Telstra Group Limited

FY26 reported EBITDAaL was $8.2 billion, up 3% year over year; net profit after tax was $2.4 billion, up 2.7%; and earnings per share was $0.199, up 5.3%. On an underlying basis, EBITDAaL was $8.3 billion, up 4%; cash EPS was $0.255, up 14%; underlying ROIC improved to 9%; and operating leverage was 2 percentage points. Cash EBIT increased 8% to $4.7 billion, cash earnings increased 12% to $2.9 billion, and the Board declared a final dividend of $0.105 per share, bringing full-year dividends to $0.21 per share, 10.5% higher on a cash basis. Guidance for FY27 calls for underlying EBITDA of $8.5 billion to $8.8 billion, BAU CapEx of $3.35 billion to $3.65 billion, cash EBIT of $4.75 billion to $4.95 billion, and strategic investment of $0.2 billion to $0.3 billion. Management also said total strategic investment for Aura plus Viasat is now expected to be around $1.8 billion through FY28, versus a prior estimate of around $1.6 billion.

Vicki Brady framed FY26 as a year of strong delivery amid rapid technology and policy change, with AI and digital infrastructure creating both opportunity and uncertainty. She emphasized Telstra’s role in enabling Australia’s digital future through stronger networks, customer experience, and sovereign digital infrastructure, while acknowledging the July outage and committing to transparency and resilience improvements. Her tone was confident but measured, with repeated references to disciplined investment, capital management, and Connected Future 30 targets.

Michael Ackland said the group delivered growth in cash earnings, improved operating efficiency, and higher shareholder returns. He highlighted $55 million of net non-cash impairments and M&A impacts excluded from underlying results, plus $92 million of redundancy costs within product results, and noted that cash EBIT grew to $4.7 billion while cash earnings rose to $2.9 billion. He also pointed to stable underlying net debt at 1.9x despite the buyback, a reduced average cost of debt of 4.8%, and a strong balance sheet supporting both continued investment and the new up-to-$1 billion buyback.

Analysts focused on whether mobile growth can hold if postpaid slows, with management saying the mobile business should be viewed as a portfolio across postpaid, prepaid, wholesale, Boost and Belong, and that cost actions and infrastructure growth provide additional support. Questions also centered on satellite/LEO, domestic roaming, and the ACCC inquiry; Vicki said satellite remains complementary and relatively small today, but Telstra needs access to evolving satellite-to-mobile technology for coverage and resilience, while explicitly rejecting mandated domestic roaming. On Aura, management said the extra spend reflects inflation and project conditions within the original scope, and that the enlarged pipeline supports the mid-teens IRR and around 9-year payback.