AT&T earnings: date, guidance and what to watch
AT&T's next results are expected on October 21, 2026. Watch whether AT&T's cash and debt follow the promised path while its new networks attract profitable customers.
What has AT&T guided for the year?
AT&T’s starting point is service revenue: the monthly bills customers pay for mobile service and home internet, excluding equipment sales. Management expects that revenue to grow in the low single digits through 2028. Advanced Connectivity, which contains modern wireless and fiber services, should grow faster, while the old copper business shrinks. AT&T is therefore replacing one source of income with another.
| The period guided | Low | High | The date it was given | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service revenue growth (2026–2028, annually) | 2026–2028, annually | Jul 22, 2026 | ||
| Advanced Connectivity service revenue growth (Year to Dec 2026) | Year to Dec 2026 | 5.0% | Jul 22, 2026 | |
| Adjusted EPS (Year to Dec 2026) | Year to Dec 2026 | 2.25 | 2.35 | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Capital investment (Year to Dec 2026) | Year to Dec 2026 | 23,000 | 24,000 | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Free cash flow (Year to Dec 2026) | Year to Dec 2026 | 18,000 | Jul 22, 2026 |
What this means. The company’s free cash flow is at least 18 billion dollars, but its capital investment includes vendor financing while free cash flow leaves out spectrum purchases, so the two figures cannot be compared directly.
Has AT&T kept its past promises?
AT&T also has evidence of keeping promises. It forecast at least $16 billion of 2025 free cash flow excluding DIRECTV and later reported $16.6 billion on that basis. New tax provisions improved cash generation, so the result cannot all be credited to stronger operations. Management also brought forward planned repurchases, which returns money faster but does not necessarily increase the total commitment.
What do AT&T's last eight quarters show?
The eight-quarter sequence includes unusually weak and strong quarters, so June cannot establish a trend by itself. Its customer and service measures support improvement; its tax benefit and depreciation change require separate treatment.
| Jun 2026 | Mar 2026 | Dec 2025 | Sep 2025 | Jun 2025 | Mar 2025 | Dec 2024 | Sep 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 31,558 | 31,506 | 33,466 | 30,709 | 30,847 | 30,626 | 32,298 | 30,213 |
| Gross margin | 61.8% | 60.1% | 55.7% | 61.5% | 60.6% | 60.7% | 56.0% | 61.5% |
| Operating income | 7,038 | 6,658 | 5,788 | 6,119 | 6,501 | 5,754 | 5,326 | 2,116 |
| Net income | 4,655 | 3,867 | 3,788 | 9,314 | 4,500 | 4,351 | 4,080 | -174 |
| EPS, diluted | 0.66 | 0.54 | 0.53 | 1.29 | 0.62 | 0.61 | 0.56 | -0.03 |
| = Free cash flow | 5,085 | 1,700 | 4,207 | 5,266 | 4,838 | 4,752 | 4,995 | 4,881 |
What this means. The company's free cash flow guidance may differ from ours because it leaves out spectrum purchases, while our calculation includes them.
What should I watch in AT&T's next results?
The next checkpoint is the October 21, 2026 quarterly report. Its September balance sheet should show the effect of the EchoStar closing. Investors can then compare cash, borrowing, repurchases and investment with customer growth and service revenue. Discounted bundles may lower fiber ARPU, or average revenue per user, so the question is whether each household relationship lasts long enough to repay the discount.
The network milestones also need interpretation. AT&T targets 40 million fiber locations and 70% of wireless traffic on open-capable platforms by year-end 2026. A location reached is not necessarily a subscriber, and open-capable equipment is not the same as a fully interchangeable network. Take-up matters: industry averages were 40% of homes passed, or 46.5% when measured against unique passings.