Telus Is Adding Customers but the Pricing War Is Squeezing Its Bottom Line

Telus dropped its first quarter results for 2026 on Friday, and the headline number is 262,000 new mobile and fixed connections added in what the company called an intensely competitive market. Telus was the last of the Big 3 to share their first quarter earnings.

On the wireless side, Telus brought in 428,000 gross mobile phone additions, up 89,000 from the same time last year. Net new subscribers landed at just 12,000 though, which tells you everything you need to know about how hard carriers are fighting to steal each other’s customers right now. Connected devices like fleet trackers and logistics hardware added another 229,000 net connections.

Financially it was a bit of a mixed bag, as total revenue slipped 1 per cent to $5.0 billion, weighed down by slower equipment sales and softer business-to-business revenues. Net income took a bigger hit, falling 52 per cent to $144 million due to restructuring costs and higher financing expenses. Free cash flow jumped 19 per cent to $583 million on the back of lower taxes and tighter spending.

The average monthly bill per subscriber came in at $56.56, down 1 per cent year over year. Blame the promotional pricing war and lower roaming revenues, though Telus said more people upgrading to unlimited and Canada-U.S.-Mexico plans helped cushion the blow.

Churn climbed to 1.35 per cent from 1.06 per cent a year ago. More people are switching and Telus isn’t the only one feeling it. The whole industry is in the middle of a pricing war right now, and you can largely thank Freedom Mobile for keeping the pressure on.

Away from its core telecom business, Telus Health grew service revenue 11 per cent and now covers nearly 170 million people globally. The company’s first Sovereign AI Factory in Quebec is already at full capacity, with a second one coming to B.C. soon. Telus says it’s focused on paying down debt and looking at potential partnerships in its health division to help move that along.