In a world of flashy growth narratives, Switzerland’s telecom market is the opposite: deliberate, demanding, and defiantly mature. That’s exactly where Sunrise Communications AG has learned to compete—and increasingly to win. In 2025, the company sits at a pivotal moment: reaffirming guidance, laying out clear dividend targets, cleaning up its listing structure, and nudging margins higher in a market that rarely forgives strategic missteps. The equity story isn’t about fireworks. It’s about discipline. And in telecom, that counts.
But here’s the catch. Stability has to be earned every quarter. Sunrise has to show it can protect service revenue as device cycles lengthen, keep churn in check across brands, and convert capex into cash flow. Let’s dig deeper into the company, its financial pulse, and what that high dividend really signals for investors.
Company Overview: Challenger With Scale
Sunrise Communications AG is Switzerland’s second-largest integrated telecom operator, competing head-to-head with Swisscom in mobile, broadband, TV, and business communications. Its portfolio spans premium and value brands—Sunrise, yallo, Lebara, swype, and the legacy UPC footprint—designed to serve a country where customers value quality and bundle convenience over bargain-bin pricing. The multi-brand approach lets Sunrise segment the market by willingness to pay without eroding its flagship promise—a practical way to minimize churn in a small, saturated country.
Now, why does this matter? In a mature market, growth comes from defending share, nudging ARPU with thoughtful bundles, and deepening customer relationships. Sunrise’s brand architecture is built for exactly that.
The Financial Pulse: A Tight Quarter, A Tight Message
Sunrise’s Q1 2025 tells a concise story: revenue softened, EBITDAaL edged up, free cash flow was seasonally lower—and management reaffirmed full-year guidance.
- Q1 revenue came in at CHF722.1 million, down from CHF746.8 million in the prior year, primarily due to weaker hardware sales and calibrated “right-pricing” activities.
- Adjusted EBITDAaL increased slightly by 0.4% year over year to CHF240.0 million, reflecting cost discipline and mix resilience despite the top-line dip.
- Net loss narrowed sharply to CHF1.6 million from CHF128.2 million a year earlier, helped by improved operating leverage and fewer one-offs.
- Management confirmed 2025 guidance in full and highlighted commercial momentum: +12,000 mobile postpaid net adds and +5,000 internet net adds during the quarter.
- ARPU pressure persisted—mobile ARPU at CHF28.6 and fixed at CHF58—owing to pricing moves and brand composition, a known trade-off when defending share across segments.
- Capex was front-loaded for network and CPE, depressing adjusted free cash flow early with expectations for normalization later in the year.
The through-line? A stable, realistic plan. Fewer promos, careful pricing, and a focus on loyalty and service quality over sugar-high growth.
Dividends: Clear Targets, Investor Signaling
Sunrise has been unusually specific about dividends—an investor-friendly choice in a sector where payouts can surprise.
- For 2024 results, the company proposed a total dividend around CHF240 million, equating to CHF3.33 per Class A share and CHF0.33 per Class B share, paid in May 2025.
- For the 2025 financial year (payable in 2026), Sunrise guided to a 2.7% increase: CHF3.42 per Class A share and about CHF0.34 per Class B share.
- Some investor tools show a forward yield in the 7%+ range on the Swiss line, underlining why the stock screens well for income portfolios in Europe.
Now, why does this matter? Dividend specificity is a signaling device. It says: the board is confident in cash generation after capex. The market, in turn, will judge quarter by quarter whether free cash flow backs the promise.
Listing Cleanup: Nasdaq Out, SIX In
Sunrise’s American Depositary Shares (ADSs) on Nasdaq were always a bridge, not a destination. The company moved to streamline listings and costs:
- Q1 materials and subsequent notices laid out a mid-August 2025 delisting of Class A ADSs from Nasdaq, with continued primary trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange under ticker SUNN.
- An OCC information memo pegs the last Nasdaq trading day for SNRE ADSs at August 15, 2025, and outlines anticipated ADR termination steps into November 2025, with instructions for holders on exchanging ADSs for Swiss shares.
- Sunrise reiterated that Switzerland is the natural home market for the equity, aligning disclosure and liquidity with where most investors will track the name.
For U.S.-based holders, the housekeeping reduces redundancy and, over time, should simplify how the stock is modeled and followed.
Strategy in Practice: Network, Brands, and Integration
Three operational pillars dominated the Q1 narrative:
- Network quality: Sunrise launched its 5G Standalone network with 99.5% national coverage—table stakes for a premium market, but a useful talking point as it leans into fixed-wireless access and convergence.
- Brand execution: Net adds stayed positive even as ARPU ticked down, a sign the multi-brand toolkit is doing its job defending share without initiating a full-blown price war.
- Integration progress: Migration of legacy UPC customers to Sunrise products neared completion by mid-year, an important milestone to simplify systems and unlock opex efficiencies in 2H25 and 2026.
But here’s the catch. Device cycles are lengthening and replacement spending is down—a drag on hardware revenue that can obscure stable service lines. That’s why the slight EBITDAaL improvement in a soft revenue quarter is notable.
