Last Updated: 7 August 2026

AT&T Inc. is the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States and, since the WarnerMedia spin-off of April 2022, a pure connectivity business again. The strategy is deliberately narrow: sell mobile service, build fibre to as many homes and businesses as capital allows, and sell both to the same customer. In the second quarter of 2026 AT&T added 432,000 postpaid phone subscribers and 646,000 total internet customers, passed 38.6 million fibre locations, and closed a roughly $23bn purchase of spectrum from EchoStar. It also carries $144bn of gross debt. This report sets out what the filings say, without opinions on the share price.

1. Company Snapshot

FieldValue
CompanyAT&T Inc.
Ticker / ExchangeT (New York Stock Exchange)
SectorCommunication Services — telecommunications
Headquarters208 S. Akard St, Dallas, Texas, United States
CEO / LeadershipJohn Stankey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO since July 2020, Chairman since February 2025). Pascal Desroches is Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer until 31 December 2026; Jennifer Biry, currently Deputy CFO, becomes CFO on 1 January 2027. Jeffery McElfresh is Chief Operating Officer.
EmployeesApproximately 133,030 at 31 December 2025, of whom about 43% are represented by the Communications Workers of America, the IBEW or other unions. A further ~477,000 retirees are covered by company benefit programmes.
Revenue (FY2025)$125,648m ($125.6bn), up 2.7% on FY2024
Net income (FY2025)$21,953m attributable to AT&T; diluted EPS $3.04, which includes a $5.6bn gain on the sale of the DIRECTV stake
Adjusted EPS (FY2025)$2.12
Free cash flow (FY2025)$16.6bn on AT&T's own definition, excluding DIRECTV
Market capitalisation~$162.2bn at the close on 6 August 2026 (share price $23.68; 6,852,385,650 shares outstanding at 16 July 2026)
Dividend$0.2775 per share quarterly, $1.11 annualised, held flat since 2022. Latest payment 3 August 2026 to holders of record 10 July 2026.
Gross debt$144.0bn at 30 June 2026; net debt $126.4bn; net debt to adjusted EBITDA 2.68x

2. Bull and Bear Case

Bull Case

  • Convergence is working: 42.5% of advanced home internet households also take AT&T wireless as at Q2 2026, and 45% excluding the recently acquired Lumen footprint. Q2 2026 delivered a record combined fibre and fixed-wireless result of over one million Advanced Connectivity customer additions.
  • Subscriber momentum against larger rivals: 432,000 postpaid phone net adds in Q2 2026, against 184,000 at Verizon in the same quarter, with postpaid phone churn of 0.86%.
  • Cash generation is guided higher, not lower: management reiterated free cash flow of $18bn or more in 2026, $19bn or more in 2027 and $21bn or more in 2028, alongside adjusted EPS of $2.25 to $2.35 in 2026 and a double-digit three-year EPS growth rate through 2028.
  • Capital returns are being expanded: the 2026 buyback was raised from about $8bn to about $10bn at the Q2 print, with roughly $24bn of repurchases and $45bn or more of total shareholder returns planned across 2026 to 2028.
  • Spectrum and fibre depth: the EchoStar transaction adds roughly 50 MHz of nationwide spectrum, and the fibre footprint reached 38.6 million locations with targets of 40 million by end-2026 and 60 million by end-2030.

Bear Case

  • The balance sheet is the constraint: gross debt of $144.0bn at 30 June 2026, before drawing $14.5bn of term loans to fund EchoStar. Management expects net leverage to rise to roughly 3.2x and to take about three years to return to 2.5x.
  • Revenue has gone nowhere for four years: FY2025 revenue of $125.6bn is below the restated FY2021 figure of $134.0bn, and the five-year compound growth rate is negative.
  • Legacy is shrinking faster than it can be shut down: the Legacy segment fell 25.9% in Q2 2026 with EBITDA down 45.5%, and management expects Legacy EBITDA to turn negative after 2027 until copper operating costs are eliminated.
  • Pricing pressure is acknowledged by the company: AT&T's own filings flag ongoing pressure on pricing during 2026, especially in wireless services, in a market where growth has moderated and promotional intensity has not.
  • The dividend has not moved since 2022: $1.11 annualised for four consecutive years, following the cut from $2.08 at the WarnerMedia separation. Shareholder return growth is coming from buybacks, not the payout.

