Is Telia Company profitable in 2026?

Yes. Telia reported Q2 2026 adjusted EBITDA growth of 3.4% and service revenue growth of 2.8%, its fastest in four years, both ahead of full-year guidance, per results released July 17, 2026.

Who owns Telia Company?

The Swedish state, via the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, is the largest shareholder with roughly 39.5% as of July 24, 2026. Finland's Solidium fully exited its stake in 2018, leaving Sweden as the dominant state shareholder.

Could AI replace Telia Company's business?

No. Telia's moat is physical spectrum licenses and fiber/mobile infrastructure across seven Nordic-Baltic markets that AI cannot replicate. AI is used only for cost automation, e.g. Telia Finland's NiCE NEVA tool cut contact-center handling time 30-50% (deployed by late 2025).

Who is Telia Company's biggest competitor?

Telenor is Telia's historic chief Nordic rival, alongside Tele2 and Finland's Elisa. Barclays upgraded Telia to Equal Weight while downgrading Telenor on June 23, 2026, citing Telia's steadier Swedish execution.

Has Telia sold its Latvian LMT/Tet holdings yet?

Not yet. An MoU to exit Latvian holdings LMT and Tet was signed in July 2025 targeting completion in H1 2026, but as of July 10, 2026 the Latvian government was still negotiating among 23 potential investors with no final decision.

What dividend does Telia Company pay?

Telia pays SEK 0.50 per quarter, totaling SEK 2.05 for full-year 2025, per its Q1 2026 presentation dated April 24, 2026. The company also has an active share buyback program approved at its 2025 AGM.

Telecom infrastructure · Sweden

Telia Company

teliacompany.com ↗

Nordic/Baltic telecom operator running mobile, fiber, and ICT networks across seven countries.

Hard to displace

Assessed 25 July 2026 · Evidence as of 25 July 2026

Strong structural protection; the business model survives ai pressure.

On the recordSince 25 July 2026 · Checkable from H2 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Decision on Latvia LMT/Tet ownership sale, originally targeted H1 2026, still unresolved among 23 bidders

The call

Telia keeps its Nordic grip through owned spectrum and fiber, while it sells off peripheral units like Latvia and Finland ICT and lets AI shrink headcount instead of its network.

Telia Company runs phone, internet, and TV service across seven countries in the Nordic and Baltic regions, serving millions of households and businesses. It is very hard to replace because it owns the physical cables and fiber lines buried in the ground, holds government licenses to operate, and has customers who stay with their service for years. The one thing that could shake this up is if the company sells off parts of its business or cuts jobs in ways that disrupt customer service, which could push people to switch to competitors.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI trims Telia's own headcount and customer-service costs; no AI product competes for its spectrum or fiber lines yet. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: AWS and Microsoft Azure private-5G/enterprise offerings. Hyperscalers are building private-5G and enterprise connectivity tools that could pull large customers off Telia's networks over time. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. Owns the actual spectrum licenses, fiber, and mobile towers across Sweden, Finland, Norway, and the Baltics; millions of subscribers can't easily switch physical infrastructure.

What would change this call

Whether Latvia LMT/Tet divestment closes among the 23 named bidders by end of 2026. Shows whether Telia can execute planned portfolio simplification on schedule.
Telia's Q3-Q4 2026 EBITDA growth versus the roughly 3% full-year guidance. Indicates whether core Nordic business momentum from Q1-Q2 2026 is sustained.
Completion of the pending Finland ICT business exit agreement. Confirms continued shift away from low-margin ICT toward core connectivity.

Key numbers

Swedish state owns 39.5% of Telia (2026-07-24)
Q2 2026 service revenue grew 2.8%, fastest in 4 years (2026-07-17)
Q1 2026 EBITDA growth hit 4.0% (2026-04-24)

Named risks

Latvia LMT/Tet divestment stalled with no decision as of July 10, 2026, delaying deleveraging. Severity: medium
Management guided Q3 2026 EBITDA growth below 2%, down from 3.4% in Q2. Severity: medium
Sector-wide Nordic growth deceleration flagged by Citi downgrade, May 7, 2026. Severity: medium
Ongoing headcount reduction and AI-linked restructuring create role-specific volatility. Severity: medium
Hyperscalers (AWS, Azure) encroaching on B2B private 5G/edge-compute fringe. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Telenor	contesting	Barclays downgraded Telenor while upgrading Telia on June 23, 2026, in a Nordic telco reshuffle
Tele2	contesting	Kinnevik-backed value operator competing directly in Sweden and Baltics per Nordic telecom coverage, 2026
Elisa	contesting	Finland's automation-focused telecom peer named alongside Telia in Citi's May 7, 2026 Nordic coverage
AWS and Microsoft Azure	gaining on	Hyperscalers encroaching on private 5G and edge-compute enterprise territory, per 2026 analyst/vendor framing
DNA Oyj	contesting	Telenor-majority-owned Finnish mobile competitor to Telia Finland, active as of 2026

Questions people ask

Is Telia Company profitable in 2026?: Yes. Telia reported Q2 2026 adjusted EBITDA growth of 3.4% and service revenue growth of 2.8%, its fastest in four years, both ahead of full-year guidance, per results released July 17, 2026.
Who owns Telia Company?: The Swedish state, via the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, is the largest shareholder with roughly 39.5% as of July 24, 2026. Finland's Solidium fully exited its stake in 2018, leaving Sweden as the dominant state shareholder.
Could AI replace Telia Company's business?: No. Telia's moat is physical spectrum licenses and fiber/mobile infrastructure across seven Nordic-Baltic markets that AI cannot replicate. AI is used only for cost automation, e.g. Telia Finland's NiCE NEVA tool cut contact-center handling time 30-50% (deployed by late 2025).
Who is Telia Company's biggest competitor?: Telenor is Telia's historic chief Nordic rival, alongside Tele2 and Finland's Elisa. Barclays upgraded Telia to Equal Weight while downgrading Telenor on June 23, 2026, citing Telia's steadier Swedish execution.
Has Telia sold its Latvian LMT/Tet holdings yet?: Not yet. An MoU to exit Latvian holdings LMT and Tet was signed in July 2025 targeting completion in H1 2026, but as of July 10, 2026 the Latvian government was still negotiating among 23 potential investors with no final decision.
What dividend does Telia Company pay?: Telia pays SEK 0.50 per quarter, totaling SEK 2.05 for full-year 2025, per its Q1 2026 presentation dated April 24, 2026. The company also has an active share buyback program approved at its 2025 AGM.

Timeline

2026-07-17Q2 2026 results: service revenue growth 2.8% (4-year high), EBITDA growth 3.4%
2026-07-10Latvia LMT/Tet divestment still unresolved, government weighing 23 investors
2026-07-02Board appoints Susanne Blanke as VP AI Strategy and Transformation
2026-06-23Barclays upgrades Telia to Equal Weight, downgrades rival Telenor
2026-05-07Citi downgrades Nordic telecoms including Telia to Neutral
2026-04-24Q1 2026 results: service revenue growth 2.1%, EBITDA growth 4.0%; Bredband2 deal closes
2026-01-07Telia Lietuva cuts 59 positions tied to digital/AI deployment
2025-07-01Completes sale of TV4/MTV media business to Schibsted for SEK 6.55bn
2025-07MoU signed to exit Latvian holdings LMT and Tet
2024-04Sale of Danish operations to Norlys closes

Revision history

25 July 2026

First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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