Analysts praised Quebecor Inc.‘s performance in its third-quarter after the telecommunications and media company reported its profit rose compared with a year ago as revenues were up.
The company reported its net income attributable to shareholders totalled $236.1 million or $1.03 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of $189 million or 81 cents per share in the same three-month period of 2024.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $1.41 billion, up from $1.39 billion last year.
During the quarter, the company said it added 113,800 mobile phone subscriptions, compared with an increase of 130,800 in the same period of 2024.
While down from last year, Desjardins analyst Jerome Dubreuil said that figure beat expectations, noting the company’s stock “has significantly outperformed year-to-date, supported by a resilient wireless thesis.”
There was a net increase of 10,500 internet subscriptions, compared with 11,800 a year ago.
Chief financial officer Hugues Simard said Quebecor is seeing growth in its Freedom Mobile brand, which it purchased in 2023 before investing in upgrades to its network.
While the brand has traditionally drawn success from its reputation as a cheaper alternative to the bigger carriers, Simard said many customers now look to it for its service quality.
“Even though organically and in terms of immigration … the market is a little softer, we’ve been able to maintain our performance,” Simard said on the company’s earnings call.
“It is because we are increasingly resonating with other cohorts. Whereas the Freedom of the past used to be very strong with first-time buyers and immigrants and people looking for … the cheapest deal, we are now able to attract and retain customers that want a bit more, that want better performance.”
Quebecor reported its mobile phone average revenue per user was $35.05 in the third quarter, down 66 cents, or 1.8 per cent, from the third quarter of the prior year.
It said that was mainly due to higher promotional discounts, lower overage revenues and a change in the customer mix, including the dilutive effect of Freedom’s and Fizz’s prepaid services.
“Back to school has always been a good period to grab new customers for the Freedom brand given its lower price point and this year was no different,” said Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi in a note.
“The company posted strong wireless loading numbers and was even slightly higher than our estimates … Overall however we have seen improvement in the general level of ARPU decline in both wireless and cable as a result of recently implemented price ups.”
On an adjusted basis, Quebecor said its net income amounted to $1.05 per share, up from an adjusted profit of 82 cents per share in the third quarter of 2024.
Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 99 cents per share, according to data provided by LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:QBR.B)
