LONDON, March 24, 2026, 18:14 GMT
Vodafone Group’s London shares finished Tuesday 2.18% higher at 110.10 pence, leaving the FTSE 100’s 0.72% gain behind. Still, the stock remains around 9% under its 52-week high from Feb. 18.
The move’s significance ramps up as Vodafone approaches its full-year results on May 12. Its 500 million euro buyback wraps up just one day earlier. Buybacks shrink the share count—Vodafone has made clear this one’s aimed at cutting share capital.
Fresh filings drive home the point. Vodafone disclosed Monday it cancelled 549,582,168 treasury shares, trimming its treasury stock pile to 1,223,859,452. Then, a separate disclosure on Tuesday revealed Goldman Sachs picked up an additional 2 million shares on March 23, paying a volume-weighted average of 107.92 pence per share.
On Feb. 5, Vodafone assured investors it remained in line for the upper end of its full-year guidance, as group service revenue climbed 5.4% in the third quarter. The company’s main segment — service revenue from telecom customers — managed just a 0.7% gain in Germany. In the UK, that figure edged down 0.5%.
Chief Executive Margherita Della Valle said at the time Germany was on the mend, even as rivals kept up the pressure, and described the integration with Three in Britain as “very good progress”. Vodafone, she added, is anticipating “good growth this year” from its UK partnership. Reuters
Vodafone has also been busy trimming and refocusing its portfolio. Back in February, it struck a deal to offload its 50% interest in VodafoneZiggo to Liberty Global, pocketing 1 billion euros in cash and ending up with a 10% stake in the new Ziggo Group—Della Valle described the terms as an “attractive valuation.” Liberty Global’s simultaneous push into UK fibre has only ramped up pressure on BT’s Openreach. Reuters
Tuesday saw some lift from the wider market. European telecom shares stood out, climbing 2.5%, despite investors contending with shaky euro zone business data and ongoing uncertainty tied to Middle East tensions.
Still, buybacks and asset disposals don’t address Vodafone’s core problem: the durability of its operational rebound, particularly in Germany. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were looking for 1.02% growth from Germany in the third quarter. Vodafone managed just 0.7%—a gap that doesn’t leave much margin for a further stumble.
Vodafone’s FY26 results land on May 12, offering the next clear read. Investors will be watching to see if the underlying numbers are starting to show improvement, with less focus on treasury moves by then.
