SYDNEY, May 15, 2026, 07:06 (AEST)
Telstra Group Limited has moved within about A$140 million of its A$1.25 billion on-market buyback limit, after buying a further 1.14 million ordinary shares on May 14, a daily market filing showed. An on-market buyback means the company buys its own shares through normal stock-market trading.
That matters now because the programme is in its last scheduled stretch. Telstra’s notice lists a proposed end date of June 30, and figures in the filing put total consideration paid or payable at about A$1.11 billion, or roughly 89% of the cap.
The capital return is also landing just after a live pricing test in Telstra’s core mobile business. From May 5, Telstra raised most postpaid mobile plans by A$4 a month and most prepaid plans by about A$5, sharpening the focus on customer losses and price competition from Optus and TPG.
Thursday’s notice said Telstra had bought 218.24 million shares before the latest trading day and another 1.14 million on the day, taking the total to 219.38 million. The May 14 purchases cost A$6.05 million, with prices between A$5.26 and A$5.32 a share.
Barrenjoey Markets is acting as broker. The filing said Telstra had 11.385 billion ordinary shares on issue in the class being bought back.
Telstra lifted the buyback to A$1.25 billion in February, when it also tightened full-year underlying EBITDAaL guidance to A$8.2 billion-A$8.4 billion. EBITDAaL is operating earnings after lease amortisation, a telecom measure used to track profit before financing costs and tax.
The February result put mobile back at the centre of the story. Telstra reported profit to shareholders of about A$1.1 billion for the half, up 9%, and said mobile service revenue rose 5.6%, with mobile EBITDA up 4% to A$2.7 billion.
Chief Executive Vicki Brady, announcing the additional buyback last August, said Telstra was focused on “continuing to deliver value for our shareholders,” while balancing investment in the business and capital returns. The company said then that the timing and amount of repurchases would depend on market conditions. Telstra.com
Zavier Wong, market analyst at eToro, called Telstra “one of the most defensive names on the ASX” after the February result, pointing to its dividend appeal and steadier earnings profile. Defensive stocks are those investors often expect to hold up better when growth slows. MarketScreener
The network edge remains real, and costly. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest mobile infrastructure report showed Telstra had 11,767 mobile sites and 6,421 5G sites in 2025, ahead of Optus and TPG. That gap helps Telstra defend premium pricing, but it also gives rivals a blunt attack line: cheaper plans.
But the buyback is not locked in. Telstra said in the filing it would only buy shares when it considered the purchases beneficial to efficient capital management, and it reserved the right to suspend or terminate the programme at any time.
The next marker is Telstra’s annual results on Aug. 13. Investors will look for evidence that the May price rises are flowing into mobile revenue without a damaging lift in customer losses, and that cash earnings can keep supporting dividends and capital returns.
