SYDNEY, June 18, 2026, 04:05 AEST
- Telstra ended Wednesday at A$5.08, slipping 0.78%. The S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.54% to finish at 8,966.30.
- Citi began coverage of Telstra at Hold with a A$5.50 target price on June 17. The average target among 14 analysts was A$5.284, with consensus at Neutral.
- Telstra’s next event is its annual results on Aug. 13. The results come as TPG picked up Swoop and Moose Mobile as wholesale customers, turning the spotlight onto mobile competition.
Telstra Group shares slipped Wednesday, trailing the stronger Australian market. Investors remain cautious, looking for more signs that the telecom player can keep growing its mobile earnings ahead of August results.
Telstra shares finished at A$5.08, slipping 0.78%. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.54% to close at 8,966.30. The main index rallied but Telstra lagged, ending under its latest peaks.
The Australian cash market was closed at the dateline time, ahead of the next scheduled ASX session. Regular trading on the ASX typically runs from 09:59:45 through 16:00 Sydney time, then the market goes into its closing phase, based on ASX trading hours.
Telstra’s reputation as a defensive yield play is getting tested, with the stock now looking less forgiving if mobile trends dip. Citi started its coverage June 17 at Hold and a A$5.50 price target, Investing.com showed. Fourteen analysts on average were at Neutral, targeting A$5.284, which is roughly 4% over where shares closed on Wednesday.
ASX 200 climbs again as risk appetite lifts market
The ASX 200 added about 49 points on Wednesday, heading higher for a fourth straight day and hitting a two-month high. Investors bought on the back of stronger global risk appetite and after the Reserve Bank of Australia held the cash rate at 4.35% this week.
Telstra will report its annual results on Aug. 13. The ex-dividend date is Aug. 26, when buyers won’t get the latest dividend. The final dividend is due for payment Sept. 24.
Telstra’s latest earnings update set a clear bar ahead of the next one. CEO Vicki Brady said the first-half FY26 numbers showed “strong cost control and disciplined capital management.” Mobile service revenue climbed 5.6%. Mobile EBITDA grew by A$93 million. Telstra.com
Telstra lifted its on-market buyback to up to A$1.25 billion and tightened its FY26 underlying EBITDAaL outlook to between A$8.2 billion and A$8.4 billion. EBITDAaL is EBITDA after lease costs, a metric used by telecom companies with big network or site leases.
TPG Telecom has signed Swoop as a wholesale mobile partner this week, bringing about 135,000 Moose Mobile users onto TPG’s bigger mobile network. The company says the network now covers 98.5% of Australians. TPG exec Jonathan Rutherford called the deal one that’s “driving greater competition and giving Australians more choice.” Competition still feels like the sticking point in all this. iTWire
It’s not a direct blow to the Telstra premium brand, but smaller and value players are putting pressure on the sector as they expand coverage. Telstra continues to bank on network quality and size. Investors remain focused on average revenue per user, or ARPU, to see what customers are actually paying.
The setup has risk on both sides. If mobile revenue doesn’t slip and guidance gets reaffirmed in August, dividend and buyback plans could stand. But if discounting picks up or ARPU weakens, the stock—already showing just modest consensus upside—could drop again.
