Deutsche Telekom Doubles Buyback as Demand Fills Its German AI Factory
Deutsche Telekom expanded its 2026 buyback after stronger earnings and high demand for its Munich AI computing facility, which is fully utilized.
Why it matters: Telecommunications operators are trying to turn connectivity, data centers and regional cloud assets into higher-growth AI infrastructure businesses.
Deutsche Telekom expanded its 2026 share-buyback program after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings and high demand for its artificial-intelligence computing infrastructure.
The telecommunications group added €3 billion to the repurchase program, increasing the total authorization to as much as €5 billion.
Shares rose nearly 7%, putting the company on course for its strongest trading day since 2013.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization after leases reached €11.8 billion, slightly above analysts’ expectations.
T-Mobile US remains Deutsche Telekom’s largest earnings contributor, but the company is also expanding its European cloud and AI infrastructure.
Its industrial AI facility in Munich is fully utilized, according to Chief Executive Tim Höttges. Deutsche Telekom is discussing additional graphics processors with Nvidia to expand available computing capacity.
The facility was developed to provide European manufacturers with local computing resources for industrial AI, digital twins, robotics and engineering applications.
Deutsche Telekom is also evaluating whether to participate in the European Commission’s proposed €10 billion AI-gigafactory initiative. No final investment decision has been announced.
The results show how telecommunications operators are attempting to move beyond connectivity into sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure.
If demand remains strong, GPU hosting and industrial AI services could provide Deutsche Telekom with a higher-growth business alongside its established mobile, broadband and fiber operations.