By Brazil Stock Guide — Claro, one of Brazil’s largest telecommunications operators and a subsidiary of Mexico’s América Móvil, reported a 6.6% increase in third-quarter EBITDA to R$6.32 billion ($1.26 billion), supported by higher mobile service revenue, continued migration to postpaid plans and improved operating margins.
Net revenue rose 5.8% from a year earlier to R$13.82 billion ($2.75 billion), according to results released on Tuesday (October 20). The company’s EBITDA margin widened to 45.7% from 45.4%, while operating profit (EBIT) increased 13.8% to R$3.13 billion. The stronger growth in operating earnings relative to revenue points to improved profitability.
Mobile services remained the main growth driver, with revenue increasing 6.9% to R$7.64 billion. Claro ended September with 92.8 million mobile lines, including 61.9 million postpaid subscriptions, up 7.2% year over year. Postpaid customers now account for 66.7% of the company’s mobile base, reflecting continued migration from prepaid services and helping lift average revenue per user (ARPU) by 2.8%.
The company also reported approximately 26 million 5G customers at the end of September. Citing Brazilian telecommunications regulator Anatel, Claro said it led the market in 5G customer growth, adding more than 7 million connections over the preceding 12 months. The operator also recorded a net gain of more than 1 million mobile lines through number portability over the same period, indicating continued success in attracting customers from competitors.
In fixed broadband, Claro added approximately 93,600 net subscribers during the quarter and maintained an 18.8% share of Brazil’s market as of August. Its share of connections offering speeds of at least 500 Mbps reached 21.5%, while fixed services and other revenue rose 2.6% to R$5.36 billion. The company also reported 14% growth in customers subscribing to bundled mobile and residential services, a strategy designed to improve retention and increase customer spending.
Claro’s expansion in broadband accelerated after the reporting period. On October 1, its subsidiary Claro NXT completed the R$1.75 billion ($348 million) acquisition of a 72.83% controlling stake in Desktop, a Brazilian fiber-optic broadband provider. The transaction, priced at R$20.63 per share, is intended to expand Claro’s regional coverage and integrate Desktop’s customer base and network infrastructure. The acquisition was completed after the September quarter-end and therefore did not contribute to the reported results.
Following the acquisition, Claro filed a request with Brazil’s securities regulator, CVM, for a tender offer covering Desktop’s remaining shares. The proposed process includes provisions for minority shareholders following the change of control, a change in Desktop’s registration category and its exit from B3’s Novo Mercado, the Brazilian stock exchange’s highest corporate governance listing segment.
Beyond telecommunications, Claro is expanding its enterprise technology business. The company launched Claro Cloud in partnership with Oracle, becoming the first Latin American provider to use Oracle Alloy to offer its own cloud services. It was also selected by Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) to provide multicloud management services supporting the agency’s generative artificial intelligence initiatives.
For the first nine months of 2026, Claro reported revenue of R$40.62 billion, up 5.8%, while EBITDA rose 5.7% to R$18.34 billion. The results underscore a strategy built around a growing postpaid customer base, higher-value connectivity services and acquisitions designed to strengthen its position in Brazil’s competitive telecommunications market.
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