América Móvil reported a 25.1% increase in first-quarter profit, supported by stronger operating performance and reduced financing expense
In sum – what to know:
Capex set at $7bn annually – América Móvil plans to sustain investment at around $7 billion in 2026 and in the coming years, with further guidance expected at its May investor day.
Operational performance improves – First-quarter profit rose 25.1% to MXN23.4 billion, supported by stronger prepaid recovery, postpaid growth, and lower financing costs.
Direct-to-cell under evaluation – The operator is in discussions with Starlink, viewing satellite-based services as complementary, with broader commercial readiness expected around 2027.
Mexican telecom giant América Móvil announced plans to invest around $7 billion during 2026 in its overall operation, the telco’s chief executive officer Daniel Hajj told a conference call with investors.
Hajj also said that the telco expects a similar capex level for the next few years. “We are going to have our investor day in May, and we will finalize the numbers for the next years, but I can say that we are more or less in that number,” he said.
América Móvil reported a 25.1% increase in first-quarter profit, supported by stronger operating performance and reduced financing expenses.
The company, which is controlled by the family of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, posted a net profit of MXN23.40 billion ($1.31 billion) in Q1. It added 3 million postpaid mobile subscribers during the period, although it continued to lose around 90,000 prepaid users. Quarterly revenue rose 2.1% to MXN236.84 billion, while EBITDA reached MXN95 billion during the period.
Brazil drove growth in postpaid customers, contributing 1.3 million new users. The company added 594,000 new broadband connections across its footprint in Q1, including 175,000 in Mexico and 115,000 in Brazil.
América Móvil is seeing improving momentum in its mobile business across key markets, supported by a recovery in prepaid revenues, while also exploring potential partnerships in emerging satellite-based connectivity models.
“Mobile service revenue growth has been on an upward trend in Mexico and Colombia, supported by stronger prepaid revenue, which has been recovering over the last several quarters,” the company’s chief financial officer, Carlos Garcia Moreno Elizondo, said during the earnings call. “On the fixed-line platform, service revenue growth was up 1.7% in the first quarter. Some regions, particularly Eastern Europe, Central America, Peru, and Ecuador, registered very rapid growth driven by residential demand.”
At the same time, the operator is evaluating the role of satellite-based direct-to-cell services, including potential collaboration with providers such as Starlink. Speaking during the call, Hajj indicated that the technology is still evolving toward broader commercial readiness.
“I think the real direct-to-cell service, from what I understand, is going to be available around 2027. Starlink is going to launch a new satellite constellation, and that will enable direct-to-cell,” Hajj said. “We are open to doing anything with them that makes sense for us, and we are already in discussions. I think it’s going to be a good technology.”
Hajj emphasized that spectrum availability remains a key consideration for such services. “For that, you need to have spectrum. I don’t know if they already have spectrum in some places in Latin America. I understand they have acquired spectrum in the U.S. and in some parts of Europe, but I’m not sure about Latin America,” he said.
Despite the longer-term timeline for full-scale deployment, the company is already engaging with potential partners. “We’re not waiting. We are already in discussions with them. But the full direct-to-cell capability, with the new satellite constellation, is expected around 2027,” Hajj added.
