Deutsche Telekom Faces Twin Tests as Strikes Spread and Share Price Stalls

Deutsche Telekom navigates wage disputes with ver.di and a 21% stock decline, with Q1 results and labor talks set for mid-May.

The German telecoms giant is navigating a turbulent spring, with labour unrest escalating across the country just days before first-quarter results are due. The stock, meanwhile, continues to languish well below its recent highs, leaving investors watching for catalysts on two fronts.

Labour Dispute Intensifies

More than 7,500 employees have now walked out in warning strikes that have swept from northern Germany through North Rhine-Westphalia and into the southern states. The industrial action comes after the second round of wage negotiations on 27 April ended without any offer from the employer side.

Union ver.di is demanding a 6.6% pay increase for roughly 70,000 collective-bargaining employees, alongside an annual member bonus of €660. The third round of talks is scheduled for 11-12 May, and the union has pointedly referenced the company’s planned €2 billion share buyback programme for 2026 as justification for its wage demands — a move that piles pressure on management both internally and externally.

Stock Under Pressure

The shares are trading at €26.99, roughly 21% below the 52-week high of €34.25. April saw the stock shed nearly 14% after failing to break through resistance above €34. The current price sits well below the 200-day moving average of €29.37, and the stock recently triggered a new four-week low — a clear technical warning sign.

In a separate development, board member Rodrigo Francisco Diehl received 6,066 shares at no cost under the company’s “Share Matching Plan,” a routine transfer from the long-term incentive programme designed to align executives with shareholder value. Market observers typically view such transactions as signals of personnel continuity rather than trading cues.

The relative strength index stands at 72.7, technically in overbought territory — an unusual reading given the ongoing downtrend, which could hint at a short-term bounce but does not indicate a clear reversal.

Fibre Expansion Continues

Despite the walkouts, infrastructure work has not slowed. The company added roughly 370,000 new fibre-to-the-home connections in the first quarter of 2026, bringing the total number of connectable households and businesses to 13 million. Management is targeting 2.5 million newly enabled connections for the full year.

What’s Next

Two pivotal events fall within days of each other. The third round of wage talks takes place on 11-12 May, followed by the first-quarter earnings release on 13 May. Management has guided for full-year adjusted EBITDA of around €47.4 billion and free cash flow of approximately €19.8 billion. Analysts are pencilling in adjusted earnings per share of €2.17 for 2026.

The quarterly report will test whether the operational momentum in fibre and the broader business can offset the headwinds from labour costs and a sliding share price. Speculation about a deeper merger with T-Mobile US continues to create background noise, adding an element of strategic uncertainty that has done little to generate buying interest.

Between the picket lines and the profit figures, Deutsche Telekom’s near-term direction will be shaped by whether the stock can find a floor or whether the selling pressure has further to run.