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UK mobile provider’s earnings dip over falling customers

Martin Lewis issues urgent advice to millions affected by O2 price hike

Virgin Media O2 has warned of anticipated declines in sales and earnings for 2026, following significant customer attrition attributed to recent price increases.
The telecoms giant reported a net loss of 397,500 mobile subscribers last year and 138,400 broadband customers in 2025, with a further monthly increase of £2.50 for mobile customers announced for spring 2026.
The company's annual results showed a 0.4 per cent decline in underlying earnings, and it forecasts a 3 per cent to 5 per cent drop in underlying earnings and total service revenues for the coming year.
Virgin Media O2 attributes the lower sales outlook to heightened promotional intensity, ongoing uncertainty in the consumer fixed market, and planned streamlining of its business-to-business product portfolio.
The company, alongside Liberty Global and Telefonica, recently acquired British fibre firm Substantial Group for £2bn, a move that has prompted competition concerns from rivals such as CityFibre.