AT&T Earnings Raise 2026 Profit Outlook

AT&T Inc. (T) raised its 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) outlook after reporting third-quarter results on October 21, 2026. Management attributed the revised forecast to strong customer growth in bundled Advanced Connectivity services and lower depreciation linked to its held-for-sale Mexico wireless business.

Earnings and Outlook

AT&T reported third-quarter revenue of $32.3 billion, up 5.3% year over year. Consolidated service revenue grew 3.8%, marking its strongest pace in more than four years. Management said growth reflected higher Advanced Connectivity wireless service and equipment revenue, along with fiber revenue boosted by the Lumen mass-markets fiber acquisition.

Adjusted EPS rose to $0.65 from $0.54 a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA, a proxy for operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, increased 5.4% to $12.5 billion, producing a margin of 38.7%. Reported EPS was $0.12, equal to net income of $855 million. Reported results included a $2.6 billion noncash impairment related to the held-for-sale Mexico wireless business; the prior-year quarter included a gain from the sale of AT&T’s DIRECTV investment.

For 2026, AT&T raised its adjusted EPS outlook to about $2.40 from a prior range of $2.25 to $2.35. The company reiterated expectations for low-single-digit service-revenue growth and said adjusted EBITDA should grow in the upper portion of a 3%–4% range. It remains on track to reach more than 60 million locations with fiber by the end of 2030 and expects adjusted earnings growth at a double-digit compound annual rate through 2028.

Customer and Network Momentum

AT&T added more than 1 million Advanced Connectivity customers in the quarter, marking a second consecutive quarter above that threshold. Advanced Connectivity service revenue rose 6.1% year over year; operating income increased 18.9%, and EBITDA climbed 7.3%. “During the quarter we added over 1 million advanced connectivity subscribers from fiber, fixed wireless and postpaid phone—our best quarter in more than four years and our second consecutive quarter with more than 1 million net adds across these services,” CEO John Stankey said.

The company added 696,000 advanced home-internet customers, including 416,000 fiber additions and 280,000 Internet Air connections. Postpaid phone net additions totaled 379,000. Its base of high-value converged relationships—customers taking multiple AT&T connectivity products—increased by roughly 350,000.

Capital investment for the quarter was $5.6 billion, about $300 million higher than a year earlier. Free cash flow was approximately $5.0 billion.