London, May 16, 2026, 21:05 (BST)
- Vodafone ended Friday at 110.8 pence, dropping 4.48%. The FTSE 100 was off 1.71%.
- On Monday, the stock hit 122.05 pence, its best mark since August 2022.
- Analysts said Germany is still the main question for Vodafone’s turnaround.
LONDON — Vodafone Group shares are set for a tough week, following a steep drop on Friday. Investors shrugged off the company’s raised profit outlook, with attention turning back to Vodafone’s ongoing struggles in Germany, its largest market.
Vodafone shares fell 4.48% to 110.8 pence on Friday in London, with volume at 101.48 million. The FTSE 100 dropped 1.71% but Vodafone’s move was sharper.
Vodafone’s drop comes just days after shares touched 122.05 pence, their best level since August 2022, according to Reuters. The fall throws the spotlight back on CEO Margherita Della Valle’s core issue: can a leaner Vodafone counter weakness in Germany and still deliver growth?
Vodafone reported Tuesday that adjusted EBITDAaL, a telecom industry measure of earnings after leases, climbed 4.5% organically to 11.4 billion euros for the year ended March. Organic growth excludes things like currency swings and mergers to show the business on a like-for-like basis.
Vodafone is guiding for adjusted EBITDAaL between 11.9 billion and 12.2 billion euros and adjusted free cash flow in the 2.6 billion to 2.9 billion euro range for the current financial year. Free cash flow, which means cash available after operating and investment costs, is important for debt payments, dividends, and share buybacks.
Vodafone CEO Della Valle said the company has “broad-based momentum” following three years of restructuring, and is “well set for mid-term growth.” Vodafone has left Spain and Italy, will sell its Dutch VodafoneZiggo stake to Liberty Global, and now plans to take full control of VodafoneThree, its UK business, after buying CK Hutchison’s 49% holding. Reuters
Germany is still a problem area. Vodafone reported a 0.2% drop in organic service revenue from Germany over the year, but said the number turned around to 1.3% growth in the fourth quarter. Vodafone blamed mobile competition, lingering effects from a German TV legal change, and ARPU pressure—the average spend per customer.
Germany is still pulling Vodafone down, Quilter Cheviot analyst Matt Dorset wrote after the results. He pointed out that both broadband and mobile net adds were negative for the year and got worse in the fourth quarter, making it harder to steady Vodafone’s biggest market.
Vodafone trades below its historical average and the sector, Dorset said, but also said “valuation support alone is unlikely to drive a sustained re-rating” unless there’s firmer evidence of a turnaround in Germany. Quilter
Vodafone’s new structure is “smaller and less geographically diverse, but more focused,” Richard Hunter at interactive investor wrote. He said net debt has climbed again, now at 25.4 billion euros after VodafoneThree integration, and called the debt “an ominous weight on the group.” Interactive Investor
Vodafone holds the No. 2 spot in Germany’s mobile market, trailing Deutsche Telekom, AJ Bell’s company profile says. In the UK, its merger with Three pushes Vodafone’s numbers higher in a market where bigger scale matters for network spending.
Vodafone Idea in India surprised with a fourth-quarter profit after fresh investment from Aditya Birla Group, weekend reports showed. The company came out of the merger between Vodafone Group’s local unit and Idea Cellular and has worked to cut debt and pay for network growth, Reuters said.
Few company events are set for the week. Vodafone’s investor calendar points to July 27 for its next trading update, when it will put out Q1 FY27 figures. Until then, traders are working off the last earnings, news from Germany and whatever comes from Vodafone Idea.
Market patience could wear out. Vodafone faces pressure if it keeps losing German customers or if UK merger savings don’t show up in cash flow soon. The higher earnings outlook might not be enough to keep shares supported after their strong gains this past year.
