London, May 9, 2026, 22:04 BST
BT Group shares closed sharply higher on Friday after bullish notes from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs put fresh weight behind Chief Executive Allison Kirkby’s turnaround case, two weeks before the British telecoms group reports full-year results.
The stock rose 6.6% to 236.20 pence, making BT the top FTSE 100 gainer, as JPMorgan lifted its price target to 310 pence from 300 pence and kept an “overweight” rating. Goldman Sachs retained a “buy” rating and raised its mid-term dividend-per-share estimates, Alliance News reported. AJ Bell
The move matters because investors are starting to price BT less as a slow-growth utility and more as a company moving past its heaviest fibre spending. JPMorgan’s note, titled “Entering the next leg of the re-rating journey,” pointed to an improving equity free cash flow position — cash left for shareholders after debt costs and capital investment — that could support a doubling of the dividend by 2030, according to the report. AJ Bell
Analyst Akhil Dattani at JPMorgan said the coming months should ease concerns that have kept many investors away from BT, including pressure from alternative network providers, or “altnets”, smaller fibre builders competing with Openreach, BT’s wholesale broadband network. The bank said the worst of that pressure appeared to be past and expected Openreach line losses to improve. Proactiveinvestors UK
Friday’s rally also followed BT’s decision to put its old consumer brand back at the centre of the business. The company on Thursday brought back BT Mobile for broadband customers and launched “Behind Brilliant Things”, its biggest brand campaign this decade, reversing some of the earlier emphasis on EE as the lead consumer name. Reuters
Kirkby said BT, EE and Plusnet would now target different parts of the market. “Having invested heavily into our networks in recent years, this is now the moment to invest even further in our brands, products and services,” she said. Reuters
BT said the campaign would begin across TV, outdoor, press and digital from May 8. It also announced that it had become the official telecommunications partner of UEFA EURO 2028, with its network set to support connectivity at nine stadiums, 24 team bases and broadcast operations for the tournament.
The consumer push lands in a crowded market. BT faces Vodafone and O2 in mobile and Virgin Media in broadband, while its own stable now has to keep clear lines between BT, EE and Plusnet without confusing customers or wasting marketing spend.
The next hard test comes on May 21, when BT is due to report FY26 results. The company’s investor calendar shows the results date after its third-quarter update in February, when BT said it remained on track for its financial outlook.
In that third-quarter update, BT reported revenue of 5.0 billion pounds, down 4% from a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA — earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, a measure of operating profit — of 2.1 billion pounds, down 1%. It said full fibre broadband reached 21.4 million premises and Openreach added 571,000 fibre customers in the quarter.
But the re-rating case still has weak spots. BT’s third-quarter profit before tax fell by 244 million pounds to 183 million pounds, and the company’s own update cited legacy voice decline, equipment revenue weakness and divestments as drags. If altnets keep taking share, or if cash flow falls short of the 2 billion-pound target for next year, dividend expectations could come back down fast.
For now, the market is giving Kirkby more room. BT closed Friday at the top of the 52-week range shown by Investing.com, after trading between 222.70 pence and 236.20 pence during the session.
