.
Adjusted EBITDA declined 2%.
The company said the impairment reflected a lower recoverable amount from the TELUS Digital cash-generating unit.
Key quarterly figures and analyst view
Metric
Actual
Q2 Net Loss
C$1.83 bln
Q2 Adjusted EBITDA
C$1.78 bln
Q2 EBITDA
C$1.59 bln
Analyst coverage showed the shares currently carry an average rating of hold, with 7 strong buy or buy, 8 hold, and 3 sell or strong sell recommendations.
The average consensus recommendation for the integrated telecommunications services peer group is buy. Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Telus Corporation is C$19.00, about 26% above its July 30 closing price of C$15.08. The stock recently traded at 16 times next-12-month earnings, versus 19 times three months ago.
TU•
