In June 2009, physicist Stephen Hawking organized a party for time travelers in Cambridge, to which he sent out invitations after the event. He jokingly claimed that an empty room proves that backward time travel is impossible. Armed with a time travel device, I could learn about future returns of, say, Vodafone Group (LSE: VOD) share and get super opulent.

We are all bound by the laws of physics, which indicate that time travel is unlikely. That said, one theoretical particle known as a tachyon – which travels faster than the speed of airy and has an imaginary mass – would likely go backwards in time. Anyway, how has the Vodafone share price changed recently?

Vodafone unstable

At the time of writing, Vodafone’s share price is 117.8p, valuing the UK’s leading mobile operator at £27.1 billion. This places the telecommunications group in 29th place in the elite in terms of market value FTSE100 index.

Vodafone shares have surged over the past week. Shares rose 20.1% in five trading days after news broke that French billionaire Xavier Niel had paid £4.4 billion to acquire a 16.2% stake in the British company. This makes telecoms tycoon Niel and his Vega group by far Vodafone’s largest shareholders.

While shares are up just 4.7% in one month, they are up 18% in six months. And despite a edged 44.5% escalate in one year, they remain almost unchanged over five years, increasing by just 1%.

It’s critical to note that these profits do not include cash dividends, which were previously very generous from Vodafone. However, the company halved its annual payout in 2024 from €0.09 (7.7p) to €0.045 (3.85p), causing share prices to fall.

In miniature, Vodafone shares have been highly volatile over the years, plummeting from February 2022 to April 2025, before roaring back to life.

Vodafon value?

Disclosure: My family portfolio bought Vodafone shares in December 2022, paying £90.2 per annum for our shares. I got involved with this company because I viewed it as one of the “fallen angels” of the FTSE 100 – a solid company with temporarily depressed share prices. My timing was far from perfect and by mid-July 2025 the share price was just 80.2p. Oops.

Nevertheless, value investing – buying and holding low-cost stocks – seems to be paying off for my family once again. We currently have a paper profit of 30.6%. What’s more, we reinvested all of Vodafone’s dividends into buying even more shares. This increased our profits significantly, turning Vodafone into a pretty decent investment in the ‘recovery game’.

To answer the question in my title, £1,000 invested in Vodafone shares a year ago is now worth £1,445. Adding around £45 in dividends gives you £1,490, a total return of 49% in one year. That’s more than 10 times the interest on top savings accounts, but always remember that stocks are much riskier than cash deposits.

Will we keep our Vodafone shares? As a value/income investor, I like the 3.4% dividend yield, which beats the FTSE 100 Index’s annual cash yield of 3%.

Of course, an economic downturn in Vodafone’s key markets – Germany, the UK and Europe – could harm its revenues, profits and cash flow. Similarly, net debt of €25.4 billion (£21.7 billion) could limit future growth. Still, we’re on board for the long haul!

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Cliff D’Arcy has an economic interest in Vodafone Group shares.