Millicom International Cellular Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

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Record financial performance: Q2 service revenue rose 5.4% organically to $2 billion, while adjusted EBITDA reached $1 billion and equity free cash flow increased more than 50% to a record $327 million.

Raised outlook and dividend: Millicom lifted 2026 equity free cash flow guidance to approximately $1.1 billion from at least $900 million previously, and expects year-end leverage below 2.5x. The board also approved an additional interim dividend of $1.50 per share.

Growth supported by acquisitions and core operations: Colombia delivered 11% organic service-revenue growth as Coltel integration progressed, while mobile, digital B2B services and prepaid-to-postpaid migrations supported group performance. The company is increasing investment in Colombia, including plans for full 5G coverage and 1,000 additional sites.

Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:TIGO) reported second-quarter 2026 service revenue of $2 billion, up 5.4% organically year over year and 60.1% on a reported basis, as its prepaid-to-postpaid migration strategy, pricing actions and recent acquisitions supported growth. Adjusted EBITDA reached a company record of $1 billion, while equity free cash flow rose more than 50% from a year earlier to a record $327 million.

Chief Executive Officer Marcelo Benítez said the results reflected continued execution on customer service, pricing, efficiency and cash-flow priorities while the company integrates recently acquired businesses. He said the company's acquisitions were already equity-free-cash-flow accretive within their first year, including their associated financing costs.

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Based on first-half results and visibility into the rest of the year, Millicom raised its 2026 equity free cash flow guidance to about $1.1 billion from a prior target of at least $900 million. The company also now expects year-end leverage to fall below 2.5 times, compared with leverage of 2.73 times at the end of the second quarter.

The board approved an additional interim dividend of $1.50 per share, payable in two installments of $0.75 per share in January and April 2027.

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Mobile service revenue increased 6.9% organically year over year to $1.2 billion. Benítez said the company's "more for more" prepaid strategy is designed to offer customers more data and connectivity while supporting sustainable average revenue per user growth. Millicom also continued to migrate selected prepaid customers to postpaid plans, with about two-thirds of new postpaid sales coming from those migrations.

Excluding mergers and acquisitions, postpaid net additions increased by 167,000 sequentially. Millicom's postpaid customer base has expanded more than 31% over the past year, Benítez said. Conversion rates had softened temporarily after the Coltel acquisition in Colombia as the company aligned commercial practices, but have since returned to historical levels, according to management.

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He added that the World Cup had a meaningful effect on home revenue, with 80% of the segment's 3% growth attributed to the event. Management expects 60% of the World Cup impact in the second quarter and 40% in the third quarter.

Fixed-mobile convergence penetration approached 40% across the group and reached 44% in Colombia.

Business-to-business service revenue increased 3.8% year over year to $401 million. Digital-services revenue, including cloud, cybersecurity and managed services, climbed 14% to $120 million. Small and medium-sized enterprise revenue grew 8%, the company said.

Colombia, which included a full quarter of Coltel under Millicom ownership following the April transaction completion, generated organic service revenue growth of 11% to $816 million. Management said mobile, home and B2B each contributed to the increase.

Colombia adjusted EBITDA rose 3.9% year over year to $336 million, including more than $30 million in severance payments during the quarter and roughly $100 million year to date. The country's adjusted EBITDA margin was 39.4%.

Chief Financial Officer Bart Vanhaeren said cost-saving initiatives were running ahead of plan and profitability had moved toward levels comparable with the legacy Tigo UNE operation. He said the company still expected Colombia's full-year EBITDA margin to be roughly in line with 2025, while noting potential margin pressure from rebranding and other costs later in the year.

Guatemala service revenue increased 5.9% to $382 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose 6.3% to $245 million and margin reached 55.6%.

Panama service revenue grew 3.1% to $175 million after a price adjustment was reinstated following a prior regulatory suspension.

Paraguay service revenue increased 3.4% to $169 million, and adjusted EBITDA rose nearly 17% to $100 million. Margin expanded 6.4 percentage points to 56.9%.

Ecuador service revenue was broadly flat at $112 million, while pro forma adjusted EBITDA increased nearly 40% to $58 million. The company expects margins to contract by a few percentage points in the second half as it launches the Tigo brand and increases marketing and promotional spending.

Vanhaeren said second-quarter cash flow benefited from favorable expense timing and working-capital movements and cautioned against extrapolating the record quarterly result through the rest of the year. He said the company expected a lower third quarter followed by a stronger fourth quarter.

Cash capital expenditures totaled $274 million, up $72 million from a year earlier, reflecting investments in acquired operations and Colombia's customer device leasing program. Management expects capital expenditures to represent about 12% of revenue for the full year, with second-half spending increasing primarily because of Colombia. Benítez said Millicom plans full 5G coverage in Colombia and an additional 1,000 sites over the next 12 to 18 months.

Millicom ended the quarter with net debt of $8.1 billion, compared with $7.6 billion at the start of the period. The increase reflected dividend distributions, M&A-related payments and appreciation of local-currency debt, though leverage declined from 2.76 times to 2.73 times.

In Chile, Benítez said most planned restructuring was completed during the quarter, allowing management to focus on commercial and operational improvements. He said adjusted EBITDA sustainability had improved and equity free cash flow margin increased by 10 percentage points year over year. However, he characterized Chile as a highly competitive market marked by aggressive pricing and elevated churn.

Millicom International Cellular SA, trading under the TIGO brand, is a Luxembourg‐headquartered telecommunications and media company that provides a range of mobile, cable broadband, digital television and enterprise services. Through its integrated infrastructure, the company delivers voice and data connectivity, high‐speed internet access and pay‐television packages to millions of customers, supported by ongoing investments in network coverage and capacity.

Established in 1990 by Swedish investor Jan Stenbeck, Millicom has grown into a multi‐regional operator focused primarily on Central and South America.

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