AT&T’s first quarter of 2026 showed higher revenue, stronger operating profit and faster customer growth, even as cash generation and EPS moved lower from a year earlier.
Revenue rose 2.9% to $31.5 billion from $30.6 billion. Operating income increased to $6.7 billion from $5.8 billion, while adjusted operating income climbed to $6.9 billion from $6.4 billion. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $11.8 billion from $11.5 billion.
Diluted EPS from continuing operations fell to $0.54 from $0.61, but adjusted EPS increased to $0.57 from $0.51. Income from continuing operations declined to $4.2 billion from $4.7 billion, and income from continuing operations attributable to common stock dropped to $3.8 billion from $4.4 billion.
Cash from operating activities from continuing operations decreased to $7.6 billion from $9.0 billion. Free cash flow fell to $2.5 billion from $3.1 billion. Capital expenditures related to continuing operations rose to $4.9 billion from $4.3 billion, and capital investment increased to $5.1 billion from $4.5 billion.
Debt stood at $138.4 billion at quarter-end, with net debt at $126.4 billion.
In the core advanced connectivity business, service revenue increased 3.6% to $22.9 billion from $22.1 billion. Operating income jumped 14.8% to $6.9 billion from $6.0 billion, and EBITDA rose 5.6% to $11.6 billion from $10.9 billion.
Advanced connectivity operating revenues rose 4.7% to $28.5 billion from $27.2 billion. Service revenue increased to $22.9 billion from $22.1 billion, while equipment revenue climbed 9.3% to $5.6 billion from $5.1 billion.
Wireless service revenue increased 1.7% to $16.9 billion from $16.7 billion. Advanced home internet revenue surged 27.3% to $2.8 billion from $2.2 billion. Business fiber and advanced connectivity revenue rose 7.2% to $1.9 billion from $1.8 billion, while business transitional and other revenue fell 16.3% to $1.1 billion from $1.3 billion.
Advanced connectivity operating expenses increased 1.9% to $21.6 billion from $21.2 billion. That helped lift operating income margin to 24.1% from 22.0%.
Customer additions were a major highlight. AT&T added 584,000 total consumer and business advanced connectivity internet customers, split evenly between 292,000 fiber adds and 292,000 fixed wireless adds. Consumer advanced home internet net adds totaled 512,000, including 273,000 fiber and 239,000 internet air additions. Postpaid phone net adds were 294,000, with churn of 0.89%.
The company said 42% of households with its advanced home internet services also chose AT&T wireless. Excluding the impact of newly acquired fiber customers, that convergence rate approached 45%, up more than 3 percentage points from a year earlier.
Legacy revenue continued to shrink sharply. The legacy segment posted revenue of $1.8 billion, down 25.3% from $2.4 billion. Operating income fell 39.9% to $612 million from $1.0 billion.
In Latin America, revenue increased 20.8% to $1.2 billion from $971 million. Operating expenses rose 24.2% to $1.2 billion from $928 million. Operating income declined to $20 million from $43 million, while EBITDA increased to $220 million from $193 million. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 0.38% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $28.92. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
