Opinions Michael Sprung
Telus CorpT.TODON'T BUYJul 28, 2014
Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 05, 2026. Market Open.
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In the midst of Canada's technical recession, you have to think about what kind of investor you are. A basket of telcos can be used as a bond proxy, as it'll provide income in your portfolio. Income can then be used to protect you defensively on the downside, or to redeploy into growthier names. It gives your portfolio some ballast.
It's an income story, not a growth story. Doesn't see much problem if you hold them longer term. If Telus cut its dividend, he'd probably buy.
Owns this for a while and wants to exit it. Telcos suffer from lack of population growth and intense competition. The telcos have little growth, but the dividend is attractive.
Teal LindeHeavy debt from network buildout, and concerns about dividend. Last quarter was steady, revenue roughly flat. FCF jumped 19%. Fibre and 5G build is winding down, so capex is being cut. May monetize Telus Health to pay down debt.
Analysts are consistently too optimistic. Likes the company, but stay away for now. Prefers QBR.B.
Lots more capital at risk, but implies a lot more upside potential. Likes this name, though it's in the "have-not" area right now. Anemic wireless, yet still 13% EPS growth at 14x PE for 2028. Math still works. Beautiful dividend (but he expects a cut with the new CEO) -- stock should react positively.
She owns it for the dividend, and Telus has the most turnaround potential among the Canadian telcos. You can't go wrong with any telcos, which aren't getting any love now. They are undercutting each other are prices. She likes telcos for defence and yields, though is not high-growth.
Rebecca TeltscherDividend will probably be cut, but it'll still be a nice dividend. Liked it at the start of the year, but some assumptions don't come to fruition. Uptick in wireless and less competitive landscape haven't happened.
You have to ask yourself if you still like the stock? And he does. Look at the journey of INTC as an example. If your conviction goes from a high of 90% to, say, 80%, you can trim.
It's OK if things don't always go your way on a position. Sometimes you have to take action, and other times you don't.
His firm has a small position. They're holding on and doing more homework. Bought lots of things that seemed to make sense, but weren't integrated properly. Asset base is great, just not performing well financially.
New CEO on July 1 -- very astute, high calibre, ran CIBC. Expect lots of changes, and those should be positive. Dividend may be cut, investors who own just for the dividend may sell, others will applaud the move, and stock may actually rally.
Tim ReganLong term, its assets have value. Stock's been cut in half from highs of 2022. Government has really hamstrung companies on network sharing. There's been competition. New CEO could be transformational.
Stock's really washed out. Even if dividend is cut, still has a solid yield. Yield is 9.87%.
Ryan Bushell
He owns no communications stocks based on the macro view. Slow-growth sector, at best. Good dividends, but they are at risk.
If he were the new CEO coming in, the dividend would be high in the pecking order of ways to restructure the company. If you need a tax-loss, a perfect candidate. If it then pops up, so be it. Much better fish to fry.
He owns Rogers, instead. Telus is a good operator, but have stumbled along the way. Problem is, the dividend takes up all their free cash flow. So, can they grow into that huge 8.5% dividend distribution and pay down some debt and leave net cash on the balance sheet? Not sure if there will be a dividend cut, like BCE did.
He doesn’t have too much of a position in telecommunications. Going from the 3-year to the 2-year contracts has made it more expensive, and he thinks people are holding on to their phones a little longer. Also, when they do issue new phones, they now have to amortize them over a shorter period of time to recoup their costs. Revenues per person are being squeezed a little. Very competitive market. With the government wanting a 4th national competitor, that could really affect the market to some extent too. Too many uncertainties.