Deutsche Telekom shares ended the week on a high note, lifted by a historic viewership milestone for its MagentaTV platform and the backing of two major investment banks. The stock closed Friday at €27.01, up 3.09% on the week, as traders weighed the commercial implications of a World Cup audience that eclipsed any previous live-streaming event.
MagentaTV’s coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup attracted more than 200 million viewers, nearly three times the 70 million who tuned in for the Euro 2024 tournament. The knockout rounds drew the heaviest traffic: the England-Norway quarter-final alone pulled in 8 million viewers, followed by Brazil-Norway in the round of 16 (6.9 million) and the France-Senegal group-stage match (6.5 million). The surge in interest translated into more than double the number of new subscriptions compared with the Euro 2024 campaign, fuelled by advertising demand and exclusive match offerings. The final on 19 July offers an additional opportunity to convert fleeting viewers into paying subscribers.
Yet the record audience numbers have not been accompanied by a revenue forecast for the current fiscal year. The company’s statement on the viewing figures did not disclose the financial impact, leaving investors to gauge the durability of the subscription bump when quarterly results arrive later in the reporting season.
Analysts have been issuing their own assessments of the broader growth story. On 10 July, JPMorgan reiterated its buy rating with a €40 price target, followed three days later by UBS analyst Polo Tang, who set a target of €36.20. Both houses point to a stable German core business and the dominant market position of T-Mobile US, which is expected to deliver second-quarter earnings on 23 July. Consensus estimates peg earnings per share between $2.57 and $2.58 on revenue of about $23 billion. The focus will be on contract customer additions, particularly as the US unit migrates legacy subscribers to higher-value 5G plans through targeted price adjustments.
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A positive surprise from T‑Mobile US could provide further momentum for the parent company’s stock, which has already recovered 14.74% from its 52-week low of €23.54 reached at the end of June. At Friday’s close, the shares still trade 21.37% below the February high of €34.35, and the year-to-date decline stands at 2.81%.
Technical indicators have been cautiously encouraging. On Friday, the stock crossed above its 38-day moving average, a signal that market participants often interpret as the start of a stabilisation phase. The relative strength index sits at a neutral 55.7, suggesting room for further upside without overbought conditions. Volatility remains elevated at 31.51% on a 30-day basis, a reflection of the ongoing news flow around the US business and strategic partnerships.
Among those strategic initiatives is the EU-funded PETRUS2 quantum‑communication project, coordinated by Deutsche Telekom and involving Airbus and Thales, announced on 14 July. Meanwhile, the company is pressing ahead with its share buyback programme. The third tranche, worth up to €560 million, began on 1 July and will run until the end of September, forming part of a 2026 programme totaling as much as €2 billion. By reducing the number of shares outstanding, the buyback directly supports earnings per share.
The coming week brings two key data points: the 23 July earnings release from T‑Mobile US and the market’s verdict on the World Cup final’s streaming numbers. If the US unit’s results confirm the analysts’ optimistic scenarios, the technical recovery could gain a firmer footing, giving investors more than just a record viewership headline to trade on.
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