TELUS Corporation (TU) Cash Flow Statement
Where TU’s cash came from and went, 2025
December 31, 2025 · Canadian dollars- Cash from operations
- C$4.87B +0.4% vs 2024
- Capital expenditures
- C$2.52B 12.4% of revenue
- Free cash flow
- C$2.35B 11.6% margin
- Returned to shareholders
- C$1.67B 71% of free cash flow
- Change in cash
- C$1.75B cash at year-end C$2.62B
Drawn to scale: where the cash came from and how it was used. Hover for values.
TU operating cash flow, capex and free cash flow
TU cash flow trends, 2016–2025
| Metric | Trend | Then | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | C$3.22B2016 | C$4.87B2025 | +4.7%/yr | |
| Capital expenditures | C$2.90B2016 | C$2.52B2025 | −1.6%/yr | |
| Free cash flow | C$322.0M2016 | C$2.35B2025 | +24.7%/yr | |
| Free cash flow margin | 2.5%2016 | 11.6%2025 | +9.0 pts | |
| Operating cash flow / net income | 2.602016 | 6.262025 | +3.66 | |
| Stock-based compensation | −C$2.0M2016 | C$144.0M2025 | — | |
| Dividends paid | C$1.07B2016 | C$1.63B2025 | +4.8%/yr | |
| Share buybacks (net) | C$179.0M2016 | C$40.0M2025 | −15.3%/yr | |
| Capex / revenue | 22.8%2016 | 12.4%2025 | −10.4 pts |
Change is the average annual growth (CAGR) or the difference between the first and latest year.
TU cash flow by activity
TU net income vs operating cash flow
Operating cash flow above net income usually means earnings are backed by cash (depreciation and stock-based pay are non-cash expenses).
TU cash flow statement in Canadian dollars
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating activities | ||||||||||
| Net income | C$777.0M | C$938.0M | C$841.0M | C$1.72B | C$1.70B | C$1.26B | C$1.78B | C$1.62B | C$1.48B | C$1.24B |
| Depreciation & amortization | C$4.04B | C$3.96B | C$4.07B | C$3.45B | C$3.22B | C$3.01B | C$2.58B | C$2.27B | C$2.17B | C$2.05B |
| Stock-based compensation | C$144.0M | C$151.0M | C$117.0M | C$122.0M | C$139.0M | C$27.0M | −C$2.0M | C$6.0M | C$17.0M | −C$2.0M |
| Change in working capital | −C$105.0M | C$21.0M | −C$326.0M | −C$193.0M | −C$82.0M | C$270.0M | −C$332.0M | C$256.0M | −C$142.0M | −C$71.0M |
| Other non-cash items | C$9.0M | −C$220.0M | −C$202.0M | −C$288.0M | −C$583.0M | C$5.0M | −C$92.0M | −C$95.0M | C$424.0M | C$9.0M |
| Cash from operating activities | C$4.87B | C$4.85B | C$4.50B | C$4.81B | C$4.39B | C$4.57B | C$3.93B | C$4.06B | C$3.95B | C$3.22B |
| Investing activities | ||||||||||
| Capital expenditures | −C$2.52B | −C$3.39B | −C$3.21B | −C$3.65B | −C$5.32B | −C$2.82B | −C$3.89B | −C$2.88B | −C$3.08B | −C$2.90B |
| Investments (net) | −C$106.0M | −C$3.70B | −C$4.89B | −C$5.41B | −C$194.0M | −C$6.17B | −C$5.04B | −C$2.98B | −C$3.64B | −C$2.92B |
| Acquisitions & other investing | −C$419.0M | C$3.39B | C$3.35B | C$3.65B | C$44.0M | C$2.82B | C$3.89B | C$2.88B | C$3.08B | C$2.90B |
| Cash from investing activities | −C$3.04B | −C$3.70B | −C$4.75B | −C$5.41B | −C$5.47B | −C$6.17B | −C$5.04B | −C$2.98B | −C$3.64B | −C$2.92B |
