2026 Mid-Year Telecoms Update: European Telecoms: Carry, Consolidation and Capex Improvement

Research evidence excerpt

2026 Mid-Year Telecoms Update: European Telecoms: Carry, Consolidation and Capex Improvement

J P M O R G A N Europe Credit Research

17 July 2026

2026 Mid-Year Telecoms Update

European Telecoms: Carry, Consolidation and

Capex Improvement

Europe Corporate Credit -

Technology, Media &

Telecommunications

Andrew Webb AC

(44-20) 7134-0121

andrew.x.webb@jpmorgan.com

Today we publish our 2026 Investment Grade Mid-Year Telecoms Update,

Alvaro Calero Fernandez

highlighting our views on the key themes across European telecoms markets that

(44-20) 7134-3000

we expect to drive spreads in the second half of the year. We provide a variety of alvaro.calerofernandez@jpmorgan.com

trade ideas based on our current views on these items. We hope it proves useful to Dihan D Udugampola, CFA

you; please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any further questions. (44-20) 3493-6714

dihan.udugampola@jpmorgan.com

Trade ideas. We start with a table summary of updated trade recommendations J.P. Morgan Securities plc

across EUR and GBP markets. We remain Overweight European Telecoms, with

sector fundamentals continuing to benefit from defensive earnings characteristics,

cost efficiency programmes and moderating capital intensity. We expect carry to

remain the principal driver of H226 returns, given limited scope for broader spread

compression and still-elevated supply across European IG credit.

Key themes. Guidance trends continue to point to management confidence, with

most operators guiding to FY26 revenue, EBITDAaL and FCF growth despite

limited top-line acceleration. Fibre spend is rolling over across parts of Europe as

operators move from coverage expansion toward penetration, copper migration,

infrastructure monetisation and cash generation. We continue to monitor energy