Vonovia AGM: Investor Anger Over €15M Exit Pay Casts Shadow on Rental Growth and Goldman’s Bullish Call
21.05.2026 - 13:41:49 | boerse-global.de
Vonovia’s annual shareholder meeting in Bochum has become a battleground, pitting a nascent operational recovery against deepening governance discontent. For the first time since 2019, investors gathered in person, only to find themselves split between cheering a solid quarterly performance and demanding answers over a lavish exit package for former CEO Rolf Buch.
The outgoing chief stands to collect more than €15 million in severance, complemented by a further €3.8 million in non-compete compensation. That golden handshake has infuriated institutional shareholders. DWS governance specialist Hendrik Schmidt accused the supervisory board of overstepping, and the asset manager has refused to grant the board its discharge. Deka Bank has also called for greater transparency around the payments. Chairwoman Clara Streit defended the sums as contractually binding, but investors remained unconvinced.
Operational progress offers some cause for optimism
Shifting focus to the numbers, the first quarter of 2026 gave new CEO Luka Mucic ammunition for a more positive narrative. Adjusted EBITDA rose 1.4% year-on-year to €711.6 million, with the core letting business posting a 6.3% gain to nearly €630 million. Rents climbed organically by 4.0%, pushing the average rental rate to €8.46 per square metre, and this despite the disposal of roughly 4,000 apartments. The smaller “value-add” segment – covering in-house trades and energy services – delivered a 30% EBITDA jump to around €50 million.
Management kept its full-year guidance intact: adjusted EBITDA in a range of €2.95 billion to €3.05 billion, and adjusted EBT between €1.9 billion and €2.0 billion. The balance sheet is also moving in the right direction. The loan?to?value ratio stood at 45.1% at the end of the quarter, with a medium-term target of roughly 40% by 2028. Still, the refinancing challenge is daunting. Mucic must roll over more than €15 billion in debt before the decade ends and plans to ease the burden through targeted asset sales, with meaningful earnings growth pencilled in from 2028.
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Stock languishes despite analyst enthusiasm
The disconnect between underlying business trends and the share price was a central theme of the meeting. Goldman Sachs recently lifted its price target to €31.80 and maintained a “Buy” rating, implying upside of over 40% from the current level of €22.47. The stock was trading roughly 11% below its 200-day moving average, underscoring how aggressively the interest rate environment has weighed on the sector. Thursday saw Vonovia shares slip another 1.7% to €22.25, leaving them almost 8% lower year?to?date and well adrift of the 52?week high of just above €30.
Nor were investors cheered by the headline revenue and earnings figures. First?quarter revenue stagnated at €1.2 billion, while earnings per share slumped to €0.25 – further evidence of a company still in consolidation mode rather than expansion.
Dividend vote provides a rare bright spot
One element of the AGM generating less friction is the proposed dividend. The board has recommended a payout of €1.25 per share, which at the current price translates into a yield of roughly 5.5%. Separately, analysts expect the distribution to edge higher to €1.28 per share for the current fiscal year, underscoring the stock’s appeal for income?focused investors even as capital appreciation remains elusive.
Vonovia at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
Another governance sore point is board tenure. Several supervisory board members have served for more than a decade – a duration that many large shareholders argue runs counter to modern stewardship codes and stifles fresh strategic oversight. With the new CEO still grappling with legacy liabilities, the pressure on the entire board shows no sign of easing. The next major milestone comes on 5 August 2026, when second?quarter results will test whether the operational momentum can finally close the valuation gap.
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