3. Business Segments

The table below uses the FY2025 reporting structure as filed in the 2025 Form 10-K. From Q1 2026 AT&T reports on a different basis — Advanced Connectivity, Legacy and Latin America — with Advanced Connectivity representing roughly 90% of 2025 revenue on a recast basis.

Segment% of revenueWhat it is
Mobility71.2% ($89,482m)US wireless service and equipment. Service revenue $67,384m, equipment $22,098m. Segment operating income $27,196m at a 42.0% EBITDA margin — the profit engine of the group.
Business Wireline13.7% ($17,231m)Connectivity and legacy voice and data services sold to enterprises, government and wholesale customers. Declining, and loss-making at the segment operating line in FY2025 at $(816)m.
Consumer Wireline11.3% ($14,183m)Residential broadband, dominated by AT&T Fiber and now AT&T Internet Air fixed wireless. Segment operating income $1,547m; the growth arm of the wireline business.
Latin America3.5% ($4,379m)Wireless operations in Mexico under the AT&T and Unefon brands. Service revenue $2,715m, equipment $1,664m; segment operating income $145m.
Corporate and eliminations0.3% ($373m)Corporate-level items and intersegment eliminations not allocated to the operating segments.

4. Business Model and Moat

How it makes money. AT&T sells recurring monthly connectivity subscriptions and, alongside them, the handsets and equipment customers use to access them. In FY2025, $67,384m of Mobility revenue was recurring service revenue and $22,098m was equipment — equipment is close to a pass-through, so the economics sit almost entirely in the service line. Consumer Wireline adds a second recurring bill to the same household. The commercial objective of the convergence strategy is straightforward: a customer taking both wireless and home internet is materially harder to dislodge than one taking either alone.

What protects it. The moat is physical and regulatory rather than commercial. Building a national wireless network requires licensed spectrum, which is finite and allocated by the FCC — hence the roughly $23bn paid to EchoStar in July 2026 for around 50 MHz of nationwide capacity. Building fibre requires trenching past a home once; the incremental cost of serving the second and third customer on a passed street is small, which is why AT&T is pushing towards 60 million locations. The result is a market with three national wireless carriers and, in most streets, one or two fixed-line options.

Where the model is under strain. The copper network AT&T is retiring still carries 2.1 million switched access lines and 2.8 million legacy consumer internet connections, and it costs money to run whether or not customers remain on it. AT&T holds FCC approval to discontinue legacy services in over 30% of its wire centres by late 2026 and aims to power down the large majority of the domestic copper footprint by end-2029. Until then, the Legacy segment is a declining revenue line carrying a fixed cost base.

Where the capital goes. Capital investment was $22.0bn in FY2025 and is guided to $23bn to $24bn a year through 2028. Against $40.3bn of operating cash flow, that leaves roughly $19bn before vendor financing and before the roughly $8.2bn annual dividend commitment — which is the arithmetic that governs how much AT&T can repay in debt and repurchase in stock in any given year.

5. Financial Health

All figures below are taken from AT&T's Form 10-K filings and quarterly earnings releases, cross-checked against the SEC XBRL company facts for CIK 0000732717.

Fiscal YearRevenue ($m)YoY %GAAP EPSAdjusted EPSDividend/shareLong-term debt (YE)
FY2021 †134,038−6.3%$2.73$2.63$2.08$151,011m
FY2022120,741−9.9%$(1.13)$2.57$1.11$128,423m
FY2023122,428+1.4%$1.97$2.41$1.11$127,854m
FY2024 ‡122,336−0.1%$1.49$2.26$1.11$118,443m
FY2025125,648+2.7%$3.04$2.12$1.11$127,089m

† FY2021 is shown on the restated continuing-operations basis presented in the FY2022 Form 10-K, following the April 2022 WarnerMedia separation. As originally reported for FY2021, including WarnerMedia, revenue was $168.9bn and diluted EPS $2.76.

