Turkcell (TKC) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Summary

1Key Financial Results and Metrics

Revenue: 71.8 billion Turkish liras, up 2.5% year-over-year, reflecting real growth despite inflation exceeding 30%.

EBITDA: 30 billion Turkish liras with a margin of 41.8%.

Net Income: 5.2 billion Turkish liras.

Mobile ARPU: Increased to 448 Turkish liras, a 27% year-over-year growth.

Postpaid Subscribers: Added 284,000 in the quarter, totaling 32.5 million, representing 81% of the mobile base.

Churn Rate: Improved to 1.6% from the previous year.

Digital Business Services Revenue: Grew 33% to 8.7 billion Turkish liras.

Techfin Revenue: Increased 22% to 2.4 billion Turkish liras.

2Strategic Updates and Business Highlights

Turkcell achieved its highest-ever mobile subscriber count, surpassing 40 million.

The company continues to focus on digital business services, fixed wireless access (FWA), and data centers as key growth areas.

The Superbox FWA offering gained momentum, adding 64,000 subscribers, with a total of 818,000.

The fiber business reached 2.6 million subscribers, with a 37% year-over-year increase in residential fiber ARPU.

Partnerships, particularly with Google Cloud for data centers, are expected to enhance long-term growth potential.

3Forward Guidance and Outlook

Turkcell anticipates year-end inflation to settle around 28%, slightly higher than previous estimates.

The company maintains its financial guidance despite the revised inflation outlook.

ARPU improvements are expected to become more apparent in Q4 2026, with a clearer impact anticipated in 2027.

Continued investments in 5G and digital services are expected to support growth in the second half of the year.

4Bad News, Challenges, or Points of Concern

The macroeconomic environment remains challenging, with persistent inflation and geopolitical tensions impacting operations.

Increased depreciation costs related to 5G assets have affected net income, although this is part of the transition to active deployment.

The competitive landscape is evolving, with pricing pressures and the need for disciplined spending highlighted as ongoing challenges.

Volatility in margins for Techfin businesses (Paycell and Financell) was noted, with concerns about the impact of economic conditions on demand.

5Notable Q&A Insights

Management indicated that the impact of recent price hikes on growth would be more visible starting in Q4 2026.

The FWA offering is positioned as a key growth driver, with a significant market share and plans to transition existing 4G users to 5G.

Questions regarding credit limits for device purchases were raised, with management acknowledging the need for adjustments to support 5G penetration.

The company is optimistic about the long-term contribution of data centers, projecting that they could account for 10-15% of revenues by 2030-2031. Overall, Turkcell demonstrated resilience in a challenging environment, with solid growth in key areas and a strategic focus on digital transformation and 5G deployment, while remaining cautious about macroeconomic pressures and competitive dynamics.