Digital connectivity has never been more essential for the success of individuals, communities and businesses. VEON and Turkcell are making a vital contribution to growing digital inclusion and providing innovative products and services, wherever you are.
VEON
VEON continued to advance its transformation in 2025, delivering for both customers and shareholders.
Full-year revenues reached $4.4bn, up 9.9% year-on-year. EBITDA exceeded $2bn for the first time, rising 18.8%, with margins expanding by 350 basis points to 45.7%. These results reflect a business with strong operational momentum and clear plans for further growth.
The share price has more than doubled since 2024, making VEON one of the standout performers among its telecoms peers over that period.
Digital growth and platform expansion
2025 was an important year for VEON’s digital strategy. In the final quarter alone, digital revenues grew 84% year-on-year, reaching $235mn and accounting for more than 20% of total group revenues. By the third quarter, for the first time, the total number of monthly active users across VEON’s digital applications exceeded its connectivity user base, reaching 143.3mn. In measurable terms, VEON is increasingly becoming a digital services company as well as a telecoms operator.
Financial services led the growth. Entertainment platforms attracted record numbers of digital-only customers, while super-apps in Kazakhstan and Bangladesh became genuine multi-service platforms. Healthcare and education tools also reached people who previously had limited access to these services. The digital portfolio is becoming a material engine of growth.
Strengthening the leadership team
This performance reflects the strength of execution across the business, supported by a leadership team built for the next phase of growth. During 2025, VEON strengthened the Board and secured a number of important senior appointments, including Group CFO, General Counsel and Chief Information Officer.
Kyivstar on Nasdaq
One of the most significant moves of the year was Kyivstar’s Nasdaq listing. VEON’s Ukrainian digital operator became the first Ukrainian company to trade on a major US stock exchange, under the ticker symbol KYIV.
Taking a Ukrainian business public in the middle of an ongoing war was not without risk, but it was the right decision. Kyivstar is Ukraine’s leading digital operator; it is profitable, growing and central to the country’s digital future. The listing underlined Ukraine’s resilience, VEON’s commitment to the country and the value of the business when the market is given a clearer way to assess it.
The listing attracted investor attention and capital, and gave Kyivstar a platform to pursue its own growth ambitions independently. This included the acquisition of Uklon, Ukraine’s leading ride-hailing platform, which marked VEON’s first move into mobility services and further developed the digital side of the business.
AI and underserved markets
2025 was also the year VEON established a clear position in the global AI conversation, with an approach closely aligned to its markets.
The launch of Kaz-LLM in Kazakhstan, the development of a Ukrainian-language LLM in partnership with Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, and Urdu LLM development in Pakistan all reflect a coherent and valuable strategy: building sovereign AI capabilities in languages and for populations that major Western technology players have largely overlooked. The AI Tutor on
the Janymda super-app, AI-powered features on RYZE in Bangladesh and local-language AI customer care across markets are products designed for people who need them.
Looking ahead
VEON completed a $100mn share buyback programme and launched a new $100mn share and bond buyback programme. The company was added to the S&P Global BMI and MSCI Ukraine indices, upgraded its listing to the Nasdaq Global Select Market and significantly broadened its retail investor base.
The transformation is becoming business as usual. Revenue growth, margin expansion, accelerating digital revenues, a landmark listing, a strengthened leadership team and shareholder returns all point to a business with clear momentum. VEON delivered strongly in 2025 and remains focused on growth and long-term value creation for its shareholders.
Turkcell
31 Dec 2024 valuation: $1,112mn;
31 Dec 2025 valuation: $945mn
Turkcell delivered a strong 2025, beating both guidance and analyst consensus on revenues and EBITDA, with revenues growing 11% to TRY 241bn and EBITDA expanding 14% to TRY 104bn. All major brokers maintain a buy or outperform rating on the stock, though Turkcell continues to trade at approximately a 50% discount to its peer group. Turkcell’s digital, data centre and cloud operations are emerging as a strong growth engine. Given the rapid increase in demand for AI and cloud computing, Turkcell aims to double capacity by 2032, increasing the data centre revenue contribution from 2% in 2025 to around 10% by 2032.