We came across a bullish thesis on Vodafone Group Public Limited Company on Uzo Capital’s Substack by Uzo. In this article, we will summarize the bulls’ thesis on VOD. Vodafone Group Public Limited Company’s share was trading at $13.18 as of January 13th. VOD’s trailing and forward P/E were 20.37 and 37.45 respectively according to Yahoo Finance.
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Vodafone (VOD), a listed global large-cap telecom with a roughly $30bn market capitalization, is widely perceived as a structurally stagnant, low-growth incumbent, having delivered less than a 1% CAGR over the past three decades. This perception persists despite meaningful asset value, including a 45% stake in privately held tower and infrastructure assets worth approximately $10bn, which implies Vodafone’s core operating businesses trade at under 5x EBITDA.
At a stock price of 96p as of December 23, 2025, the market continues to price Vodafone as a “boring” income stock with no credible growth optionality. What is largely being ignored, however, is Vodafone’s exposure to AST SpaceMobile through its equity stake and its European joint venture, Sat-co, which could represent the company’s most valuable growth lever.
AST SpaceMobile’s equity has rallied dramatically since the 2024 lows and now exceeds Vodafone’s market capitalization, yet Vodafone’s 14.5m ASTS shares, worth roughly $1.2bn, and its exclusive European Sat-co JV remain entirely unmodeled in Vodafone’s valuation. Sat-co will deliver direct-to-device broadband and voice connectivity across Europe using AST’s LEO satellites, eliminating coverage gaps without requiring new hardware and offering a technologically superior solution to Starlink’s text-only capabilities.
Full European coverage is expected by end-2026, with interest already expressed by mobile operators across 21 EU countries. Despite this, Vodafone’s implied volatility and valuation reflect no expectation of incremental growth, while ASTS trades at over 40x forward EBITDA with sell-side models embedding material European contributions.
The strategic importance of Sat-co is amplified by upcoming European S-band spectrum allocation, rising defence spending, and Europe’s preference for sovereign-controlled infrastructure, where Vodafone’s JV structure provides a clear advantage over Starlink. If Sat-co drives more than €1bn of incremental EBITDA for Vodafone over the coming years, materially improving earnings growth, quality, and free cash flow, the conditions would be in place for a significant multiple re-rating.
Even a modest shift to a 7x EBITDA multiple alongside moderate growth would imply substantial upside, positioning Vodafone as a mispriced equity with asymmetric return potential driven by an underappreciated satellite connectivity catalyst.
Previously we covered a bullish thesis on Verizon Communications Inc. by Charly AI in April 2025, which highlighted the company’s improving cash flow profile, 5G and fiber investments, and attractive dividend-supported valuation. VZ’s stock price has depreciated approximately by 7.49% since our coverage. This is because near-term business weakness persisted. The thesis still stands as Verizon continues to deleverage and generate strong free cash flow. Uzo shares a similar but emphasizes on Vodafone’s satellite-driven growth optionality and valuation rerating potential.
Vodafone Group Public Limited Company is not on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 26 hedge fund portfolios held VOD at the end of the third quarter which was 20 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of VOD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VOD and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None.
