LONDON, March 30, 2026, 20:02 BST
- Vodafone repurchased 2.7 million shares at an average price of 110.93 pence, part of its ongoing 500 million euro buyback programme. 1
- Shares closed Monday at 112.60 pence in London, up 2.1%, beating the FTSE 100’s 1.6% gain. 2
- Germany and the UK together made up 55% of Vodafone’s group service revenue last quarter. 3
Vodafone Group Plc picked up 2.7 million of its own shares on March 27, paying an average price of 110.93 pence apiece. The stock finished the day up 2.1% in London. Monday’s disclosure is part of Vodafone’s ongoing 500 million euro buyback. The purchased shares head to treasury — meaning the company keeps them off the market. 1
The filing itself is minor. Still, it comes as Chief Executive Margherita Della Valle pushes capital returns—Vodafone is targeting a 2.5% increase in the FY26 dividend—while she tries to convince investors the turnaround is sticking in Germany and the UK. Guidance remains at the upper end for full-year profit and cash flow. FY26 results are out May 12. 4
Germany still calls the shots. In Vodafone’s Q3 numbers, the country brought in 32% of group service revenue, climbing 0.7% for the quarter. The UK, by comparison, accounted for 23% and edged down 0.5% as Vodafone pushed ahead with the Three merger. Just last month, the company struck a deal to offload its 50% interest in VodafoneZiggo to Liberty Global, pocketing 1 billion euros in cash and picking up a 10% slice of the new Benelux operation. 3
Back in February, Della Valle described Vodafone’s performance as showing “good service revenue momentum” across both Europe and Africa. Addressing Germany following the Q3 numbers, she noted, “every quarter customer experience goes one step higher,” although she cautioned that “the market remains competitive.” 5
Vodafone’s filing on Monday put its treasury stock at 1.234 billion shares, with 23.094 billion shares outstanding, not counting those. The buyback program that kicked off Feb. 5 and is scheduled to wrap up by May 11 comes after the company repurchased 3.5 billion euros worth since May 2024. 1
Vodafone’s push to merge with Three in Britain aims to boost its heft against BT’s EE and O2. When the deal wrapped up last June, both firms committed to channeling 11 billion pounds into the new VodafoneThree venture over a decade. Reuters noted the tie-up would propel them into the top spot. 6
There’s still the issue that buybacks and dividend pledges might not address the underlying operational concerns. Back in February, analysts at Berenberg flagged Germany’s 0.7% service-revenue growth as a touch disappointing. Looking at Vodafone’s Q3 slides, UK figures already faced a tough comparison due to a previous one-off, leaving management with the harder job of delivering proof that the merger will actually pay off. 7
Vodafone counts over 355 million customers in 15 countries, plus close to 92 million financial-services users across Africa. Monday’s update, for now, underlines just how much the Vodafone story hinges on capital returns and more consistent delivery in its key markets. 8