‡ FY2024 adjusted EPS is the $2.26 figure reported at the time. When AT&T reported FY2025 it recast prior periods to exclude DIRECTV, restating FY2024 adjusted EPS to $1.95. On that consistent basis FY2025 adjusted EPS of $2.12 is an increase, not a decline.

Long-term debt above is the non-current balance. Including current maturities, total debt was $169,045m at FY2021, $135,024m at FY2022, $135,240m at FY2023, $123,532m at FY2024 and $136,100m at FY2025. Debt maturing within one year was $9,011m at 31 December 2025, and cash and cash equivalents were $18,234m.

Quarter / HalfRevenue ($m)Adjusted EPSGAAP EPS
Q2 202631,558$0.65$0.66
Q1 202631,506$0.57$0.54
Q4 202533,466$0.52$0.53
Q3 202530,709$0.54$1.29
Q2 202530,847$0.54$0.62
FY2025 total125,648$2.12$3.04

The Q3 2025 GAAP figure of $1.29 contains the $5.6bn gain on the sale of AT&T's remaining 70% DIRECTV stake to TPG, which completed on 2 July 2025. That gain contributed roughly $0.80 of the $3.04 FY2025 diluted EPS and does not recur.

FY2025 cash flow, taken from the 10-K statement of cash flows: net cash from operating activities $40,284m; capital expenditures $20,842m; cash paid for vendor financing $1,181m, giving capital investment of $22,023m; depreciation and amortisation $20,886m; cash interest paid $6,625m; cash income taxes paid $1,353m. Total operating income was $24,162m.

6. Valuation Metrics

Raw metrics, August 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

MetricValue
Share price$23.68 at the close on 6 August 2026
Market cap~$162.2bn (6,852,385,650 shares at $23.68)
Trailing P/E (GAAP)~7.8x. Trailing-twelve-month GAAP diluted EPS of $3.02 is the sum of Q3 2025 $1.29, Q4 2025 $0.53, Q1 2026 $0.54 and Q2 2026 $0.66. That TTM figure is flattered by the $5.6bn DIRECTV disposal gain booked in Q3 2025; on trailing-twelve-month adjusted EPS of $2.28 the same share price is roughly 10.4x earnings.
P/E (forward)~10.3x on the midpoint of AT&T's own FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $2.25 to $2.35, reiterated on 22 July 2026
P/S (TTM)~1.28x (market cap ~$162.2bn / trailing-twelve-month revenue ~$127.2bn; TTM revenue is Q3 2025 $30,709m plus Q4 2025 $33,466m plus Q1 2026 $31,506m plus Q2 2026 $31,558m)
Enterprise value~$288.6bn (market cap ~$162.2bn + total debt $144.0bn − cash $17.6bn, per the 30 June 2026 balance sheet). This predates the EchoStar close on 28 July 2026, which was funded with $14.5bn of drawn term loans plus cash, so the current figure is materially higher.
EV/EBITDA (TTM)~6.3x (enterprise value ~$288.6bn / trailing-twelve-month EBITDA ~$46.0bn). EBITDA is built from reported operating income of $6,119m, $5,788m, $6,658m and $7,038m for Q3 2025 to Q2 2026, totalling $25,603m, plus depreciation and amortisation of $5,317m, $5,128m, $4,966m and $4,966m, totalling $20,377m. The Q4 2025 quarters are derived as the full-year figure less the first three quarters. This uses the cash-flow-statement D&A, which for AT&T is the only D&A figure disclosed.
P/FCF~8.3x (market cap ~$162.2bn / FY2025 free cash flow ~$19.4bn; FCF = operating cash flow $40,284m − capital expenditure $20,842m per the FY2025 cash flow statement). On AT&T's own narrower free cash flow definition, which deducts vendor financing payments and excludes DIRECTV, FY2025 free cash flow was $16.6bn, giving ~9.8x; against 2026 guidance of $18bn or more, ~9.0x or less.
52-week high$29.79
52-week low$19.89
Short interest (% of float)1.55%, being 107,643,650 shares short at the 15 July 2026 settlement date, down 14.4% from 125,702,888 at 30 June 2026
Days to cover1.3, against average daily volume of about 77.6 million shares
Dividend yield~4.7% on the $1.11 annualised rate at $23.68

Live price action and technical levels for this and other tickers are on the ChartsView Live Charts page.

