After a $550 Million Buyback, Deutsche Telekom Lost Its Anchor — and the Stock Sank to a New Low

Stock plunges to €23.90 as buyback expires and T-Mobile US faces threats, overshadowing a credit upgrade and raised full-year guidance.

For a company that just won a credit-rating upgrade to 'A-' and raised its full-year earnings outlook, Deutsche Telekom is enduring a strikingly harsh reception on the stock market. On Tuesday, the shares hit a fresh 52-week low of €23.90 on Xetra, extending a year-to-date decline of more than 14%. The disconnect between robust operations and a crumbling share price has rarely been wider.

The immediate trigger was a well-telegraphed event that nonetheless caught the market off guard with its timing. The second tranche of Telekom's share-buyback programme expired on 30 June, removing a dependable buyer that had spent up to €550 million on roughly 17 million shares since April. In the final week alone, the company repurchased 1.65 million of its own papers. Now that support has vanished, and a date for the next tranche has yet to be confirmed. Short sellers have quickly exploited the vacuum left behind.

T-Mobile US drags down the mother ship

Compounding the buyback void is a deepening malaise at Telekom's most important subsidiary. T-Mobile US lost nearly 5% on the Nasdaq as fresh competitive fears surfaced. Reports that SpaceX intends to push hard into direct-to-mobile services via Starlink have spooked investors, who see a high-margin threat to established carriers. At the same time, T-Mobile US has begun automatically moving millions of existing customers onto more expensive contracts — a move analysts warn could trigger a wave of cancellations and choke the unit's growth just when the parent needs it most.

The strategic picture is further muddied by merger speculation. The Wall Street Journal reported that CEO Tim Höttges is exploring a holding structure that would fuse the German parent with its US subsidiary. Telekom has not confirmed the plan, but investors fear a valuation discount: T-Mobile US, which already contributes roughly two-thirds of group revenue, carries a much higher valuation multiple than the parent, and a full takeover would temporarily stretch the balance sheet. The uncertainty has proved toxic for sentiment.

Solid fundamentals, indifferent markets

Against this gloomy backdrop, Telekom's operating performance remains notably strong. In the first quarter, revenue climbed 4.7% organically to €29.9 billion, while adjusted EBITDA AL rose 7.5% to €11.5 billion. The company subsequently upgraded its full-year guidance, now targeting around €47.5 billion in adjusted EBITDA AL and free cash flow of more than €19.8 billion. Fitch Ratings acknowledged the improvement by lifting its issuer default rating from BBB+ to A-, citing better cash generation and a stronger operational profile in the US.

Yet all this has failed to arrest the slide. The stock closed at €24.89 on Monday and crashed through the previous 52-week floor of €24.20 on Tuesday, settling at €23.90. The Relative Strength Index has dropped to 20.8, deep into oversold territory — a technical signal that normally attracts bargain hunters, but so far has not been enough to stem the selling.

Telekom’s next potential inflection point arrives on 6 August 2026, when it will publish second-quarter results. That day, management will have the chance to address the merger rumours directly and, ideally, to announce a start date for the next buyback tranche. Until then, the shares are left exposed to a market that is rewarding everything except the company's own stock.