The 2024 Base and 2025 Guide: What Management Promised
Looking back, Sunrise ticked its 2024 targets despite a gentle revenue decline:
- 2024 revenue decreased slightly by 0.6% year over year, but adjusted EBITDAaL rose 0.7%; capex intensity fell to 16.9% of revenue; adjusted free cash flow increased 2.8%.
- The 2025 playbook: broadly stable revenue, stable-to-low-single-digit adjusted EBITDAaL growth, capex at 15–16% of revenue, and adjusted free cash flow of CHF370–390 million.
- The company also emphasized rising device sales in Q4 2024 via a Device-as-a-Service push, bucking market trends with more than +7% year-over-year growth in that quarter—useful in smoothing retail volatility.
Investors should anchor on that FCF corridor and watch how capex normalization and customer migration efficiencies show up in 2H numbers.
Stock Performance and Market View: A Dividend Story With Volatility
While Sunrise is new as a standalone listing post-Liberty Global spin mechanics, early 2025 trading framed the equity as a high-dividend, low-drama telco with periodic volatility around prints and macro moves. Previews around the May quarter anticipated softer revenue; the modest EBITDAaL beat and reaffirmed guidance helped steady sentiment. Analyst screens tend to bucket Sunrise with defensive European telecoms where dividend yield and cash conversion take precedence over revenue growth fireworks.
A practical investor angle: think of Sunrise less as a “stock pickers’ momentum trade” and more as a bond proxy with equity optionality. Execution nudges the yield’s credibility higher or lower.
Competitive Context: Fighting Swiss-Style
Switzerland’s telecom market is famously exacting. Swisscom remains the incumbent benchmark on network and service. Sunrise competes by:
- Offering premium flagship bundles under Sunrise while stretching to value buyers via yallo, Lebara, and swype.
- Emphasizing convergence—mobile, broadband, TV—to reduce churn and keep households in-ecosystem.
- Leaning into content and device strategies that enhance perceived value without over-subsidizing.
The focus in 2025 isn’t market-share theatrics. It’s cost discipline, selective pricing, and customer loyalty—Swiss-style, long game.
Risks: Where Things Could Go Sideways
- ARPU pressure: Brand mix and promotional hangover can keep ARPU under pressure, even with net adds positive.[3]
- Hardware weakness: Prolonged softness in device sales can weigh on reported revenue and retail margins.[3]
- Execution risk: Integration milestones, billing migrations, and IT stack simplification must land cleanly to unlock opex savings.
- Regulatory backdrop: Switzerland’s pro-consumer environment forces careful pricing power; any misread can dent both growth and goodwill.
- FX and listing transition: Delisting logistics and any OTC trading frictions for ADS holders can create temporary noise.
None are existential. But they’re the dials investors should watch.
Opportunities: Where Upside Can Surprise
- Efficiency dividends: Completing UPC migrations and consolidating platforms can lift margins through 2026.[4]
- 5G SA monetization: Fixed-wireless and enterprise mobility can thicken service revenue if packaged smartly around reliability and reach.
- Cash discipline: Capex normalization combined with steady net adds can pull adjusted FCF toward the upper end of guidance, strengthening dividend credibility.
- Dividend visibility: Sticking to the CHF3.42 Class A target for 2025 (paid in 2026) keeps income funds engaged and can compress the equity risk premium over time.
A Real-World Investor Lens: The Income Allocator
Consider a European income fund facing a world where safe yields have retraced but equity coupons still matter. Sunrise screens high on forward yield and guidance clarity. The PM sizes the position modestly, accepting ARPU softness in exchange for visible cash conversion in 2H25. They set tripwires: if adjusted FCF guidance slips or capex creeps above 16% of revenue, they reassess; if churn control and net adds keep steady, they add on dips around macro jitters. It’s not a moonshot. It’s the kind of position that quietly does work in a diversified income sleeve.
Key Insights at a Glance
- Q1 2025: CHF722.1 million revenue; CHF240.0 million adjusted EBITDAaL (+0.4% YoY); net loss narrowed to CHF1.6 million; guidance reaffirmed.
- Commercial: +12k mobile postpaid and +5k internet net adds; ARPU under pressure from pricing and mix.
- 2024 base: revenue −0.6%, adjusted EBITDAaL +0.7%, capex intensity 16.9%, adjusted FCF +2.8%.
- Dividends: Paid CHF3.33 per Class A for 2024; guided CHF3.42 per Class A for 2025 (payable 2026).
- Listing: Nasdaq ADS delisting mid-August 2025; primary trading on SIX (SUNN); ADR termination steps outlined into November 2025.
Conclusion: Who Should Consider Sunrise?
- Short-term traders: Expect orderly volatility around earnings and listing milestones; not a momentum darling, but prints and dividend dates can move the tape.
- Long-term income investors: This is the core audience. Sunrise offers a high, clearly guided dividend, stable operations, and a credible roadmap for modest EBITDAaL growth and capex normalization—attractive in a defensive European sleeve.
- Pragmatic growth seekers: If looking for high top-line growth, look elsewhere. If looking for disciplined execution, brand segmentation, and cash discipline in a mature market, Sunrise merits a place on the shortlist.