7. What Are They Building

Fibre, at the largest scale AT&T has attempted. The footprint reached 38.6 million consumer and business locations at 30 June 2026, up from 32.0 million at the end of 2025. The target is more than 40 million by the end of 2026 and more than 60 million by the end of 2030. Management described 2026 as the company's largest year of fibre expansion, covering roughly 8 million new locations, of which more than 4 million came with the Lumen acquisition.

The Lumen Mass Markets fibre business. Completed on 2 February 2026 for $5.75bn in cash, adding around 1 million fibre subscribers and around 4 million fibre locations across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska and Iowa, and extending AT&T's fibre presence to 32 states. The acquired network assets were placed into a wholly owned subsidiary, classified as held for sale and reported as discontinued operations, with AT&T intending to sell a controlling interest to a co-investing equity partner. That partner has not yet been announced. Converged gross additions in the Lumen territories were up 45% in June 2026 against February.

Spectrum from EchoStar. Closed on 28 July 2026 for approximately $23bn, adding roughly 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid-band and roughly 20 MHz of nationwide 600 MHz low-band spectrum. On 6 August 2026 AT&T named Ericsson to supply the 600 MHz dual-band radios that will deploy it, enabling 8RX uplink technology in low bands for the first time on the network. AT&T says it is more than 60% through its wireless network modernisation programme.

Fixed wireless as the second broadband product. AT&T Internet Air passed 2 million subscribers on 29 July 2026, having taken roughly half as long to add the second million as the first. More than half of those subscribers also take AT&T wireless. Fixed wireless net adds were 279,000 in Q2 2026.

Cost reduction. Management is targeting $4bn of consolidated annual cost savings by the end of 2028, driven by copper decommissioning and by applying automation and AI to network design, software development, sales, marketing, customer support and general administration.

Direct-to-device satellite. On 14 May 2026 AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon agreed in principle to form a joint venture pooling spectrum for satellite direct-to-device coverage aimed at eliminating US wireless dead zones. Definitive agreements have not yet been signed.

8. Competitive Position

AT&T sits third by market capitalisation among the three national US wireless carriers, and competes on broadband against the two largest cable operators. Market capitalisations below are as at the close on 6 August 2026.

PeerMarket cap (August 2026)Key 2025/2026 metric
Verizon Communications (VZ)$194.8bnQ2 2026 total revenue $34.3bn, down 0.7% year on year; 184,000 postpaid phone net adds and 348,000 broadband net adds in the quarter; FY2025 revenue $138.2bn
T-Mobile US (TMUS)$193.1bnQ2 2026 service revenue $19.0bn, up 9%; total revenue $22,791m; 277,000 postpaid account net adds, down 13% year on year; postpaid phone churn 0.85%; diluted EPS $2.99
Comcast (CMCSA)$89.3bnQ2 2026 revenue $29,940m, down 1.2%; domestic broadband net losses of 167,000; record wireless line net adds of 448,000 taking total lines to 10.2 million; adjusted EPS $1.04
Charter Communications (CHTR)$18.8bnQ2 2026 revenue $13.5bn, down 1.7%; internet customers down 172,000 to 29.4 million; mobile lines up 406,000 to 12.5 million; net income $1.3bn

Two patterns are visible in those figures. First, AT&T's 432,000 postpaid phone net adds in Q2 2026 were more than double Verizon's, and T-Mobile's account additions fell 13% year on year — the wireless share contest is currently going AT&T's way. Second, both large cable operators are losing broadband customers while adding wireless lines, which is the mirror image of AT&T's convergence play and the reason competitive intensity in bundled connectivity is rising rather than easing.

