Deutsche Telekom’s $2 Billion Buyback and T-Mobile Dividend Fail to Halt Slide Near 52-Week Low

Shares hover at €26.59, down 21% from highs, as €2B buyback and T-Mobile US dividend hike fail to lift sentiment; oversold RSI and union vote loom.

A union truce, a record buyback programme, and a dividend hike from its US subsidiary — none of it has been enough to lift Deutsche Telekom shares out of their recent funk. The stock has been hovering just above its 52-week low of €25.99, slipping to €26.59 on Friday after trading at €26.90 earlier in the week. That marks a decline of more than 21% from the 12-month high of €34.35.

The selling pressure has been intense. Friday saw roughly 11 million Deutsche Telekom shares change hands, the highest volume among DAX constituents, as the stock lost 1.48% on the day. Technically, the picture looks stretched: the relative strength index has fallen to 32.6 on one measure and 35 on another, firmly in oversold territory. Yet the downtrend remains intact, with the stock shedding around 8% over the past 30 days alone.

Management has been trying to halt the slide with an aggressive share repurchase programme. In the week from 8 to 12 June, the Bonn-based group bought back about 1.6 million shares for roughly €45.1 million, at an average price of €27.90 — well above current levels. Since the programme’s start on 2 April, more than 15 million shares have been repurchased, with a total envelope of up to €2 billion targeted by the end of the year. So far, the effect on the stock price has been limited.

Some support is coming from the US. T-Mobile US, in which Deutsche Telekom holds a 53% stake, raised its quarterly dividend by almost 16% to $1.02 per share, channelling cash back to the parent company. Those funds help finance the costly fibre infrastructure buildout in Germany, where a planned amendment to the Telecommunications Act aims to give the operator greater flexibility and ease the burden of rollout costs. But investors remain cautious, weighed by fierce competition and regulatory risks — including the growing threat from satellite broadband rivals such as Starlink.

A major overhang may be removed later today. The ver.di union committee votes on a negotiated wage deal covering roughly 60,000 employees. The proposed contract runs through 2028, includes monthly supplementary payments of €340 from August 2026 rising to €480 from July 2027, and rules out compulsory redundancies. A positive vote would give the company planning certainty on labour costs and rule out further strikes.

Longer-term, analysts see substantial upside. The consensus price target is €39.13, implying potential gains of more than 40% from current levels. Expectations also point to a higher dividend for 2026, forecast at €1.13 per share. The next catalyst comes on 6 August, when Deutsche Telekom delivers second-quarter results. In the first quarter, adjusted EBITDA AL rose 7.5% to €11.5 billion, and with a price-to-earnings ratio of around 13.8, the valuation looks moderate. For now, however, the bears remain firmly in control.