| Financing activities | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | −C$1.63B | −C$1.56B | −C$1.31B | −C$1.19B | −C$1.04B | −C$930.0M | −C$1.15B | −C$1.14B | −C$1.08B | −C$1.07B |
| Share repurchases & issuance (net) | −C$40.0M | C$0 | — | C$0 | C$4.90B | C$4.87B | C$0 | −C$100.0M | C$0 | −C$179.0M |
| Net borrowing (repayment) | C$1.16B | C$462.0M | C$1.53B | C$2.21B | −C$71.0M | C$1.01B | C$2.44B | C$56.0M | C$865.0M | C$883.0M |
| Shares issued | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$1.30B | C$1.50B | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 |
| Other financing | C$439.0M | −C$42.0M | −C$77.0M | −C$169.0M | −C$4.13B | −C$4.55B | −C$56.0M | C$9.0M | −C$10.0M | C$279.0M |
| Cash from financing activities | −C$74.0M | −C$1.14B | C$139.0M | C$848.0M | C$953.0M | C$1.90B | C$1.24B | −C$1.18B | −C$227.0M | −C$87.0M |
| Summary | ||||||||||
| Net change in cash | C$1.75B | C$5.0M | −C$110.0M | C$251.0M | −C$125.0M | C$313.0M | C$121.0M | −C$95.0M | C$77.0M | C$209.0M |
| Cash at end of period | C$2.62B | C$869.0M | C$864.0M | C$974.0M | C$723.0M | C$848.0M | C$535.0M | C$414.0M | C$509.0M | C$432.0M |
| Free cash flow | C$2.35B | C$1.46B | C$1.29B | C$1.16B | −C$928.0M | C$1.75B | C$33.0M | C$1.18B | C$866.0M | C$322.0M |
| Free cash flow margin | 11.6% | 7.2% | 6.4% | 6.4% | −5.5% | 11.4% | 0.2% | 8.4% | 6.6% | 2.5% |
| Capex / revenue | 12.4% | 16.8% | 16.1% | 19.9% | 31.6% | 18.4% | 26.7% | 20.4% | 23.3% | 22.8% |
| Operating cash flow / net income | 6.26 | 5.17 | 5.35 | 2.80 | 2.58 | 3.63 | 2.21 | 2.50 | 2.67 | 2.60 |
| Jun '26 | Mar '26 | Dec '25 | Sep '25 | Mar '25 | Dec '24 | Sep '24 | Jun '24 | Mar '24 | Dec '23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating activities | ||||||||||
| Net income | −C$1.84B | C$136.0M | C$290.0M | C$354.0M | C$301.0M | C$320.0M | C$257.0M | C$228.0M | C$127.0M | C$310.0M |
| Depreciation & amortization | C$1.03B | C$992.0M | C$1.03B | C$1.01B | C$992.0M | C$1.01B | C$968.0M | C$994.0M | C$999.9M | C$1.04B |
| Stock-based compensation | C$52.0M | C$31.0M | C$23.0M | C$42.0M | C$42.0M | C$41.0M | C$44.0M | C$39.0M | C$38.0M | C$17.0M |
| Change in working capital | C$120.0M | −C$26.0M | −C$245.0M | C$277.1M | −C$243.0M | −C$322.0M | C$306.0M | −C$43.0M | −C$213.0M | C$3.0M |
| Other non-cash items | C$1.98B | −C$83.0M | C$28.0M | −C$612.1M | −C$15.0M | C$27.0M | −C$143.0M | C$170.0M | −C$1.9M | −C$57.0M |
| Cash from operating activities | C$1.34B | C$1.05B | C$1.13B | C$1.07B | C$1.08B | C$1.08B | C$1.43B | C$1.39B | C$950.0M | C$1.31B |
| Investing activities | ||||||||||
| Capital expenditures | −C$652.0M | −C$1.07B | −C$629.0M | −C$351.1M | −C$654.0M | −C$1.44B | −C$679.0M | −C$390.0M | −C$936.0M | −C$684.0M |
| Investments (net) | −C$19.0M | −C$84.0M | −C$25.0M | −C$660.0M | −C$602.0M | −C$671.0M | −C$782.0M | −C$1.25B | −C$992.0M | −C$716.0M |
| Acquisitions & other investing | −C$10.0M | C$10.0M | −C$31.0M | C$1.44B | C$654.0M | C$1.44B | C$679.0M | C$390.0M | C$936.0M | C$684.0M |
| Cash from investing activities | −C$681.0M | −C$1.15B | −C$685.0M | C$431.5M | −C$602.0M | −C$671.0M | −C$782.0M | −C$1.25B | −C$992.0M | −C$716.0M |
