Deutsche Telekom Hit by Double Blow: SpaceX Threat and Expiring Buyback Drive Shares to 52-Week Low

Deutsche Telekom’s stock tumbled to a fresh 52-week low of €24.20 on Monday, shedding 5.32% to close at €24.91 as a double dose of bad news rattled investors. The sell-off was triggered by reports that SpaceX is preparing to launch its own US mobile service under the Starlink brand, directly challenging T-Mobile US — the Bonn-based group’s most important profit engine.

Elon Musk’s rocket company, valued at an estimated $2 trillion by industry insiders, had previously partnered with T?Mobile US to cover dead zones. Now, according to the Financial Times and Handelsblatt, SpaceX plans to go it alone as a full-fledged carrier. That shift in strategy poses a far more serious competitive threat than the price?hike backlash that has also weighed on T?Mobile this week. The US subsidiary is moving roughly eight million legacy customers — on older plans such as “Simple Choice” and “ONE” — into newer, more expensive tariffs, raising monthly bills by as much as $6 per line. The move has stoked churn fears and sent T?Mobile US shares down almost 5% in New York trading.

Ironically, the very instrument that had been propping up Deutsche Telekom’s share price is about to vanish. The company’s €550 million buyback programme expires on 30 June, and from Tuesday the market will lack that steady source of demand. The loss of support comes at a particularly fragile moment: the stock has now surrendered 27% since its late?February peak and is 13.6% lower over the past 30 days.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Deutsche Telekom?

Against this grim backdrop, speculation continues to swirl about a full?blown merger between Deutsche Telekom and T?Mobile US. CEO Timotheus Höttges is reported by Reuters and Handelsblatt to be working on plans to fold the two entities into a single holding company, a deal that Bloomberg describes as one of the largest takeovers in history. While such a move could eventually strengthen the group’s defence against satellite?based rivals, it has so far only added near?term uncertainty over the corporate structure and potential regulatory hurdles in Washington.

Operationally, the group’s underlying performance tells a different story. First?quarter revenue rose to nearly €29.9 billion, while adjusted EBIT climbed 7.5% to €11.5 billion. Management has reiterated its full?year guidance for earnings of around €47.5 billion and free cash flow exceeding €19 billion. Yet these solid numbers have done little to arrest the slide in the stock, underscoring the market’s preoccupation with the US narrative rather than the domestic core.

Technically, the shares are deeply oversold. The 14?day relative strength index has fallen to 25.1, a level that often precedes a bounce. But any recovery will depend on clarity around the SpaceX threat and whether the T?Mobile tariff overhaul triggers a spike in cancellations. The next major catalyst is the second?quarter earnings release on 6 August. Until then, with the buyback support gone and a $2 trillion elephant in the room, Deutsche Telekom’s stock looks set to remain under pressure.

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