AT&T (NYSE:T) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

AT&T (NYSE:T) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. AT&T had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 13.41%. The firm had revenue of $32.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from AT&T’s conference call:

• Strong third-quarter operating performance: AT&T added more than 1 million advanced-connectivity subscribers, while service revenue rose 3.8%, adjusted EBITDA increased 5.4%, and adjusted EPS grew 20% year over year to $0.65.
• Management raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook to the upper end of the 3%–4% growth range and increased expected adjusted EPS to approximately $2.40; it maintained guidance for more than $18 billion of free cash flow and approximately $10 billion of 2026 share repurchases.
• Fiber expansion remains central to AT&T’s strategy, with 416,000 fiber net adds in the quarter and a target of reaching more than 60 million fiber locations by decade-end. However, fiber ARPU fell 4% year over year due to introductory pricing, convergence discounts, and lower-ARPU customers in acquired Lumen markets, with similar pressure expected in the fourth quarter.
• Net debt to adjusted EBITDA increased to 3.13x after AT&T’s $23 billion spectrum purchase from EchoStar, although management expects leverage to return to approximately 2.5x in 2029. Fourth-quarter EBITDA will also face roughly $100 million of unfavorable vendor dispute settlements and higher customer-acquisition costs.
• AT&T agreed to sell its Mexico wireless business and plans to form a fiber joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partners and CPP Investments, actions management says will sharpen its U.S. investment focus and help fund further fiber deployment while reducing planned annual 2027–2028 capital spending by about $1 billion.

AT&T Trading Up 3.7%

NYSE T opened at $22.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $155.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. AT&T has a 52 week low of $19.89 and a 52 week high of $29.43.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. AT&T’s payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

T has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on AT&T from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp cut their price objective on AT&T from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AT&T from $27.50 to $26.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded AT&T from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.55.

More AT&T News

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T exceeded third-quarter expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $0.65 per share and revenue of $32.32 billion. Management also raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to approximately $2.40. AT&T Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Fiber and wireless demand remained strong, with AT&T adding a record 769,000 internet customers and more than 1 million advanced-connectivity subscribers for a second consecutive quarter. The company expects continued double-digit adjusted earnings growth through 2028. AT&T raises 2026 earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Argus, JPMorgan and KeyCorp continue to see meaningful upside, with buy or overweight ratings and price targets ranging from $30 to $33, while AT&T plans substantial share repurchases. Argus rating
• Neutral Sentiment: AT&T plans to reduce annual capital spending by roughly $1 billion in 2027–2028 while retaining its 2030 fiber target. The move should support cash flow, but promotional pricing is pressuring fiber revenue quality and margins. AT&T fiber spending strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Investors focused on AT&T’s balance sheet: total debt reached $159.6 billion, net debt was $149.8 billion, and management now expects to return to its 2.5-times net-debt-to-EBITDA target only in 2029. A $2.6 billion Mexico-related impairment also weighed on reported results. AT&T debt and impairment analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Potential competition from SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile service is raising concerns about wireless subscriber growth, customer incentives and future spending. AT&T’s postpaid phone additions were viewed as less impressive despite remaining positive. AT&T and SpaceX competition

About AT&T

AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, internet access, fiber broadband, fixed wireless services, and business communications solutions.

The company serves consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations primarily in the United States. AT&T’s business operations include wireless network services, wireline connectivity, fiber-optic internet, voice services, and networking solutions designed to connect locations, devices, and applications.

AT&T traces its history to the Bell System and has operated under its current corporate name since 2005, following the acquisition of AT&T Corp.