| Financing activities | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | −C$434.0M | −C$430.0M | −C$413.0M | −C$292.9M | −C$402.0M | −C$388.0M | −C$384.0M | −C$431.0M | −C$359.0M | −C$339.0M |
| Share repurchases & issuance (net) | — | −C$40.0M | −C$40.0M | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net borrowing (repayment) | −C$142.0M | −C$790.0M | C$1.58B | −C$3.53B | C$72.0M | C$37.0M | −C$353.0M | — | — | — |
| Shares issued | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 |
| Other financing | C$0 | C$40.0M | −C$776.0M | C$983.6M | C$0 | C$0 | −C$26.0M | −C$939.0M | C$1.70B | −C$599.0M |
| Cash from financing activities | −C$576.0M | −C$1.22B | C$349.0M | −C$2.84B | −C$330.0M | −C$351.0M | −C$763.0M | −C$1.37B | C$1.34B | −C$938.0M |
| Summary | ||||||||||
| Net change in cash | C$85.0M | −C$1.32B | C$794.0M | −C$1.39B | C$145.0M | C$55.0M | −C$113.0M | −C$1.24B | C$1.30B | −C$340.0M |
| Cash at end of period | C$1.39B | C$1.30B | C$2.62B | C$1.31B | C$1.01B | C$869.0M | C$814.0M | C$927.0M | C$2.16B | C$864.0M |
| Free cash flow | C$690.0M | −C$25.0M | C$501.0M | C$720.9M | C$423.0M | −C$363.0M | C$753.0M | C$998.0M | C$14.0M | C$630.0M |
| Free cash flow margin | 14.0% | −0.5% | 9.6% | 14.2% | 8.4% | −6.8% | 14.9% | 20.4% | 0.3% | 12.2% |
| Capex / revenue | 13.3% | 21.5% | 12.0% | 6.9% | 13.0% | 27.0% | 13.5% | 8.0% | 19.2% | 13.3% |
| Operating cash flow / net income | — | 7.72 | 3.90 | 3.03 | 3.58 | 3.37 | 5.57 | 6.09 | 7.48 | 4.24 |
Negative numbers are cash paid out. Quarterly columns are labeled by the month the quarter ended. Figures in Canadian dollars as reported; data from EODHD.
TU cash generation
In fiscal 2025 (ended December 31, 2025), TELUS generated C$4.9 billion of cash from operations (up 0.4%) and spent C$2.5 billion on capital expenditures, leaving free cash flow of C$2.4 billion, 11.6% of revenue. It returned C$1.7 billion to shareholders through dividends (C$1.6 billion) and net share buybacks (C$40.0 million). Cash and equivalents rose by C$1.8 billion over the year.
Related: TU income statement, TU balance sheet, TU dividend history. See the TU stock overview for the latest quote and news.
TU cash flow FAQ
What is TELUS's free cash flow?
TELUS's free cash flow was C$2.4 billion in fiscal 2025: C$4.9 billion of operating cash flow minus C$2.5 billion of capital expenditures It was C$1.5 billion a year earlier..
How much cash does TELUS generate from operations?
TELUS generated C$4.9 billion of cash from operating activities in fiscal 2025, 6.26 times its net income of C$777.0 million.
How much does TELUS spend on capital expenditures?
TELUS spent C$2.5 billion on capital expenditures in fiscal 2025, 12.4% of revenue, compared with C$3.4 billion the year before.
How much stock does TELUS buy back?
TELUS spent C$40.0 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025.
How much does TELUS pay in dividends?
TELUS paid C$1.6 billion in dividends in fiscal 2025, 69.2% of free cash flow.