9. Insider and Institutional Activity

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Stankey remains the largest individual insider holder. A review of every Form 4 filed for AT&T (CIK 0000732717) between 1 January and 7 August 2026 shows no open-market purchases and no open-market sales by any AT&T insider in the period. Every disposition recorded is either mandatory tax withholding on the vesting of equity awards, cash settlement of performance shares, or an offsetting internal transfer or gift. None of the filings carries a Rule 10b5-1 plan representation, because none of them is a discretionary market transaction. The table below shows representative filings.

NameDateTypeSharesPriceValuePlan Type
John T. Stankey29 Jan 2026Tax withholding on performance-share distribution (code F)301,913$25.13~$7.59mNot a 10b5-1 plan; mandatory withholding
Jeffery S. McElfresh29 Jan 2026Tax withholding on performance-share distribution (code F)164,840$25.13~$4.14mNot a 10b5-1 plan; mandatory withholding
Pascal Desroches29 Jan 2026Tax withholding on performance-share distribution (code F)137,377$25.13~$3.45mNot a 10b5-1 plan; mandatory withholding
John T. Stankey13 Feb 2026Tax withholding on RSU vesting (code F)24,098$28.80~$694kNot a 10b5-1 plan; mandatory withholding
Pascal Desroches25 Feb 2026Gift to a family limited partnership (code G)352,000$0.00NilNot a 10b5-1 plan; offsetting transfer
Pascal Desroches10 Mar 2026Tax withholding on benefit-plan distribution (code F)52,252$28.98~$1.51mNot a 10b5-1 plan; mandatory withholding
John T. Stankey31 Jul 2026Monthly deferred-share accrual (code A)928$23.25~$22kNot a 10b5-1 plan; automatic accrual

The practical reading is that there is no discretionary insider signal in either direction for AT&T in 2026. The company itself has been the significant buyer of its own stock: approximately $2.2bn of repurchases in Q2 2026 and about $1bn in July 2026, under a $10bn authorisation approved on 27 January 2026, with roughly $10bn planned for the full year.

10. Key Risks

  • Leverage and refinancing: gross debt of $144.0bn at 30 June 2026, before $14.5bn of term loans drawn to fund the EchoStar spectrum purchase. Management expects net leverage of roughly 3.2x post-close and about three years to return to 2.5x. Cash interest paid was $6,625m in FY2025. The 10-K notes that a credit-rating downgrade would raise borrowing costs and could trigger collateral posting on derivative positions.
  • Competitive intensity and pricing: AT&T's own risk factors state that increasing competition could materially adversely affect operating results, and management has said it expects ongoing pressure on pricing during 2026, especially in wireless services. Sustained revenue or earnings decline in a reporting unit has previously forced goodwill impairment, at $4.4bn in 2024 and $24.8bn in 2022.
  • Copper retirement and regulatory approval: decommissioning 2.1 million switched access lines and 2.8 million legacy internet connections depends on state and federal consent. The 10-K warns that failing to obtain approvals, or obtaining them with onerous conditions, could produce significant cost and competitive disadvantage. California approval could push decommissioning beyond the 2029 target, and Legacy segment EBITDA is expected to be negative after 2027 during the transition.
  • Capital intensity: capital investment of $23bn to $24bn a year through 2028, exposed to inflation, supplier delays, permitting, labour availability and software execution. AT&T's filings also warn that hyperscaler AI spending is beginning to pressure supply chains for semiconductors and network components, and that tariffs and their duration remain a live input-cost uncertainty.
  • Litigation and cybersecurity: ongoing litigation and government inquiries relating to the 2023 lead-clad cable allegations, plus litigation arising from the July 2024 disclosure that mobile customer call records had been copied. Approximately $440m of legal settlements were apportioned in 2025. AT&T describes itself in its own filings as a particularly attractive target for attackers, including nation-state actors.
  • Labour relations: approximately 43% of the roughly 133,030 workforce is represented by the CWA, IBEW or other unions. Renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements carries the risk of additional cost or work stoppages.
  • Pension and benefit obligations: a postemployment benefit obligation of $8,478m at 31 December 2025. AT&T recognises actuarial gains and losses immediately in the income statement, producing a $0.5bn actuarial loss in 2025 against $0.1bn in 2024, so pension movements hit reported earnings directly rather than being smoothed.
  • Integration and partner risk: the Lumen fibre assets are held for sale pending the sale of a controlling interest to an equity partner that has not yet been named, and the satellite direct-to-device joint venture with T-Mobile and Verizon remains an agreement in principle without definitive documents.

