Is AT&T (T) Stock Finally Waking Up? Q2 Results Make a Strong Case

TLDR

• AT&T stock rose 4.8% to $24.06 after Q2 earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $0.65 vs. the $0.59 consensus
• Free cash flow hit $4.7 billion, up 6.3% year-over-year, topping management’s own guidance range
• AT&T added 432,000 postpaid phone subscribers, well above the 338,500 analysts expected
• FY2026 EPS guidance was raised to $2.25–$2.35, and the quarterly dividend remains $0.2775 per share (4.6% yield)
• Wolfe Research upgraded the stock post-earnings; consensus rating sits at Moderate Buy with a $29.19 target price

AT&T (T) stock jumped 4.8% on Friday, hitting $24.06, after the company posted Q2 results that beat Wall Street’s earnings estimate by a clear margin. Volume was heavy — over 80 million units traded, roughly 57% above the daily average.

AT&T Inc., T

The company reported adjusted EPS of $0.65, topping the $0.59 consensus. Revenue came in at $31.56 billion, slightly below the $31.80 billion estimate, but that wasn’t enough to dampen investor enthusiasm.

Free cash flow was the standout number. AT&T generated $4.7 billion in the quarter — a 6.3% rise year-over-year — which came in above the company’s own guidance range of $4.0 billion to $4.5 billion.

Adjusted EBITDA climbed 5.2% year-over-year to $12.3 billion. The adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 110 basis points to 39.1%.

On the subscriber side, AT&T added 432,000 postpaid phone customers. Analysts had expected 338,500. The company also topped one million new advanced connectivity subscribers overall, driven by fiber and fixed wireless growth.

AT&T raised its full-year 2026 EPS guidance to a range of $2.25–$2.35. Analysts currently expect $2.31 for the full year.

Analyst Reaction

Wolfe Research upgraded AT&T following the results. Sanford C. Bernstein kept its “outperform” rating with a $25.00 price target. TD Cowen raised its target from $32.00 to $33.00, though it maintained a “hold” rating. Argus cut its target from $33.00 to $30.00 but kept a “buy” rating.

Barclays trimmed its target from $26.00 to $24.00 with an “equal weight” rating. The current consensus stands at Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $29.19.

The stock trades at roughly 6.7x projected EV/EBITDA — a discount to Verizon at 7.3x and T-Mobile at 8.8x, and below AT&T’s own five-year historical average of 7.5x to 8x.

Dividend and Buybacks

AT&T declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, payable August 3rd. That works out to $1.11 annualized and a 4.6% yield. The payout ratio sits at 37.25%.

The company also has a $10 billion share repurchase authorization in place.

Short interest remained low at 1.81% of the float. Institutional investors hold 57.10% of the stock.

The 50-day moving average sits at $22.79, while the 200-day is $24.24. AT&T carries a market cap of $167.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, and a beta of 0.24.

Unusually heavy call option activity following the earnings release pointed to traders positioning for further upside.

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