VEON Raises 2026 Guidance Floor After Third-Quarter Revenue Growth of 17.2%
Key Facts
VEON raised the lower end of its 2026 revenue and EBITDA growth guidance after reporting third-quarter revenue of $1.307 billion, up 17.2% year over year. In its earnings statement, the company said revenue growth is now expected to be between 16% and 18%, compared with a previous range of 15% to 18%. It also raised its EBITDA growth outlook to 10%–12% from 9%–12%. The company kept its capital expenditure intensity forecast, excluding Ukraine, at 15%–17% of revenue. The guidance revision comes as digital growth outpaced telecom and infrastructure revenue in the quarter.
Third-quarter EBITDA was $577 million, up 10.1% year over year, while like-for-like revenue rose 15.8% and like-for-like EBITDA grew 9.8%. VEON said like-for-like profit for the period increased 2.4%, a measure that excludes the effect of comparison changes defined by the company. Group net profit was $225 million, of which $187 million was attributable to VEON shareholders. Diluted earnings per ADS were $2.67. In the first nine months, revenue rose 17.1% to $3.779 billion, and EBITDA increased 11.0% to $1.645 billion.
Digital was the fastest-growing revenue driver, with revenue up 45.9% to $355 million, accounting for 27.2% of group revenue, an increase of 5.4 percentage points year over year. Digital EBITDA rose 54.5% to $128 million, with a margin of 36.0%. By comparison, telecom and infrastructure revenue grew 9.2% to $952 million. Average monthly revenue per mobile user increased 4.7% to $1.8. The chief executive said the telecom business continues to perform and the digital business is becoming more profitable as it scales.
Financial services added to digital growth, with revenue up 54.2% to $166 million in the third quarter. In the first nine months, revenue from this business reached $451 million, up 48.2% year over year. The company said free cash flow was $201 million in the quarter, down 33.8% from the year-earlier period. But free cash flow grew 91.8% excluding proceeds from asset sales. The divergence places growth in cash flow excluding the impact of those proceeds alongside the decline in the reported figure.
Cash and cash equivalents totaled $2.033 billion on September 30, including $755 million at headquarters, while leverage stood at 1.05 times. Under its share buyback program, VEON repurchased 1.55 million ADSs for $112.5 million, out of a total program of 2.9 million ADSs. The company had canceled 1.08 million ADSs, representing 1.5% of issued shares, as of October 20. The chief executive told Reuters the company would continue buying back at least $200 million of shares annually. He added that the canceled shares would not be reissued.
The previous quarter's results included revenue of $1.271 billion in the second quarter, up 17.0% year over year, while EBITDA reached $552 million, growing 6.2%. In a separate comment to Reuters, the chief executive said data usage in Bangladesh fell 15% during the year, despite the company having expected it to rise by about 40%. He linked the decline to power cuts that halted factories and strained mobile networks. He also said Starlink satellite connectivity reached 13.2 million subscribers in VEON markets. Support for the service on iPhone handsets was expected in about a month, subject to an update from Apple.
VEON set November 16, 2026, for its Capital Markets Day, where its chief executive said the company would present plans to continue growing value. The company was scheduled to hold its third-quarter earnings call on the day of its announcement, November 6, at 16:00 Gulf time, corresponding to 7:00 a.m. Eastern time. The company has therefore set a near-term date to present its plans to investors after raising its revenue and EBITDA guidance ranges. The event follows quarterly results that combined strong digital growth with slower growth in telecom and infrastructure revenue. The figures also showed a decline in reported free cash flow, alongside growth excluding proceeds from asset sales.