TELUS is trying to turn a leveraged Canadian telco into a sovereign-AI-and-health data platform—while racing to deleverage fast enough for the market to believe it.
Overview
TELUS has evolved from a regional Canadian telecom utility into a diversified connectivity-plus technology platform with meaningful exposure to digital health, AI-enabled services, and global customer experience/digital transformation. The company now reports through TELUS Technology Solutions (TTech)—the core wireless/wireline business plus TELUS Health—and TELUS Digital Experience, an enterprise CX/AI/data services unit that was privatized in early 2026 to drive tighter integration and synergies. In 2025 TELUS delivered resilient operating performance: consolidated revenue was ~$20.3B (+1% YoY) supported by record customer growth (1.08M mobile and fixed net adds; 4th straight year above 1M) and continued best-in-class churn outcomes. Financially, the year highlighted improving cash generation despite competitive intensity and higher-rate headwinds, with record free cash flow of ~$2.2B (+11% YoY) aided by EBITDA growth and moderating capex as the fibre build matures. Management’s near-term agenda is two-track: (1) execute an aggressive deleveraging plan (net debt/EBITDA ~3.4x at YE2025, targeting ~3.0x by 2027 via FCF growth and up to ~$7B non-core monetizations), and (2) scale new growth engines—especially sovereign AI—with a stated goal of $2B in AI-enabling revenue by 2028.