London, February 7, 2026, 08:46 GMT — Market closed.
- Vodafone shares recovered 1.47% to close at 110.60p on Friday, clawing back some ground after Thursday’s steep fall.
- Vodafone stuck to the upper end of its annual outlook after the Q3 update, yet investors remained uneasy about how things are moving in Germany.
- Vodafone’s fresh €500 million buyback is underway, and investors are zeroing in on how it’s executed and what that means for cash flow as year-end approaches.
Vodafone finished Friday at 110.60p, gaining 1.47%. That comes after Thursday’s sharp 4.68% drop.
Shares jerked around after Vodafone released its fiscal third-quarter update. The company stuck to its guns, saying it remains set to hit the top end of its profit and cash-flow guidance by March.
That’s significant: Vodafone has been pressing on sharper execution and boosting shareholder returns — buybacks included — to sustain its re-rating, even as it works to revive growth in Germany, its largest market.
Vodafone reported a 6.5% bump in total group revenue to €10.5 billion, crediting both stronger service revenue and benefits from consolidation. Organic service revenue growth, though, softened a bit—coming in at 5.4%.
Service revenue in Germany ticked up 0.7%—the second quarter in a row of gains—though that still fell a bit short of some analyst forecasts. Reuters Vodafone chief Margherita Della Valle pointed to better customer experience, but emphasized the market “remains competitive.” Reuters
Vodafone highlighted robust gains in Africa, with organic service revenue growth steady at 13.5%, outside its German operations.
Turkey stood out in the weeds. Vodafone reported a 3.7% rise in service revenue in euro terms, once you strip out the hyperinflation adjustment. But when reporting under IAS 29, euro service revenue actually fell 13.5%. Investegate Morgan Stanley’s Emmet Kelly flagged that the “meaningfully” negative turn in Turkey is significant, since the country has been a core profit engine. Investing.com Nigeria
Vodafone reported a 0.5% drop in UK organic service revenue, matching expectations after a one-off last year. The company also pointed to “very good progress” on merging its UK operations with Three. Investegate
Vodafone has wrapped up €3.5 billion in share buybacks since May 2024, according to the company. Its next €500 million round kicked off this week.
Germany’s rebound could end up stuck in the mud, not gaining real momentum — any lingering price squeeze, customer turnover, or sluggish broadband gains might lock service revenue growth at the floor. After this stock’s sharp climb, the market won’t wait to react if that happens.
Come Monday, the focus turns to whether the rebound after the update has legs—and if analysts, digging into the details, change their view on Germany. Looking ahead, Vodafone is set to report FY26 results on May 12, according to its calendar.
