AT&T posts steady Q3 results as it advances fiber expansion, spectrum acquisitions, and nationwide 5G deployment plans
In sum — what to know:
Steady financials: AT&T reported Q3 revenue of $30.7B and adjusted EPS of $0.54, with strong free cash flow and stable mobility growth.
Broadband momentum: Fiber subscribers surpassed 10 million, with fiber revenues up nearly 17% year over year.
Strategic expansion: Planned acquisitions of Lumen’s fiber assets and EchoStar spectrum will expand network capacity and accelerate 5G rollout.
AT&T reported steady third-quarter results, underscoring the company’s progress in broadband and mobility while preparing for major infrastructure investments in fiber and spectrum to support its long-term network strategy.
For the quarter ending September 30, the carrier posted revenues of $30.7 billion and net income of $9.7 billion, up significantly from a loss a year ago due to a gain from the sale of its DIRECTV investment. Diluted EPS came in at $1.29, compared with a loss of $(0.03) in the year-ago period, while adjusted EPS held steady at $0.54.
Operating income reached $6.1 billion and adjusted operating income was $6.6 billion. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $11.9 billion. Free cash flow rose to $4.9 billion, up from $4.6 billion a year earlier, with capital expenditures totaling $4.9 billion.
The company continued to show strength in broadband and wireless, with 405,000 postpaid phone net adds and postpaid phone churn at 0.92%. Mobility service revenues grew 2.3% year-over-year to $16.9 billion, while consumer fiber broadband revenues increased 16.8% to $2.2 billion. AT&T added 288,000 new fiber customers and 270,000 Internet Air customers, reaching more than 10 million AT&T Fiber subscribers.
On an earnings call, CEO John Stankey said that AT&T now has Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service in parts of 47 states, with availability continuing to expand into new areas. He also shared a key milestone: “We achieved our highest total broadband net adds in eight years,” he said (twice, for emphasis).
In addition, the company highlighted two major transactions expected to expand its infrastructure footprint. In May, AT&T announced an agreement to acquire Lumen Technologies’ Mass Markets fiber assets for $5.75 billion, a deal expected to close in early 2026. The assets will be held under a new wholly owned subsidiary, NetworkCo, with plans to bring in an equity partner within a year of closing. AT&T expects the transaction to be accretive over the long term.
In August, AT&T unveiled plans to acquire approximately 50 MHz of nationwide spectrum from EchoStar — including 30 MHz of mid-band (3.45 GHz) and 20 MHz of low-band (600 MHz) frequencies — for about $23 billion in cash. The deal, also expected to close in the first half of 2026, will be financed through cash and borrowings, temporarily pushing AT&T’s net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio to around 3.0x.
“The EchoStar spectrum will improve our 5G wireless performance in a cost-efficient manner while allowing us to grow Internet Air at a faster pace,” Stankey said. “We are already making great progress on our commitment to deploy this valuable spectrum… we expect these midband licenses will be deployed in cell sites covering nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population by mid-November.”
Stankey added that both acquisitions “significantly enhance and expand our advanced connectivity portfolio,” aligning with AT&T’s goal of “building the most efficient, high-performance network with the ability to deliver traffic at the lowest marginal cost.”
