LONDON, June 24, 2026, 11:12 BST
Vodafone shares traded down 0.14% at 106.25 pence by late morning in London on Wednesday. The stock is about 19% off its May 21 high of 131.10 pence. Based on 23.03 billion shares now outstanding, the decline has erased around £5.7 billion in market value—about £1.4 billion more than CK Hutchison’s £4.3 billion VodafoneThree stake. That doesn’t mean the deal drove the entire slide. It shows how much extra discount investors have priced in since the high.
The stock is still 38.7% higher over the past year, far outpacing the UK blue-chip index’s 19.6%. But consensus numbers as of June 23 show a median 12-month target at 112.06 pence, just about 5% over the latest price. Analyst targets range from 86.20 pence up to 146.54 pence. Out of 20 ratings, 13 are Hold or lower, with only seven listed as Buy or Outperform.
Vodafone said on May 5 it will buy CK Hutchison’s 49% stake for cash. Net leverage is set to rise by 0.4 times to around 2.6 times, based on annual operating cash profit. The new VodafoneThree group is aiming for £700 million in yearly cost and capex savings by FY2030 and has outlined £11 billion in network investment plans. “We believe now is the right time to take full ownership,” CEO Margherita Della Valle said. Vodafone
The merged company has the biggest mobile customer base in Britain, overtaking BT’s EE and Virgin Media O2. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said owning the operator outright would let Vodafone “a tighter grip on strategy.” Joint ventures slow things down, she said, and more control could help with rolling out 5G faster. The Guardian
Vodafone is guiding for FY27 adjusted EBITDAaL of €11.9 billion to €12.2 billion. The company also expects adjusted free cash flow of €2.6 billion to €2.9 billion. Restructuring and integration costs will peak at around €700 million, with about €400 million of that in the UK. These numbers give Vodafone some room to absorb those costs.
Germany dragged. Vodafone’s top market saw service revenue drop 0.2% for FY26, with some growth coming back in the last quarter. CEO Della Valle said the mobile landscape in Germany is “very competitive” but said the company is “taking the right actions on what is in our control.” Reuters
“There’s still a lot of debt, but cash flows are good,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. Britzman put the buy “just about within the group’s leverage range” and said it shouldn’t stop dividend growth, though he added there were no guarantees. HL
Della Valle says network scale shifts the economics. “If we want this, we need more investment, which needs scale,” she told Reuters on June 16. She said a UK network is now handling traffic for 28 million customers. Reuters
Still, Germany and deal execution could drag. If Germany’s recovery lags or UK integration costs rise, leverage may stay up and there might be less room for dividends or buybacks. Approval could also slip if delayed under Britain’s National Security and Investment Act—Vodafone sees the deal closing in the second half of 2026.
Vodafone will put out its first-quarter FY27 trading update on July 27. The telecom’s final dividend, 2.3625 euro cents per share, is set for payment on July 30.
