It's been a very good day indeed for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and the Australian share market more broadly. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lifted by a confident 0.95% to just under 9,100 points after hitting a new all-time record high of 9,118.3 points during intraday trading. It's been an even better day for Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares, though.
Telstra shares closed at $4.96 each yesterday afternoon, an unremarkable price for anyone who has been watching this ASX 200 telco over the past six months. But what has been remarkable is Telstra's journey today.
The telco opened at $5.02 this morning before rising up as high as $5.26 a share. Not only is that a new 52-week high for Telstra, but the highest its stock has traded at since way back in early 2017, just before the infamous dividend cut that Telstra implemented later that year. Yes, Telstra shares are at a nine-year high this Thursday. It's been a long time coming for investors. At the time of writing, Telstra shares have cooled off a little, but are still up a comfortable 4.44% at $5.18 each.
But why is this telco making such a dramatic move today?
Well, investors can thank the telco's latest earnings, which were released this morning before market open.
Image source: Getty Images
What's pushing Telstra shares to a nine-year high today?
As we covered earlier today, there wasn't much to not like in what Telstra reported for the second half of 2025. The telco revealed that its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after leases (EBITDAaL) came in at $4.2 billion for the half, an increase of 4.9% from the same period in 2024. Cash earnings were $2.5 billion, a 14% rise. On an earnings per share (EPS) basis, Telstra reported EPS of 9.9 cents per share, a rise of 11%. Cash EPS was 14 cents per share, up 20%.
That helped Telstra report a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1.2 billion, up 8.1% on the previous period.
This profit enabled Telstra to announce an interim dividend of 10.5 cents per share for the period, a healthy 10.5% increase over last year's interim dividend of 9.5 cents per share. The telco has also expanded its ongoing share buyback program. After buying back $637 million worth of stock over the back half of last year, Telstra has increased its buyback cap from "up to $1 billion" to "up to $1.25 billion" going forward.
All of these measures are probably pulling their weight in lifting Telstra shares to their new highs this Thursday. But the guidance that Telstra provided wouldn't be hurting matters either.
Telstra has told investors to expect underlying earnings (EBITDAaL) of $8.2 to $8.4 billion for the full 2026 financial year. If that does occur, it would represent a tangible jump from the $8.02 billion Telstra reported for FY 2025.
ASX investors like dividend hikes and share buybacks, but they love certainty. Telstra has delivered all three today, so it's arguably no surprise to see the shares break new ground.
