Sydney, March 13, 2026, 11:00 AEDT
The latest ASX quote for Telstra Group (TLS) showed the shares at A$5.12, down 0.2%. A March 12 filing showed the telecoms company had repurchased another 1.95 million shares for A$9.99 million under its on-market buyback. 1
The update matters because the buyback has moved to the centre of the Telstra stock story. After last month’s stronger half-year result, the board lifted the program to A$1.25 billion and raised the interim dividend to 10.5 Australian cents a share, 90.5% franked — meaning most of the payout carries tax credits for Australian investors. 2
Even with that slip, Telstra looked steadier than much of the market in the last full session. The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 1.31% at 8,629, while rival TPG Telecom fell 1.27% to A$3.89. 3
Chief Executive Vicki Brady said the buyback should support earnings and dividend per share growth, and told investors Telstra’s aim was a “sustainable and growing dividend.” Zavier Wong, market analyst at eToro, called the company “one of the most defensive names on the ASX” after the result. 2
There was also a fresh commercial win. Bendigo Bank said on March 12 it had entered a five-year telecommunications arrangement with Telstra to support its business and national retail network, with Chief Technology Officer Kieran O’Meara saying the deal would let the bank operate “more simply and efficiently.” 4
But some of the easier optimism runs into regulation. Telstra said this week that a draft standard from the Australian Communications and Media Authority would classify signals below -115 dBm — a measure of reception strength — as “no coverage,” even though Telstra says 1.5 million customers use that level of coverage each month and about 57,000 emergency calls a year are made there. In the same post, the company took aim at TPG Telecom’s testing for the consultation. 5
Spectrum — the radio airwaves used to carry mobile traffic — is the other live fight. Telstra said in a March 4 policy paper that the regulator’s preferred renewal pricing would leave the industry paying an extra A$4.1 billion above fair market value, with about A$1.6 billion of that falling on Telstra; on the February results call, Brady said there was still about an A$1.3 billion gap between Telstra’s view of fair value for the spectrum due for renewal and the regulator’s. 6
For now, investors still appear focused on capital returns. Telstra reported a 9.4% rise in first-half profit in February, narrowed its full-year earnings outlook and is due to pay its interim dividend on March 27. The question is whether buybacks and payouts can keep doing the work if regulatory costs start to climb. 7