11. Recent Developments

  • 11 Jun 2026 — CFO succession announced. Pascal Desroches notified the company of his retirement effective 31 December 2026. On 15 June the board appointed Jennifer Biry as Deputy CFO effective 6 July 2026, becoming Senior Executive Vice President and CFO on 1 January 2027. Biry was previously CFO and COO of McAfee and, before that, EVP and CFO of WarnerMedia.
  • 24 Jun 2026 — Quarterly dividend declared. The board declared a common dividend of $0.2775 per share, payable 3 August 2026 to holders of record on 10 July 2026, holding the annualised rate at $1.11 for a fourth consecutive year.
  • 30 Jun 2026 — Build-A-Plan expanded. AT&T extended its customisable wireless plan to bundle AT&T Fiber or Internet Air from $70 a month, available from 7 July 2026 — a direct commercial expression of the convergence strategy.
  • 22 Jul 2026 — Q2 2026 results and a larger buyback. Revenue of $31.6bn, adjusted EPS of $0.65 against $0.54 a year earlier, free cash flow of $4.7bn, 432,000 postpaid phone net adds and 646,000 total internet net adds. Full-year guidance was reiterated and the 2026 buyback was raised from about $8bn to about $10bn.
  • 28 Jul 2026 — EchoStar spectrum acquisition closed. Approximately $23bn for roughly 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz and roughly 20 MHz of nationwide 600 MHz spectrum, financed with $14.5bn drawn across two Bank of America term loan facilities plus cash.
  • 29 Jul 2026 — AT&T Internet Air passed 2 million subscribers. More than half of those customers also take AT&T wireless, and the second million was added in roughly half the time taken for the first.
  • 03 Aug 2026 — European debt issuance settled. A multi-tranche euro and sterling global notes offering raising EUR 4.1bn and GBP 550m across maturities from 2030 to 2052, with the underwriting agreement signed on 27 July.
  • 06 Aug 2026 — Ericsson selected for the 600 MHz build. Ericsson will supply dual-band radios to deploy the newly acquired 600 MHz spectrum. AT&T said it is more than 60% through its wireless network modernisation, citing up to double the average speed and 10% fewer dropped or blocked calls in upgraded areas.

12. Key Dates to Watch

  • Expected 28 Oct 2026 — Q3 2026 results. AT&T had not confirmed the date as at 7 August 2026; the company reported Q3 2025 on 22 October 2025 and typically confirms around seven weeks ahead.
  • Expected Oct 2026 — declaration of the next quarterly common dividend, with payment expected around 1 November 2026 based on the 2026 pattern of February, May and August payments.
  • 31 Dec 2026 — target date for exceeding 40 million fibre locations passed, and the end of Pascal Desroches's tenure as Chief Financial Officer.
  • 01 Jan 2027 — Jennifer Biry becomes Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
  • 01 Jun 2027 — earliest date on which AT&T may discontinue copper-based voice services in parts of California, under its May 2026 state commitment.
  • Expected Dec 2028 — completion of the $4bn consolidated annual cost savings programme, and the end of the guidance period covering free cash flow of $21bn or more and roughly $24bn of cumulative buybacks.
  • Expected Dec 2029 — target for powering down the large majority of the domestic copper network.
  • 31 Dec 2030 — target for exceeding 60 million fibre locations passed, and the end of the $19bn California investment commitment.

Undated items worth tracking: the naming of an equity partner for the held-for-sale Lumen fibre subsidiary; definitive agreements for the direct-to-device satellite joint venture with T-Mobile and Verizon; and FCC decisions on legacy service discontinuation in the remaining wire centres. Scheduled macro releases that move the sector are listed on the ChartsView Economic Calendar, and readers can discuss this report on the ChartsView Forum.


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