Deutsche Telekom Chases Faster Fibre Rollout as €9m Buyback Fails to Halt Slide

The German telecoms giant is testing a bureaucratic shortcut in Bavaria while simultaneously scooping up its own shares in a market that remains unconvinced. On 5 June, Deutsche Telekom repurchased 323,130 of its own shares at an average price of €27.90, spending roughly €9 million. The buyback is part of a programme that can run to €2 billion through 2026, with most of the shares earmarked for cancellation and a smaller portion set aside for employee compensation. The company executed a similar €2 billion repurchase last year, yet the stock continues to drift lower.

At the time of the latest purchase, the shares traded at €27.52, down 0.76% from the previous close. That left the price well below both the 50-day moving average of €28.94 (a 4.9% gap) and the 200-day average of €29.04 (a 5.22% gap). The 52-week high of €34.35 is now nearly 20% away, and on a year-to-date basis the stock has shed roughly 18%.

Management’s confidence in the business rests on solid operational momentum. First?quarter results published on 13 May showed organic revenue climbing 4.7% to €29.9 billion, while adjusted EBITDA AL rose 7.5% to €11.5 billion. The group subsequently raised its 2026 guidance, now targeting adjusted EBITDA AL of approximately €47.5 billion and free cash flow AL of more than €19.8 billion. The next earnings update comes on 6 August, followed by third?quarter figures on 5 November.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Deutsche Telekom?

What may ultimately shift the narrative, however, is not the buyback size but the speed at which Deutsche Telekom can convert network investment into paying customers. In the Bavarian town of Abensberg, the company is piloting a stripped?down approval process it calls the “Abensberger Weg”. Instead of wading through local bureaucracy, the telecom is using digital workflows and direct cooperation with the municipality and construction firms to accelerate fibre deployment. Around 6,300 households and businesses will be connected on a self?financed basis, with construction in the Aumühle district starting on 4 May – two months ahead of schedule. The entire project is slated for completion within two years. If successful, the model will serve as a template for other German communities.

The early numbers are encouraging. Nationwide, Deutsche Telekom now counts 13 million homes and businesses as “fibre?ready”, of which 2.2 million have signed active contracts. That gives a national take?up rate of 17%. In Abensberg, however, the marketing rate has already hit 30% – a level that dramatically improves the return on the heavy infrastructure spend. For investors, the question is whether such local outperformance can be replicated at scale.

In the meantime, the charts offer little comfort. The stock last changed hands at €27.66, a dip of 0.25%, and has fallen nearly 4% over the past week alone. Technical support above the 50?day line has been lost, and the 200?day average is now acting as resistance. The dual forces of operational progress and share?price weakness have created a tension that next quarter’s results will need to resolve.

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