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AT&T enjoyed a strong second quarter of 2026 and the carrier released the numbers early this morning. The big figure that Wall Street analysts and writers like to emphasize is the category known as postpaid phone net adds because these subscribers pay the most for their service and are less likely to switch their wireless providers so quickly.
AT&T reports greater than expected 432,000 postpaid phone net adds
During the second quarter, AT&T reported 432,000 postpaid phone net adds. That not only topped the 338,500 expected by Wall Street, but it also beat out the 401,000 reported during the same quarter last year and the 294,000 that AT&T said it added to this category last quarter.
The postpaid phone churn rate, or the percentage of postpaid phone subscribers who closed their accounts, came to 0.86% during the April-June quarter. This metric is going in the right direction for the carrier, as it was 0.87% a year ago and 0.89% last quarter. This indicates that fewer AT&T postpaid phone subscribers left AT&T during Q2 2026.
The company adds more than 1 million fiber, fixed wireless, and wireless subscribers combined.
During the quarter, AT&T added more than 1 million Advanced Connectivity customers thanks to year-over-year increases in fiber, fixed wireless, and postpaid phone net adds. Why is all of this bundling so important? One stat delivered by AT&T says it all. 42.5% of households subscribed to AT&T's advanced home internet services also subscribe to AT&T Wireless.
AT&T added 646,000 advanced internet subscribers during Q2. Broken down, the company added 367,000 fiber subscribers and 279,000 fixed wireless customers during the three months.
The accelerated growth we delivered this quarter shows our structural advantages to lead the next era of connectivity. We are accelerating the pace of our planned share repurchases this year to approximately $10 billion, reflecting our confidence in our market position. With an industry-leading position in fiber – the best connectivity technology available – we believe our network performance and operating scale can’t be matchedJohn Stankey, Chairman and CEO, AT&T
Consolidated revenue for the second quarter was reported as $31.6 billion, up 2.3% year-over-year from $30.8 billion. Growth in fiber and wireless revenue was responsible for the improvement, along with the first quarter's acquisition of Lumen's mass-market fiber business.
Operating earnings, adjusted for certain items, were $7.5 billion, up from $6.5 billion reported during the same quarter last year. The company returned $4.1 billion to shareholders during Q2. This includes $2.2 billion in stock repurchases made under an authorization approved in 2024.
The carrier tops estimates by reporting 66 cents a share in diluted earnings
Diluted earnings per share was reported as 66 cents compared to 62 cents for the same quarter last year and 54 cents for this year's first quarter. Diluted earnings per share assumes the conversion of all convertible bonds, stock options, and warrants, restricted stock units, and any securities that can be converted into common shares. Wall Street was looking for the carrier to report earnings of 59 cents per share.
Following the earnings announcement, AT&T shares soared from Tuesday's close of $22.26 to open at $23.38 and continued to soar until they hit an intraday high at $24.29. Sellers came in at that price and at the closing bell, the stock was $23.05 up 78 cents or 3.5% for the day. For the year, AT&T's stock is down 6.2% as fears that Starlink will take over the wireless industry have long been circulating.
The company's long-term forecast covering 2026 through 2028 includes:
・Service revenue annual growth in the low-single-digit range.
・Earnings per share of $2.25 to $2.35 in 2026, with double-digit compounded annual growth rates through 2028.
Well-known telecom analyst Craig Moffett reveals his take on AT&T's report
Craig Moffett, analyst at MoffettNathanson, a sell-side research boutique that focuses on the telecommunications industry, said, "AT&T reported an in-line-to-mostly-good quarter — light on revenue, perhaps, but long on margins." Others have characterized the quarter as a "strong" one for AT&T, and proved that bundling fiber and internet can improve its wireless results. This is not unique, as Verizon and T-Mobile have also been looking to add wireless subscribers by bundling home internet with fiber and wireless.
Both Verizon and T-Mobile welcomed new CEOs last year in Dan Schulman and Srini Gopalan, respectively. AT&T CEO John Stankey has the longest tenure among the US "Big 3" as he took over running AT&T on July 1, 2020.
We expect to see T-Mobile and Verizon report their Q2 earnings over the next two days. T-Mobile will report early tomorrow, with Verizon scheduled to release its Q2 results on Friday morning.
