(Bloomberg) -- Rogers Communications Inc. shares are down some 19% from January highs, but one telecom analyst says it’s a “great time to buy.”
After letting them stagnate for well over a year, Canadian wireless carriers — including Rogers’ rival Freedom Mobile Inc. — are finally hiking prices, according to TD Securities’ Vince Valentini. He expects Rogers to follow suit, that paired with the Bank of Canada’s recent rate cuts leaves the telecommunications giant “set up for meaningful upside in the near-term.”
Rogers shares have been weighed down by slow cable and internet growth as well as the long-running price war among the country’s largest telecoms. The Rogers-Shaw megadeal that closed in April 2023 turned Canada into a market with four dominant wireless carriers after Freedom Mobile was forcibly sold to Quebecor Inc. to meet regulatory requirements.
Since Rogers reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, Valentini now sees a light at the end of the tunnel and he’s updated his estimates on service revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
His team expects consolidated Ebitda to be 0.2% higher for 2025, reflecting increased confidence that increased prices will improve revenues in Rogers’ wireless and cable/wireline segments.
Shares closed 2.7% higher at $52.35 in Toronto Friday.
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