London, Jan 28, 2026, 09:29 GMT — Regular session
Vodafone Group Plc shares slipped in early London trade on Wednesday, easing 0.6% to about 105 pence, after climbing in the prior two sessions and sitting just shy of a fresh 52-week high.
The move leaves investors watching whether fresh contract wins and steady capital returns can keep momentum going into February, when Vodafone updates the market again. The stock has been sensitive to signs of progress in the group’s push for stickier business revenue, while consumer telecoms pricing stays a grind.
Vodafone Business struck a four-year deal with Centrica — owner of British Gas and Hive — to modernise the energy group’s IT and connectivity footprint in the UK, TelecomTV reported. Nick Gliddon, VodafoneThree’s business director, called the tie-up “a catalyst for real change”, pointing to a wider push to help large customers reshape operations at scale. TelecomTV
Vodafone’s UK press office said the work will cover workplace services and fixed and mobile connectivity across 80 sites and 30,000 devices, with VOIS and CGI involved. It said Centrica plans to lean on generative AI and machine learning, and the partners also want to develop combined connectivity-and-energy offers for consumers; VOIS chief executive Gary Adey described it as “a landmark deal for VOIS”, while CGI’s Tara McGeehan said the firm was “proud to partner with Vodafone Business”. Vodafone
A regulatory filing on Wednesday showed Vodafone bought 2,518,599 shares on Jan. 27 from Merrill Lynch International at a volume-weighted average price of 105.17 pence, and said it would hold the stock in treasury. Treasury shares rose to 1,458,521,981, leaving 23,419,438,776 shares in issue excluding treasury stock, the filing showed.
The previous day’s notice showed it bought 2,570,142 shares on Jan. 26 at a volume-weighted average of 104.82 pence. Buybacks are a way companies return cash to shareholders by shrinking the share count over time, though they do not guarantee gains.
European shares were broadly flat on Wednesday after two days of gains, as investors parsed earnings and waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision later in the day.
Still, big enterprise transformation projects can drag, and telecoms groups often need a steady run of contracts before the market starts to pencil in meaningful profit lift. Any wobble in execution, or a tougher turn in pricing, can quickly swamp the positive optics of a new partnership.
Next up, Vodafone is due to publish its Q3 FY26 trading update on Feb. 5, while shareholders also face an interim dividend payment date the same day; Vodafone’s dividend FX rate is due to be set on Jan. 29.
