London, June 6, 2026, 15:04 BST
Vodafone Group shares wrapped the week lower, ending Friday at 110.40 pence, off 0.14%. The stock dropped about 0.9% from last week’s close. The week was choppy. Vodafone closed at 113.30p on Wednesday, sank 2.43% Thursday, then edged down again Friday.
London’s market is closed for the weekend, so the timing is key. Vodafone just hit its ex-dividend date, with Hargreaves Lansdown showing the stock marked ex-dividend while the market isn’t trading. The FTSE 100 last showed up 0.07%.
Vodafone shares went ex-dividend on June 4. The record date is June 5. The company will pay a final dividend of 2.3625 euro cents a share on July 30. Buyers after June 4 are not entitled to the payout. The sterling amount for the dividend is not yet set.
Monday’s reopen matters more than usual. Investors are set to look past the automatic dividend cut and focus on the real issue for Vodafone: can a leaner business drive enough profit to get the shares past 110p.
Analyst ratings are divided. A June 4 roundup in Investors’ Chronicle had one “buy”, six “outperform”, six “hold”, six “sell”, and one “strong sell” on the stock. The group’s median 12-month target price was 112.27p, just above Friday’s close at 110.40p. Investorschronicle
Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle called the May results proof of “broad-based momentum” following three years of disposals and restructuring. The company put its core earnings outlook for the current year at 11.9 billion to 12.2 billion euros. Germany, Vodafone’s largest market, is still soft and “very competitive”. Reuters
Vodafone’s bigger move is in Britain. The company said in May it will take full control of VodafoneThree, buying CK Hutchison’s 49% stake for 4.3 billion pounds. The purchase puts Vodafone in charge of the UK’s largest mobile operator by customers, after the merger passed both BT’s EE and O2, which is owned by Telefónica and Liberty Global.
Della Valle said it was the “right time” to take full control. Vodafone is aiming for 700 million pounds of annual cost and capex synergies by the 2030 financial year, counting savings from merging networks and operations. The deal still needs approval under the UK National Security and Investment Act. Completion is expected in the second half of 2026. Vodafone
Vodafone’s Friday news wasn’t about earnings. Instead, Joakim Reiter, the group’s chief external and corporate affairs officer, put out a climate update. Reiter said Vodafone aims for net-zero emissions from its own operations in Europe by 2028 and in Africa by 2035. The company is also looking to cut supply-chain and customer-use emissions 90% by 2040.
The risks are still obvious. A weak Germany, slower UK merger synergies, or longer regulatory reviews could push the focus to execution risk and debt. That would take attention off Della Valle’s push for a simpler business. Analyst targets are split, with the top at 155.44p and the lowest at 86.36p.
Vodafone shares open the week facing a straightforward question after the dividend adjustment and a big Friday session that saw about 148.9 million shares change hands: can the stock stick near 110p. After that, investors are looking for signs on UK deal activity, what’s happening with Germany trading, and if the board can maintain its course with dividends, debt, and spending all in line.
Vodafone still operates as a big, slow telecom company, with over 355 million customers in 15 countries and a major presence in Internet of Things. That size cuts both ways. Small shifts in the share price signal whether the group’s three-year overhaul is starting to deliver more stable cash flow.
