New York, June 2, 2026, 15:05 EDT
Millicom International Cellular’s U.S. shares jumped 3.6% to $88.89 Tuesday afternoon, hitting that level for the session high. Investors kept leaning into the Latin America telecom’s cash-return angle. About 913,000 shares changed hands, putting the company’s market value near $15.3 billion.
Millicom shares had already set a 52-week high at $87.31 on Monday, Investing.com said, and the stock had more than doubled over the last year. It broke above that high again on Tuesday.
Dividend clarity, new deals, and the first-quarter numbers are all pulling investors. The quarter brought more revenue growth but also more spending on restructuring and integration. No one single filing is setting the tone here.
Millicom shareholders signed off on a $3 per share dividend at the May 20 annual meeting. The payout will come in four chunks—on or around July 15 and Oct. 15 this year, and Jan. 15 and April 15, 2027. A share buyback plan was also approved.
Millicom posted first-quarter revenue of $1.99 billion, a 45.1% jump as reported, or 4.2% growth when stripping out currency and M&A changes. Adjusted EBITDA rose 35.5% to $857 million. The company’s adjusted EBITDA is before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and some other items.
Millicom CEO Marcelo Benitez said the company was “off to a strong start,” pointing to its Colombia deals for “greater scale, stronger network assets, and a broader customer base.” Millicom has been adding Telefónica’s old Colombian business Coltel and other recently bought assets around the region. GlobeNewswire
Millicom told investors it is aiming for at least $900 million in equity free cash flow by 2026. The company also said it sees year-end leverage near 2.5 times. Both figures use non-IFRS metrics, which are company-defined and not based on International Financial Reporting Standards.
The group is expanding while Telefónica steps back from some Latin American assets. Back in February, Reuters said Telefónica offloaded its Chilean mobile business to NJJ and Millicom for around $1.22 billion. That deal is part of a bigger pullback from markets in Latin America where returns are lower, according to the Spanish operator.
Millicom led gains against some other players Tuesday. América Móvil’s New York stock rose 2.1%. Liberty Latin America’s Class A dropped 0.6%. The iShares Global Communication Services ETF gave up 0.4%.
But there’s risk to the trade. UBS cut Millicom to Neutral from Buy last week, warning the stock already reflects free-cash-flow gains from M&A and pointing to execution risk on Coltel’s restructuring and higher Colombia capex. Millicom’s own Q1 report showed leverage at 2.76 times after deals in Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay.
Markets didn’t move much outside Millicom. SPDR S&P 500 ETF gained 0.1%. Nasdaq Composite dipped a bit earlier, according to Reuters/LSEG data.
Millicom runs under the Tigo name in Latin America, offering mobile, broadband, pay-TV, and financial services. The company reported serving over 69 million mobile and fiber-cable customers as of March 31. That total includes customers from its joint venture in Honduras and its associate in Chile.
