London, February 4, 2026, 09:24 GMT — Regular session
- Vodafone shares jumped roughly 3% in early London trading
- Investors are gearing up for Thursday’s Q3 FY26 trading update and the accompanying investor Q&A session
- Vodacom’s expansion driven by Egypt gives it a slight edge ahead of the update
Shares of Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone Group Public Limited Company) jumped 2.7%, hitting 114.45 pence by 09:03 GMT. Early trades ranged from 111.35 to 114.60 pence. The stock had closed at 111.40 pence previously, with roughly 13.2 million shares changing hands so far this morning.
The announcement comes just a day before Vodafone’s Q3 FY26 trading update on Feb. 5, which will be followed by an investor Q&A. The company’s schedule also notes an interim dividend slated for Feb. 5 and full FY26 results expected on May 12.
In the background, another clock is ticking. Vodafone kicked off a share buyback program last November, limiting purchases to 500 million euros, set to wrap up “no later than” Feb. 4. The firm said any shares bought back would sit in treasury for now, eventually to be cancelled or handed out as employee awards. FT Markets
Vodacom, mostly owned by Vodafone, saw a boost Wednesday after it posted a nearly 13% jump in third-quarter service revenue. Growth in Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo fueled the rise. “The quarter benefited from sustained growth in Egypt and our international business,” CEO Shameel Joosub said, but he added that “prepaid revenue, however, remained under pressure.” Reuters
Vodafone has continued its share buybacks, purchasing 146,082 shares on Feb. 2 at a volume-weighted average price of 108.66 pence. This raised its treasury stock to 1,464,192,923 shares.
The company revealed a bigger buy the day before, acquiring 1,523,376 shares for Jan. 30 at an average price of 106.94 pence. In a separate statement, Vodafone reported total voting rights at 23,413,913,916 as of Jan. 30, factoring in shares held in treasury.
Thursday’s update will draw attention to service revenue, the steady telecoms segment that excludes handset sales. Investors are zeroing in on organic trends too — a like-for-like figure that removes currency effects and portfolio shifts — since it’s tougher to manipulate.
The questions remain familiar: is Europe finally settling, and is the UK business converting scale into more stable revenue? Africa still swings the balance, and Vodacom’s quarterly results provide some positive momentum ahead of the print.
Early gains could evaporate quickly if the update reveals new signs of pricing pressure or slipping customer retention. Any cautious remarks on cash generation would hit hard, especially since buyback support may dwindle once the current programme ends.
