T-Mobile's Subscriber Warning Casts a Shadow Over Deutsche Telekom's Buyback Momentum
Published on 07/26/2026 at 12:22 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The contrast between Deutsche Telekom's steady hand in Bonn and the turbulence at its US subsidiary could hardly have been starker last week. While the German telecoms giant pressed ahead with its share buyback programme, T-Mobile US triggered a sharp sell-off after flagging a temporary uptick in customer churn, sending the parent company's stock on a brief but telling slide.
T-Mobile US shares tumbled around 11 percent on Thursday after the carrier's second-quarter numbers landed with a mixed reception. Revenue of $22.79 billion fell short of the $22.94 billion analysts had pencilled in, and while earnings per share of $2.99 comfortably beat the $2.58 consensus, the market fixated on management's warning that churn rates would rise temporarily in the third quarter. The profit beat was effectively swept aside as investors priced in the risk of weakening customer retention.
The selling pressure spilled over to Deutsche Telekom, whose stock dipped as much as 2.5 percent in sympathy before staging a partial recovery. By Friday's close, the shares had clawed back to €26.45, a gain of 1.54 percent on the day, but the weekly performance still showed a loss of 2.04 percent. The stock now trades roughly 2.73 percent below its 50-day moving average of €27.19, a sign that the price action remains range-bound rather than directional.
None of this has deterred the parent company from pressing on with its buyback strategy. Between 13 and 17 July, Deutsche Telekom repurchased 1,351,740 of its own shares at a weighted average price of €26.73 — barely a whisker above Friday's closing level. That brings the total bought back since the start of the third tranche on 1 July to 3,673,275 shares. The current tranche, part of the broader 2026 buyback programme, has a maximum volume of €560 million and is scheduled to run until 30 September at the latest.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Deutsche Telekom?
The fact that the company is buying at essentially the same price as the market is trading suggests management sees fair value in the current range, regardless of the noise from across the Atlantic. For investors, the programme provides a structural bid in the stock and a measure of reassurance that the board remains committed to returning capital even when the US unit throws up a surprise.
T-Mobile US did offer some counterpoints to the churn concern. The company raised its full-year guidance for adjusted free cash flow to a range of $18.4 billion to $18.8 billion, up from the previous $18.1 billion to $18.7 billion. Its target for postpaid net customer additions was left unchanged at between 950,000 and 1.05 million. Those numbers point to underlying operational strength, but they were not enough to fully neutralise the anxiety around subscriber retention.
Meanwhile, a separate governance story was brewing at the US subsidiary. T-Mobile US shareholders voted 73.3 percent in favour of a new compensation package for CEO Srini Gopalan, who moved from the German headquarters to the US. The package had drawn criticism from some activist investors over the scale of the pay increase, but the vote delivered a clear, if not overwhelming, mandate.
On the home front, Deutsche Telekom notched an operational win during the football World Cup. Its MagentaTV streaming service recorded a reach of over 200 million viewers, and the number of new subscriptions signed during the tournament was double the level seen during the 2024 European Championship. The boost underscores how major sporting events can drive customer acquisition for the group's TV and streaming business, though the financial impact will take time to feed through.
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Analysts are also recalibrating their views. Deutsche Bank's Robert Grindle trimmed his price target for Deutsche Telekom from €42 to €40 on Friday, while keeping a "Buy" rating. He cited growing competitive pressure from satellite internet services and AI infrastructure projects as factors that could reshape the telecoms landscape. The cut adds to a year in which the stock has already lost 4.82 percent since January.
All eyes now turn to 6 August, when Deutsche Telekom is due to publish its half-year and second-quarter results. CEO Tim Höttges will host a conference call with analysts, and the market will be looking for evidence on whether the churn warning from T-Mobile US is already visible in the group's numbers, or whether the cash flow upgrade and the MagentaTV momentum can shift the narrative. Until then, the stock remains caught between the steady drip of buybacks from Bonn and the uncertainty emanating from the US.
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