Telenor ASA

Group service revenues were NOK 14.7 billion, down 0.7% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA was around NOK 8 billion, down 4.8%, while free cash flow before M&A was NOK 1.8 billion, up 13% year over year, adjusted EPS was NOK 1.94, down 12%, CapEx-to-sales was 14.5%, and leverage ended at 1.4x. On an underlying comparable basis, service revenue growth was 0.3% and EBITDA decline was 2.3%; reported EBITDA was also affected by NOK 337 million of workforce reduction and restructuring costs. For 2026, Telenor now expects Nordic organic service revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth of flat to low single digit, Nordics CapEx-to-sales around 14%, and group organic adjusted EBITDA growth of flat to slightly negative. Management said the guidance excludes prior-year items such as the TV VAT provision.

Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer said the quarter was mixed operationally but marked important strategic steps: strengthening the Nordic franchise, advancing transformation, and sharpening the portfolio. She emphasized that Telenor is becoming a “simpler, more Nordic-centric, and more profitable” company, and said the long-term strategic direction and financial ambitions are unchanged despite the 2026 outlook cut. Her tone was constructive but candid about tougher competition in Norway, Finland, and Bangladesh, while stressing confidence in the transformation plan and in future cost efficiency.

Torbjørn Wist framed Q2 as a quarter of tough comps, timing effects, the Norway TV VAT provision, and weak market conditions, with reported EBITDA and EPS lower year over year but free cash flow before M&A still up to NOK 1.8 billion. He said the Nordic EBITDA decline of 3.1% was distorted by temporary IT transformation spend and that underlying Nordic EBITDA was up 0.6% on a comparable basis. He also highlighted balance-sheet strength with net interest-bearing debt of NOK 51.5 billion, leverage at 1.4x, total free cash flow of NOK 2 billion, and buybacks of 2.9 million shares for NOK 0.4 billion in June, while pointing to future OpEx savings from the reorganization and Norway cloud migration.

Analysts focused heavily on the guidance cut, whether Norway’s “More for More” strategy has structural limits, and how much of the IT-stack transformation cost is temporary versus permanent. Management said Norway’s weak quarter was driven by more aggressive promotional activity, staggered price increases, softer uptake of Services First products, and higher transition IT costs, but insisted the strategy still stands and that the new cloud-native platform should bring significant future benefits. Questions also centered on capital allocation, with management reiterating a strong commitment to dividends and the NOK 15 billion buyback program, while saying any additional shareholder returns or M&A would depend on board decisions. In Sweden, management said Bahnhof still requires regulatory approval; in Bangladesh, they said second-half recovery remains uncertain and there is no new spectrum-auction detail yet.