etisalat marks half a century with transformative financial growth and AI-powered vision

As the telecommunications pioneer celebrates fifty years, nine-month net profit surges nearly 46 percent, driven by expansion into sovereign digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence capabilities across the region and beyond.

The financial trajectory of etisalat in the first nine months of 2026 tells a story of disciplined reinvention. Consolidated net profit reached AED 17.2 billion, a surge of 45.9 percent year-over-year, whilst consolidated revenues climbed to AED 57.6 billion, representing 10 percent growth. The third quarter alone delivered consolidated revenue of AED 19.5 billion with EBITDA of AED 9.0 billion, both reflecting steady momentum across the group’s core operations.

The company’s subscriber base has expanded substantially to 254.8 million globally in Q3 2026, with growth of 29.4 percent year-over-year. Within the UAE, the domestic subscriber count rose 5.2 percent to 16.5 million, driven by an appetite for advanced digital services and intelligent connectivity solutions that reflect the nation’s technological ambitions.

A pivotal transaction shaped the quarter’s financial performance: the completion of etisalat’s entire divestment from Vodafone Group, which generated total consideration of AED 21.9 billion and yielded an approximate gain of AED 8.0 billion. This decisive portfolio action reinforced the company’s financial flexibility at a critical juncture in its evolution.

Yet the numbers alone do not capture the deeper strategic shift underway. As etisalat enters its next fifty years, it has articulated a reimagined purpose centred on becoming an AI-powered and enabling telecommunications provider. This ambition builds upon capabilities painstakingly developed across digital services, cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, infrastructure and fintech. The renewed etisalat brand identity recognises that connectivity in the modern era transcends the mere movement of data; it has become the foundational architecture upon which advanced enterprise and government operations now depend.

The company’s infrastructure strategy reflects this technological vision with particular ambition. etisalat plans to expand its international connectivity capacity to more than 500 terabits per second by 2030, an expansion representing more than a twenty-five fold increase from current capacity. This expansion will encompass diverse routes engineered to enhance connectivity efficiency and reliability, delivering the advanced, low-latency performance that emerging technologies demand. Such investment underscores a belief that digital infrastructure constitutes a fundamental pillar for supporting innovation and enabling a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy.

Recent milestones reinforce this strategic positioning. etisalat UAE became the first telecommunications operator in the Middle East and North Africa to achieve ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification for its AI Management System, demonstrating a commitment to responsible innovation. Earlier this month, the company achieved a global telecommunications first by launching 2×2 uplink MIMO technology, delivering up to three times faster upload speeds for compatible smartphones on its 5.5G network.

Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, Group CEO of etisalat, articulated the company’s vision with clarity: over recent years, etisalat has built an integrated portfolio spanning artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, digital services and fintech. As these technologies integrate more deeply into enterprise and government operations, the foundational connectivity, compute and secure infrastructure powering them become increasingly critical. The company positions itself as a key enabler of this transformation, providing the secure digital infrastructure and ultra-fast connectivity that underpins the modern digital economy.

What it means for Abu Dhabi

For Abu Dhabi and the broader UAE, etisalat’s evolution carries profound implications. The company’s expanded international connectivity capacity and investment in advanced infrastructure directly support the nation’s ambition to establish itself as a global hub for advanced technology and artificial intelligence. The enhanced reliability and low-latency performance being engineered into etisalat’s networks create the essential foundation upon which the knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy that national leadership envisions can flourish.

The financial strength demonstrated in these results, combined with the company’s renewed focus on AI-powered capabilities and sovereign digital infrastructure, positions etisalat as a significant economic engine and enabler of national progress. As the company anchors the region’s digital economies and cements the UAE’s position within the global digital landscape, the benefits ripple across enterprise, government and consumer communities alike, supporting the UAE’s broader vision for technological leadership and economic diversification.

Source: WAM