Deutsche Telekom AG

For the first 6 months, group organic sales revenue grew 3.9%, organic EBITDA-AL grew 7.4%, and adjusted EPS grew 10.3%. Tim Höttges also said T-Mobile U.S. posted 9.6% organic EBITDA AL growth in the first half and added 0.5 million accounts, while Christian Illek said T-Mobile U.S. service revenue grew 8.9% year on year and core EBITDA grew 11.7% in Q2. In Germany, Christian said total revenues grew 3.7%, adjusted EBITDA grew 2.7%, mobile service revenues accelerated to 2.4%, and broadband revenue growth improved from 1.6% in Q1 to 1.9% in Q2; Deutsche Telekom reported 161,000 fiber net adds in the quarter and 20,000 broadband customer losses. On reported financials, Christian said Q2 EBITDA growth was 7.5%, adjusted earnings were up almost 13%, free cash flow was up 3% year on year, and adjusted net profit rose 11%. Guidance was increased: group free cash flow was lifted to around 20 billion, constant-currency group EBITDA AL was reiterated at around 6% growth to 47.5 billion in 2026, and DT ex-U.S. EBITDA AL guidance of 15.4 billion was reiterated; with current FX, that would be in line with about 15.5 billion consensus. Management also said the leverage ratio including leases was 2.68 and without leases was 2.3, with leverage still expected to stay below the 2.75 target.

Tim Höttges struck an upbeat but defensive tone, emphasizing what he described as best-in-class growth, strong cash flow, and disciplined capital allocation. He framed the new buyback as a response to what he sees as a large gap between intrinsic value and the share price, while stressing that the company will not sacrifice network leadership, spectrum flexibility, or its A rating. He also highlighted continued investment in fiber, spectrum, T-Mobile’s growth areas, and data centers, while pushing back on satellite as a substitution threat.

Christian Illek focused on the operating detail behind the quarter: T-Mobile U.S. service revenue up 8.9%, core EBITDA up 11.7%, Germany revenues up 3.7% with EBITDA up 2.7%, and free cash flow up 3% year on year. He said Q3 German EBITDA growth should come in below the 2.5% to 2.7% range and Q4 above it, but the full-year Germany EBITDA guidance of EUR 11 billion remains intact. On balance sheet, he said net debt without leases rose by roughly EUR 5 billion quarter on quarter mainly due to shareholder remuneration, while leverage stayed at 2.3x without leases and 2.68x including leases; he said the expanded buyback still fits below the 2.75 leverage target.

Analysts focused heavily on the new buyback, whether it changes the decision not to sell into the T-Mobile U.S. buyback, and whether Deutsche Telekom is considering tower deals or other M&A. Management said the DT and T-Mobile buyback decisions are separate, confirmed it will not sell into T-Mobile U.S. this year, and declined to comment on tower speculation. Questions also centered on satellite competition and whether Starlink or other players threaten fixed broadband; Höttges argued satellite is complementary, not a substitute, because terrestrial networks still have advantages in capacity, indoor coverage, latency, and cost per gigabyte, especially in dense markets. On Germany, management said broadband churn from the back-book price increase should moderate in Q3 and normalize in Q4, and that the market remains promotional but structurally stable.