AT&T 1Q Revenue Ticks Up on Advanced Connectivity Growth
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Published on 04/22/2026 at 06:46 am EDT
By Kelly Cloonan
AT&T recorded higher revenue in its latest quarter on growth in its advanced connectivity business as it continued to add customers for its postpaid phone service and high-speed internet.
The telecommunications company on Wednesday posted first-quarter earnings from continuing operations of 54 cents a share, compared with 61 cents a share a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings per share were 57 cents, compared with estimates of 55 cents a share according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Revenue rose 2.9%, to $31.5 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $31.25 billion.
Free cash flow fell to $2.5 billion from $3.1 billion a year earlier. The company said the decrease reflected higher capital investment as it accelerates the pace of its fiber deployment.
Earlier this year, AT&T said it would begin reporting under three new segments: advanced connectivity, legacy and Latin America.
Sales in the company's advanced connectivity segment, which makes up the bulk of its topline, rose 4.7%, driven by growth in service and equipment revenues. Legacy sales declined 25% due to lower demand as the company continues to decommission its copper-based network, while Latin America sales rose 21%, due in part to favorable foreign-exchange effects.
AT&T continued to expand its customer base, adding 294,000 net subscribers for its postpaid phone service, compared with analysts' estimates of 272,000. Postpaid phone churn was 0.89%.
The company also said it had a strong quarter for high-speed internet growth, adding 584,000 new customers split evenly between its fiber-optic network and its fixed wireless home internet service. Consumer advanced home internet net adds totaled 512,000, including 273,000 fiber and 239,000 internet air customers.
AT&T said customers are increasingly purchasing both their internet and wireless together from the company, with 45% of advanced home internet subscribers also choosing AT&T wireless.
For the full year, AT&T continues to guide for adjusted earnings per share of $2.25 to $2.35. The company also maintained its plan to return $45 billion or more to shareholders through 2028 with dividends and share repurchases.
The latest quarter also reflected the February closing of AT&T's acquisition of substantially all of Lumen's mass markets fiber business, which added more than four million fiber locations to the company's footprint in the first quarter.
AT&T now reaches more than 37 million total consumer and business locations with fiber and remains on track to exceed 40 million by year end, and more than 60 million by the end of 2030.
Write to Kelly Cloonan at [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
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