Key points
- Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter reached €11.5 billion, prompting Deutsche Telekom to raise its 2026 target to around €47.5 billion.
- Net profit on an adjusted basis jumped 6.5% to 2.6 billion euros, while revenues rose 0.4% to 29.9 billion euros.
- The company’s US subsidiary T-Mobile made $217,000 profit from postpaid accounts and increased its annual forecast.
- The expansion of fiber infrastructure in Germany has reached a significant level with 13 million households now having access to FTTH services
- CEO Tim Houtges noted that business activities remain “largely unaffected” despite the global uncertainty.
Deutsche Telekom posted stunning first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, beating analysts’ expectations and revising its annual earnings forecast upward. Shares (ETR:DTEGn) rose 1.65% in response to the announcement.
The telecoms giant reported adjusted EBITDA of €11.5 billion for the period, representing a 2.0% increase compared to the previous year – despite recording 7.5% organic growth when currency headwinds are taken into account.
Total revenues amounted to EUR 29.9 billion, reflecting a modest rise of 0.4% on a reported basis but showing an organic expansion of 4.7%. The discrepancy between these numbers confirms the significant impact of the weakness of the US dollar on the aggregate results.
Adjusted earnings per share increased by 6.5% to 2.6 billion euros, equivalent to 54 euro cents per share.
Management upgraded its 2026 adjusted EBITDA forecast to approximately €47.5 billion from the previous estimate of €47.4 billion. The free cash flow target was also boosted to exceed €19.8 billion, while the adjusted EPS forecast remained at €2.20.
CEO Tim Houtges maintained a cautious tone in his remarks: “Our business operations remain stable, and largely unaffected by events around the world. In fact, we have raised our guidance slightly.”
US operations drive growth momentum
The US division continues to act as the group’s primary growth catalyst. T-Mobile USA It achieved services revenues of $18.9 billion during the first quarter, representing an increase of 11.5% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA for the unit rose 12.9% to $9.1 billion.
Postpaid account growth totaled 217,000 for the three-month period, bringing the cumulative base to 34.4 million. T-Mobile later revised its annual forecast for net postpaid account addition to a range of 950,000 to 1,050,000, representing an increase from the previous range of 900,000 to 1,000,000.
These enhanced expectations at the subsidiary level directly influenced Deutsche Telekom’s decision to raise its consolidated guidance.
Expansion of the German fiber network reaches the main threshold
In its home market, Deutsche Telekom achieved a notable infrastructure milestone during the first quarter: its fiber network now reaches more than 13 million residential properties across Germany.
FTTH subscriber numbers reached 2.2 million, with market penetration rising from 15.5% to 17.1% over the trailing 12-month period.
German mobile services revenue expanded 2.1%, while the company gained 200,000 new customers on branded contracts during the quarter.
Overall Germany segment revenue rose 2.1% on an organic basis to €6.3 billion. Adjusted EBITDA AL for this segment recorded an organic growth of 2.5%.
Traditional copper-based connections fell by 3,000 in the first quarter – a development consistent with the ongoing shift towards fiber-based infrastructure.
The European operations segment attracted 127,000 mobile contract subscribers, gained 54,000 broadband customers, and added 30,000 TV customers. Regional revenues grew by 2.1% organically to €3.1 billion.
T-Systems, the enterprise IT services division, recorded order growth of 3.6% organically to reach €994 million. Revenue in this segment rose 2.1% to €1.0 billion, with digital offerings providing the primary driver. T-Systems’ adjusted EBITDA increased 4.0% to €84 million.
Deutsche Telekom’s organic revenue expansion of 4.7% in the first quarter, coupled with the improved annual outlook, demonstrates consistent operational execution across key business units.
