Deutsche Telekom's Stock Under Siege: T-Mobile US Network Shutdown, Legal Spat, and Musk Fears Collide
Published on 07/06/2026 at 03:24 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Three separate headwinds are converging on Deutsche Telekom just as its American subsidiary enters a critical month. The German telecoms group's stock closed at €25.20 on Friday, down more than 10% over the past 30 days and languishing over 26% below its 52-week high of €34.35. Despite a hefty buyback programme that has already returned well over €1 billion to shareholders, the shares are struggling to find a floor.
A major network overhaul kicks off on August 3, when T-Mobile US permanently switches off its 2G network. The freed-up spectrum will be redirected to modern data services, but the move affects roughly 142 million customers who must migrate to new tariffs. Management has not ruled out price adjustments, adding another layer of uncertainty for the unit's revenue trajectory.
Complicating the picture is an escalating legal dispute with chipmaker Broadcom. T-Mobile US is currently migrating tens of thousands of virtual machines away from VMware servers following a disagreement over support fees. A temporary injunction ensures technical support continues, but only until early August — the same week the 2G switch-off takes effect. That cramped timeline raises the operational stakes for the US arm.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Deutsche Telekom?
Elon Musk looms large over the strategic horizon. According to a Handelsblatt report, Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges has assembled a small team to explore scenarios that include a potential merger with T-Mobile US, possibly under a new holding structure. The trigger appears to be SpaceX's preparations to enter the US mobile market after its own IPO. A senior Telekom manager reportedly told the paper: "Elon Musk makes us worried." Neither Deutsche Telekom nor T-Mobile US has confirmed the plans, but markets have already priced in the risk. The stock tumbled as much as 5.7% on the Monday after the report surfaced, while T-Mobile US shares lost around 4% on Wall Street. Critics question the strategic rationale, arguing that cost savings would be minimal and that a merger could actually depress the combined valuation.
Deutsche Telekom remains active on the buyback front, but the support has been largely ineffective. The third tranche of its €2 billion programme, launched on July 1, allows for purchases of up to €560 million on Xetra through September 30, with a cap of 23.5 million shares. The prior tranche, executed between April and June, saw the company buy back roughly 19.4 million shares for €543.4 million. Yet the sustained selling pressure from merger anxiety and operational headaches has overwhelmed the demand from the company's own treasury.
Technically, the stock is in a fragile zone. It trades 8.49% below the 50-day moving average of €27.54 and a wider 12.43% beneath the 200-day line at €28.78. The relative strength index stands at 36.9, indicating persistent weakness without reaching oversold extremes. Annualised 30-day volatility of 28.92% reflects the heightened unease among traders. The nearest support remains the 52-week low of €23.54, set on June 30.
The next hard data point for investors arrives on August 6, when Deutsche Telekom reports second-quarter earnings. By then, the August 3 twin deadlines — the 2G shutdown and the Broadcom support expiry — will have passed, giving the market a clearer picture of whether T-Mobile US can manage its network transition without disruption and whether new tariffs will cushion the blow to the US business. Until those uncertainties are resolved, the buyback alone looks insufficient to reverse the stock's downward drift.
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