Dividend giant Telus Corporation‘s (TSX:T) stock price fell 14% even though the stock was already trading at its 14-year low. Now it has dipped to a 15-year low. The stock price fell after the company did the inevitable: slashed the dividend by 55% and ended the discount on the dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) from October 1, 2026. Trading near $13.5 per share, it may look dirt cheap, but it is a correction reflecting the new realities. While a dividend cut will help Telus revive its share price, it is better to wait and watch as the company resets its capital strategy.
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Why this dividend giant’s 14% dip caught my attention
In less than six months, Telus has revised its capital plan twice, announced contradictory plans, and undergone a management reshuffle.
- In December 2025, it announced plans to reduce capex and channel the money to bring down net debt to 3 times its adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) by 2027. Then in May 2026, it announced a $66 billion investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and network infrastructure for the next five years. In July 2026, the new management is re-evaluating AI investments.
- In October 2025, it acquired Telus Digital for US$539 million to integrate digital customer experience solutions, AI-driven platforms, and SaaS innovation across its platform and use the latter’s recurring cash flow to repay debt. In the second quarter of 2026, Telus wrote off $2.1 billion in goodwill impairment of the TELUS Digital cash-generating unit.
- The management reshuffle was a normal course of business, as the CEO and CFO retired after 26–30 years of service. The new CEO, Victor Dodig, is new to the Telus family, having joined its Board in May 2022. The new CFO, Gopi Chande, is a Telus veteran with over 16 years with the company.
Both took the helm on July 1 and have made some aggressive restructuring in a month, which was visible in the second-quarter earnings report.
Telus gets a new look
Victor Dodig is bringing back David Fuller to head TELUS Communications and grow average revenue per user (ARPU) and the overall share of a customer’s wallet. Fuller’s previous tenure with Telus was from 2004 to 2019, during which he headed marketing for 4G and 4G long-term evolution (LTE).
Having been in the CEO’s chair for only a month, Dodig shared some of his thoughts on how he plans to turn around Telus at the second-quarter 2026 earnings call. There is some work in progress, which he will clarify in November with a more detailed corporate strategy and the progress of current actions in the third-quarter earnings call.
Should you buy the dip of this dividend stock or wait and watch?
I would wait for the November briefing before buying Telus shares, as growing uncertainty around the roadmap increases the risk of further downside.
For starters, the 2% DRIP discount, which the previous management wanted to phase out by 2028, will end in the third quarter of 2026. The new management has reduced the long-term dividend payout target from 60–75% of free cash flow (FCF) to 45–60%.
The new management has pushed the target to reduce net debt to 3 times its EBITDA to 2028 from 2027. The previous management wanted to reduce this ratio by increasing EBITDA and paying down debt. The new management expects to realise $2.7 billion in cumulative cash savings from the dividend cut in three years and use this money to repay debt.
The approach of the old and new management is very different. Until there is clarity on the path to turnaround and the outcome is visible in earnings results, I would be cautious of buying Telus.
What should you look for in Telus stock?
A complete restructuring can go either way: a turnaround towards profitability or accelerated losses. Telus’s new management is focused on deleveraging the balance sheet. If it succeeds in doing so, Telus’s share price could be a successful turnaround story. However, the financial turnaround should not come at the cost of the AI growth opportunity.
