Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares are capturing a lot of attention this week.
At the time of writing, on Wednesday lunchtime trade, the shares are down 0.62% to $4.78 a piece. Today's decline means the shares have now fallen 6.4% from an all-time high of $5.10 in mid-November.
For the year to date, Telstra shares are 18.61% higher.
Why is Telstra in the spotlight this week?
In August, Telstra announced a $1 billion on-market buyback following a previous $750 million buyback that was completed in June 2025. The company said it would be executed over time in the ordinary course of trading.
Telstra has undertaken the on-market buyback, where it has been actively repurchasing its own shares on-market, over the past couple of weeks. This might explain the latest share price softening. Updates on the buyback programme have been closely watched by investors.
In a note to the ASX this morning, the company announced it has ceased over 35 million ordinary shares via on-market buybacks. Telstra said the securities bought back between 24 November 2025 and 12 December 2025 were progressively cancelled up to and including 16 December 2025.
Meanwhile, Telstra has also been in the headlines this week amid continued political and regulatory scrutiny. The telecoms provider has been in the spotlight recently amid concerns about its emergency calling reliability.
A Senate inquiry is reportedly examining cases where Triple Zero calls may have failed, including situations linked to older devices and network/handset software interactions.
What's next for Telstra shares?
As a defensive stock, Telstra tends to perform steadily, regardless of the stage of the economic cycle. And this is great news for investors who want to hedge against potential volatility elsewhere.
The company's financial performance has been robust this past year. Its first-half FY25 results, announced in February, showed strong earnings growth across almost all of its products, improved operating profit, higher returns for shareholders, and plans to enhance its network coverage.
The telco giant's full-year results, released in August, also showed stronger underlying growth and financial performance. At the time, Telstra also said it expected its year-on-year growth to continue.
Analysts are also optimistic that the growth of the red-hot telco will continue in 2025.
TradingView data shows that out of 9 analysts, 4 have a buy or strong buy rating on the stock. Another 5 have a hold rating on Telstra shares. Analysts expect the share price could rise as high as $5.40, which implies a potential 12.97% upside for investors at the time of writing.
The team at Macquarie have an outperform rating and $5.04 price target on Telstra's shares. They said that as Australia's largest telecommunications provider, it benefits from nationwide mobile demand, essential network usage, and growing data consumption.
