EarningsQ3 2026 Earnings Report
MX:T Q3 2026 EPS Results
Actual EPS$12.21
Consensus EPS$11.31
Beat/MissBeat by +$0.90
One Year Ago EPS$10.14
MX:T Q3 2026 Revenue Results
Actual Revenue$607.23B
Expected Revenue$595.34B
Beat/MissBeat by +$11.89B
YoY Revenue Growth+5.25%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ3 2026
Date10/21/2026
TimeBefore Open
Conference CallWednesday, October 21, 2026
MX:T Upcoming Earnings
AT&T's next earnings date is estimated for January 27, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
MX:T Q3 2026 Earnings Call
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Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was strongly positive, with broad-based growth in subscribers, service revenue, EBITDA, adjusted EPS, wireless, fiber and business connectivity. Management also raised portions of its full-year outlook, highlighted record margins and continued progress in fiber expansion, convergence, copper retirement and shareholder returns. The main challenges were declining legacy revenues, lower fiber ARPU, higher near-term customer acquisition and interest costs, elevated leverage following the spectrum purchase, one-time charges and uncertainty around future technology shifts.Company Guidance
Strong Advanced Connectivity Subscriber Growth
AT&T added over one million Advanced Connectivity subscribers from fiber, fixed wireless and postpaid phone in the third quarter, its best quarter in more than four years and its second consecutive quarter with more than 1 million net adds across these services.
Service Revenue and Earnings Growth
Consolidated service revenue grew 3.8% year-over-year, the company's best performance in more than four years. Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.4% year-over-year, and adjusted EPS rose 20% to $0.65 from $0.54 in the third quarter of 2025.
Record Third-Quarter EBITDA Margin
Adjusted EBITDA margin was 38.7%, the highest third-quarter consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin since AT&T refocused its business on Advanced Connectivity. The company achieved this despite 12% growth in equipment revenue, which is dilutive to margins.
Converged Customer Momentum
Nearly 43% of advanced home internet customers also had a postpaid wireless account with AT&T. The company added approximately 350,000 converged customer relationships in the third quarter, a faster pace of sequential growth than in the second quarter.
Progress in Lumen Markets
Converged penetration in territories acquired from Lumen increased by 250 basis points since the transaction closed in early February. AT&T said penetration in those markets is increasing consistently with its business case and goals, and that terminal penetration expectations may prove conservative.
Wireless Subscriber and ARPU Growth
Wireless service revenue grew 5% year-over-year, driven primarily by subscriber-base growth and a 4% increase in postpaid phone ARPU. AT&T added 379,000 postpaid phone customers during a competitive third quarter, while postpaid phone churn was stable year-over-year at 0.92%.
Record Advanced Home Internet Adds
Advanced home internet service revenue grew more than 23% year-over-year. AT&T added 696,000 advanced home internet customers, including 416,000 AT&T Fiber net adds and 280,000 Internet Air net adds, a record quarter for combined net adds across those services.
Business Connectivity Improvement
Business Advanced Connectivity service revenue grew 2.5% year-over-year, while business fiber and Advanced Connectivity service revenues grew nearly 9%. AT&T attributed the performance to improved sales execution, greater fiber and fixed wireless penetration, and stronger positioning with customers needing reliable, secure and high-capacity connectivity across multiple locations.
Advanced Connectivity Segment Outlook
Advanced Connectivity service revenue grew 6.1% year-over-year and EBITDA increased 7.3%. AT&T continues to expect full-year Advanced Connectivity service revenue growth of 5%+ and EBITDA growth of 6%+.
AI-Grade Connectivity Positioning
More than 90% of mapped U.S. data centers are within 10 miles of AT&T's fiber, and more than 80% are within 1 mile. AWS is using AT&T to connect locations with high-capacity fiber, and AT&T is also working with Microsoft to support its high-capacity needs as AI growth drives demand.
Fiber Expansion and Supply Agreement
AT&T expects to reach 60 million+ fiber locations by the end of the decade and signed a multi-year agreement with Corning to supply the fiber needed to support that goal.
Strategic Agreements Strengthening the U.S. Focus
AT&T launched a joint venture intended to make satellite-enabled connectivity easier to deliver where traditional service is limited, agreed with Global Infrastructure Partners, BlackRock and CPP Investments to form a joint venture including Gigapower and acquired Lumen fiber assets, and signed an agreement to sell its wireless business in Mexico. AT&T said these agreements sharpen its U.S. investment focus and strengthen its convergent strategy.
Copper Retirement and Cost Transformation
AT&T now has more than 100 wire centers with no customers supported by legacy services. It remains on track to discontinue copper-based services in 50% of wire centers outside California by the end of 2027 and substantially all of them by the end of 2029, while targeting $4 billion in annual consolidated cost savings by the end of 2028.
Raised Full-Year EBITDA and EPS Outlook
AT&T now expects full-year consolidated adjusted EBITDA growth in the upper portion of the 3%-4% range. Full-year adjusted EPS is now expected to be in the $2.40 range, compared with the prior outlook of $2.25-$2.35, primarily because of lower depreciation expense related to held-for-sale accounting for AT&T Mexico.
Solid Free Cash Flow and Lower Cash Tax Outlook
Third-quarter free cash flow was approximately $5 billion, essentially stable compared with the third quarter of 2025. AT&T expects approximately $6 billion of free cash flow in the fourth quarter versus $4.2 billion a year earlier, continues to expect $18 billion+ of free cash flow for the full year, and now expects cash taxes of approximately $750 million versus the prior outlook of $1 billion-$1.5 billion.
More Efficient Fiber Capital Deployment
AT&T believes it can reach 60 million+ fiber locations with annual capital investment roughly $1 billion lower than previously planned. Capital investment for 2027 and 2028 is expected to be in the $22 billion to $23 billion range, with the savings primarily reallocated to working capital supporting customer acquisition investments and higher interest payments.
Shareholder Returns and Capital Structure Plan
AT&T returned $4.8 billion to shareholders in the third quarter, including $2.8 billion of share repurchases. It had repurchased more than $7 billion of stock through the end of the third quarter and continues to target approximately $10 billion of share repurchases in 2026.
Spectrum Investment and Network Position
AT&T completed a $23 billion purchase of spectrum licenses from EchoStar at the end of July, materially deepening its low- and mid-band spectrum holdings. Management said the transaction puts the company in a strong position to execute its strategy.
Long-Term Fiber and Convergence Strategy
Management said a fiber-fed broadband customer combined with AT&T wireless service is the industry's most durable customer combination. AT&T believes it can exceed the 40% penetration level used in its investment economics, remains confident that 50% penetration is achievable over time, and expects fiber customers to be sticky and have high lifetime value.
Leadership Transition
Pascal Desroches is presenting his final quarterly report after nearly six years with AT&T. Jennifer Biry is expected to become CFO after the new year, and Pascal said he was very pleased with her appointment.
MX:T Earnings History
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat
Missed