Deutsche Telekom expands 2026 buyback to €5 billion after Q2 earnings beat

Deutsche Telekom increased its 2026 share buyback programme by up to €3 billion, taking the total to a maximum of €5 billion, after reporting second-quarter results that beat analyst expectations and prompted a modest increase in its full-year free cash flow outlook. The company said its shares remain undervalued against historical levels and that recent market volatility created an opportunity for additional repurchases. Post-lease adjusted EBITDAaL rose 7.5% year on year to €11.82 billion, ahead of the €11.7 billion analyst estimate, while revenue increased 4.4% to €29.93 billion. Adjusted net profit climbed 11.1% to €2.78 billion, although reported net profit fell 6.3% because of higher restructuring and U.S. integration costs. Chief executive Tim Höttges said the business continued to perform strongly, adding that MagentaTV gained about 1 million customers with support from the soccer World Cup. Deutsche Telekom raised its 2026 post-lease free cash flow outlook to approximately €20 billion from above €19.8 billion, reflecting stronger cash generation at T-Mobile US, which also raised the baseline for its own free cash flow outlook to $18.6 billion. The U.S. unit, which contributes roughly two-thirds of group revenue, added 277,000 postpaid phone customers in the quarter and grew service revenue 13%, though its shares fell as much as 6% as investors reacted to slower-than-expected growth and a more cautious third-quarter net-additions outlook. Deutsche Telekom maintained its full-year adjusted earnings per share target of about €2.20 and its EBITDAaL outlook of around €47.5 billion.