Telefónica España closed the first nine months of the financial year with revenue of 9,828 million euros, which represents a year-on-year increase of 2.5% and the highest growth rate for this stretch of the year in more than 15 years, as it said this Thursday to the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV).
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of the subsidiary led by Borja Ochoa stood at 3,501 million euros, up 2.3%, while adjusted Ebitda after leases (EbitdaAL) reached 3,018 million, after recording an advance of 2.4%.
Between July and September, revenue rose to 3,316 million euros, up 2.6% year on year (compared with the 2.9% increase in the second quarter), driven by a 2.6% improvement in services revenue and a 1.4% rise in sales of terminals.
By business lines, the retail business increased by 4.1% —supported by the customer base, pricing policy and B2B services, although 0.9 percentage points below the previous quarter— while the wholesale segment fell back by 4.5%, moderating its decline by 3.4 points thanks to the item of "other income".
Adjusted Ebitda in the third quarter reached 1,199 million euros, accelerating its year-on-year growth to 2.6% (0.4 percentage points more than in the second quarter and with a margin of 36.2%) thanks to efficiencies derived from the restructuring plan. EbitdaAL increased by 2.5%, to 1,036 million, with a margin of 31.2% due to the greater weight of leases.
Investment in capital (CapEx) up to September totaled 1,100 million euros, up 1.5% and equivalent to 11% of revenue, focused on the deployment of XGSPON and 5G+ networks. Adjusted operating cash flow after leases (OpCFaL) advanced by 2.9%, to 1,918 million, setting the cash margin at 19.5%.
Commercial and European alliances
The company emphasizes that these figures respond to an evolution supported by a flexible and quality commercial proposal, with improvements in O2’s portfolio in August —new tariffs and greater access to Movistar Plus+, Disney+ and devices— and in its digital ecosystem, with new alarm products, the "eSIM Flag" and the contents of the football World Cup.
At the same time, Telefónica strengthened its presence in the European arena through new partnerships, such as the one it reached with NOS for advanced Defence and Security solutions, and with Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Vodafone to analyze options for satellite spectrum and the "Direct-to-Device" service.
In terms of sustainability (ESG) and security, more than 50 original productions from Movistar Plus+ already have sustainability plans aimed at the goal of "zero emissions", while the subsidiary has blocked more than 237 million fraudulent calls in the last 18 months.
Operational progress and customers
On the commercial front, total connections increased by 1% year-on-year excluding the lines of the Internet of Things (IoT), which doubled due to the boost from beacons at the end of 2025.
The main retail businesses maintained positive momentum: fixed broadband advanced by 2.2% (with net gains of 46,000 connections in the quarter), the mobile contract grew by 2.5% (134,000 new lines) and pay television increased by 5.9% (26,000 new customers), with fibre adoption ("uptake") standing at 31%.
On the other hand, convergent customers increased by 1.3% year-on-year after adding 20,000 connections between July and September.
The churn rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points, to 0.7%, while the average revenue per customer (ARPU) accelerated its growth to 1.2% year-on-year, reaching 90.4 euros, driven by the management of football customers between the end and the start of the season.