Rogers slashes capital spending as it blames regulations, reports Q1 profit up

The Rogers Communications sign is marks the company's headquarters in Toronto, April 25, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim

Rogers Communications Inc. is cutting its capital spending by 30 per cent compared with last year, citing a “punitive” regulatory environment and competitive pressures.

In its outlook, Rogers said Wednesday it now expects capital expenditures for the year to come in between $2.5 billion and $2.7 billion, down from a January forecast for $3.3 billion and $3.5 billion.

“First and foremost, there are projects we’re just cancelling,” said Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri, as the company reported its first-quarter earnings.

“We don’t see the economics in building in certain areas as a result of the dynamics that have been placed on us and the sector through regulatory policy.”

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He said Rogers would delay the timing of other projects as well. 

While declining to get into specifics, chief financial officer Glenn Brandt told analysts that certain projects intended to be completed this year or early 2027 could now stretch into 2028.

He said the decision is “not a one and done” and that “you should expect to see this level of investment going forward” as Rogers adjusts to a low-growth environment in the telecom sector.

“We’ll be lowering our capital spend for the foreseeable years to this level, so it’s not coming back up to nullify what we’re doing this year,” said Brandt.

He noted Rogers has spent around $12 billion on capital expenditures, such as its wireless and wireline networks along with IT infrastructure, over the past three years.

The company also raised its outlook for free cash flow for 2026 to $4.1 billion to $4.3 billion, up from its earlier forecast for $3.3 billion to $3.5 billion. Staffieri said Rogers plans to use that financial flexibility to accelerate debt reduction in 2026 and beyond.

The pivot comes as Rogers pleads for “true fair competition” based on the costs that it and other large companies incur to build their networks.

“We need policy that is going to continue to encourage investment, reward investment, and incent companies like Rogers to continue to take risks to the benefit of consumers and Canadians,” Staffieri said.

The regulatory environment was also a prominent theme at the company’s annual general meeting held Wednesday morning, where chairman Edward Rogers took aim at the current approach that he said “imposes significant costs and uncertainty.”

Data from Statistics Canada shows telecom prices have dropped since 2023, when Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron subsidiary acquired Freedom Mobile from Shaw Communications, which was sold to Rogers at the same time.

Touted as a fourth national carrier, Freedom has since expanded to more provinces across Canada with the aid of the CRTC’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) framework that allows telecoms to offer cellphone service through rival carriers’ networks in exchange for a fee.

The rules are meant to increase competition by giving regional carriers a presence in markets they did not previously serve, with requirements to build their own networks in those areas within seven years.

But industry insiders have been pondering whether the regulator could extend Quebecor’s MVNO access beyond the 2030 deadline.

Due to that possibility, Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi said last month the Big Three telecoms “should materially reduce” their wireless capital expenditure spending. He said Wednesday that Rogers made the right call “in order to protect the downside from seeing those investments socialized.”

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“Until incumbents are assured on the timeline of this regulation, continuing to heavily invest in wireless networks knowing that an MVNO extension is possible seems to us as guaranteeing more downside in the future,” said Yaghi in a note.

Rogers’ profit up but churn surges amid ‘aggressive’ discounts

Rogers reported a first-quarter profit attributable to shareholders of $438 million on Wednesday, up from $280 million a year earlier, as its revenue rose 10 per cent.

The company said the profit amounted to 80 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, up from 50 cents per share in the same quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, Rogers said it earned $1.01 per diluted share, up from an adjusted profit of 99 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $5.48 billion, up from $4.98 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Wireless revenue for the quarter totalled $2.59 billion, compared with $2.54 billion a year earlier, while cable revenue totalled $1.95 billion, ticking up from $1.94 billion.

The results came as the company reported 33,000 total mobile phone net subscriber additions, including 28,000 postpaid — those who pay a monthly bill for their wireless services after charges have accumulated.

That was up 154 per cent from 11,000 postpaid additions in the same quarter last year.

Rogers’ monthly churn — a measure of those who cancelled their service — for net postpaid mobile subscribers was 1.22 per cent, up from 1.01 per cent during its previous first quarter.

The higher turnover reflected a quarter that “was anything but seasonally quiet,” said Brandt, who blamed Rogers’ competitors for maintaining “holiday-level” discounting into 2026.

He said Rogers abstained from matching those “aggressive” offers in the first two months of the year, but eventually relented when other companies didn’t bring their prices back up to more usual levels.

Rogers’ mobile phone average monthly revenue per user was $55.60, down from $56.94 in the first quarter of the prior year.

Retail internet net additions totalled 7,000, down from 23,000 a year earlier.

Desjardins analyst Jerome Dubreuil said the magnitude of Rogers’ capital expenditure reduction raises questions of whether the company “views current challenging market conditions as a new normal.”

“We believe it is becoming increasingly challenging for Canadian telecom companies to earn an appropriate return on network upgrades in the current pricing environment,” he said in a note.

At midday, Rogers shares were trading for $50.18, up $5.08 or 11.3 per cent.

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Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.