Deutsche Telekom Board Places €4.56m Bet as Network Test Victory Fails to Mask Domestic Headwinds

Deutsche Telekom execs invest €4.56m after broadband test win, but domestic subscriber drops and union strikes keep stock near 15% below high.

Top executives at Deutsche Telekom have backed their own stock with a combined €4.56m purchase at €29.15 per share – a vote of confidence that arrives alongside the group's strongest-ever result in an independent broadband quality test. Yet the double dose of good news is playing out against a backdrop of domestic subscriber stagnation, labour unrest and a share price that still sits nearly 15% below its 52-week high.

The directors' buy-in comes as the Bonn-based operator tops the CHIP fixed-line benchmark with a grade of 1.5 – the first time the publication has awarded a "very good" rating in the test's history. Deutsche Telekom beat rivals Vodafone, 1&1 and O2 in five of seven categories, dominating on contract fulfilment, network availability and application performance. It also swept three of the five new speed tiers introduced this year: 250 Mbit/s, 500 Mbit/s and 1,000 Mbit/s.

The methodology gives the accolade real weight. CHIP and measurement partner NET CHECK deployed 1,203 Raspberry Pi-based probes across German households and collected over 104,000 valid speed tests, drawing on roughly 27 million individual measurements. The ranking is built on raw data, not brand perception.

But the test victory, announced days after first-quarter figures, underscores a persistent contradiction in the Telekom investment story. Revenue in the domestic division rose 2.1% on an organic basis to €6.3bn, while adjusted EBITDA AL climbed 2.5% to €2.7bn. Yet the number of in-house broadband connections fell by 3,000 – a tiny drop, but directionally awkward for a group that claims network leadership. The FTTH take-up rate did improve from 15.5% to 17.1% over twelve months, signalling that the fibre build-out is gradually converting into active users.

Management's confidence extends beyond the share buy. The company has reaffirmed its full-year guidance for 2026, targeting adjusted EBITDA AL of around €47.4bn, free cash flow AL of roughly €19.8bn and adjusted earnings per share of about €2.20. Those targets rest on a solid 2025, when organic revenue grew 4.2% to €119.1bn, T-Mobile US added 7.8 million postpaid customers and T-Systems booked €4.2bn in new orders – a 4.2% increase.

On the sustainability front, Deutsche Telekom claims it has operated on a balance-sheet carbon-neutral basis since the end of 2025, according to its latest CR report. The group is using AI for network optimisation and renewable energy, while a new cloud-based approach for the 5G core network is expected to cut energy consumption by up to 65%.

Less harmonious is the mood in the workforce. Trade union Verdi has called warning strikes, with up to 60,000 employees taking part. The union is demanding a 6.6% pay rise, and it remains unclear how long the dispute will drag on.

At the bourse, the stock ended the session at €29.35 – a 0.7% gain on the day, but still well below the 52-week high of €34.25. The relative strength index of 69.6 suggests the shares are stretched but not yet overbought. Year to date, they have risen roughly 5%, though over the past twelve months they remain down more than 14%. The board's recent purchases add a layer of insider conviction, but whether the network quality award can translate into real customer growth will only become clearer when Deutsche Telekom reports second-quarter figures on 6 August.