AT&T posts stronger than expected fourth quarter, full year
By Josh White
Date: Wednesday 28 Jan 2026
(Sharecast News) - AT&T reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Wednesday, with revenue, adjusted earnings and free cash flow beating market expectations as growth in fibre broadband and converged wireless services offset intense competition in the US mobile market.
Shares rose sharply after the results, reversing part of the stock's year-to-date decline.
Fourth-quarter revenue rose 3.6% year on year to $33.5bn, ahead of consensus forecasts, while adjusted earnings climbed to 52 cents a share from 43 cents a year earlier.
Net income fell slightly to $4.2bn, reflecting the absence of contributions from the company's former DirecTV stake, but adjusted EBITDA increased to $11.2bn.
Free cash flow improved to $4.2bn, comfortably exceeding expectations and supporting AT&T's dividend and buyback plans.
Subscriber growth was driven by broadband, with AT&T adding 283,000 fibre customers and 221,000 internet air users during the quarter, marking its best broadband performance in a decade.
Wireless momentum was more mixed, with 421,000 postpaid phone net additions falling short of forecasts, though churn of 0.98% came in below market expectations, easing concerns over customer retention amid aggressive industry promotions.
For the full year, revenue increased 2.7% to $125.6bn and adjusted EBITDA rose to $46.4bn, while free cash flow reached $16.6bn.
The group returned more than $12bn to shareholders in 2025 through dividends and buybacks and reiterated plans to return over $45bn between 2026 and 2028, maintaining its annual dividend of $1.11 a share and targeting about $8bn of share repurchases in 2026.
AT&T also unveiled a revised reporting structure from 2026, splitting its business into Advanced Connectivity, Legacy and Latin America segments, reflecting its focus on bundled 5G and fibre services.
Management said around 42% of fibre households now also take AT&T wireless, underlining the company's strategy of convergence as a key driver of growth and customer loyalty.
Looking ahead, AT&T forecast low-single-digit annual service revenue growth and accelerating earnings momentum through 2028, supported by continued investment in fibre and spectrum and pending acquisitions from Lumen and EchoStar.
Adjusted earnings per share were expected to reach $2.25 to $2.35 in 2026, with free cash flow projected to exceed $18bn next year and rise to more than $21bn by 2028, despite short-term dilution from acquisitions and ongoing declines in legacy copper-based services.
At 0938 ET (1438 GMT), shares in AT&T were up 3.03% in New York at $23.66.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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