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AT&T Shares Rise 28.6% Year to Date: Is the Stock a Buy Now?
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Key Takeaways
AT&T stock rose 28.6% in a year, beating industry, sector, and S&P 500 growth.
Fiber expansion and a $23B EchoStar spectrum deal boost AT&T's connectivity push.
AT&T faces stiff competition from Verizon and T-Mobile in the 5G mid-band market.
AT&T, Inc. (T - Free Report) has gained 28.6% over the past year compared with the Wireless National industry’s growth of 15.9%. The stock has also outperformed the Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the S&P 500’s growth during this period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company has outperformed its peers like Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) and T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) . Verizon has gained 10.5%, while TMUS has increased 16.8% during this period.
T Rides on Strategic Divestiture, Fiber Expansion
AT&T is aggressively expanding its fiber network infrastructure nationwide. Recently, Gigapower, a joint venture of AT&T and Global Infrastructure Partners, has expanded its fiber footprint across six states in the United States. The joint venture is aiming to reach 1.5 million fiber locations nationwide. Growing demand for high-speed connectivity to support high-bandwidth intensive applications is driving demand for robust broadband infrastructure.
The federal government is also pushing for network infrastructure expansion to reduce the digital divide through various policies. To capitalize on these emerging market trends, AT&T has taken a multi-dimensional approach, which includes expanding and enhancing its in-region fiber network, public-private partnerships, commercial open access agreements and strategic buyouts. In its joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partners, AT&T gains from fiber expansion without having to bear the complete capex requirements.
The company’s fiber broadband network has reached 30 million consumer and business locations across the country during the second quarter. It is also acquiring Lumen’s fiber business, which will boost its fiber footprint across 11 U.S. states. By the end of 2030, AT&T expects to reach approximately 50 million customer locations with its in-region fiber network and more than 60 million fiber locations when including the Lumen Mass Markets fiber assets.
Despite a mature and saturated mobile market, the growing proliferation of AI and IoT will continue to drive demand for consistent 5G connectivity. AT&T has been focusing on expanding its 5G portfolio offerings to boost its competitive edge in the 5G market. It is set to acquire wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar. The deal, valued at $23 billion, is set to add approximately 20 MHz of nationwide 600 MHz low-band spectrum and about 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum to AT&T’s spectrum portfolio. AT&T’s recent initiatives are perfectly aligned with its converged connectivity push. The acquisition will strengthen its 5G offerings, and when combined with AT&T’s fiber footprint, it will allow the company to effectively support advanced AI and IoT applications.
Major Challenges for T
AT&T continues to face stiff competition from Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) and T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) . Despite the recent acquisition of EchoStar, it is still playing a catch-up game with VZ and TMUS in 5G mid-band deployment. Growing investment in 5G and fiber infrastructure is also placing a strain on the company’s liquidity.
As of June 30, 2025, AT&T had $10.5 billion of cash and cash equivalents with long-term debt of $123.06 billion compared with respective tallies of $6.88 billion and $117.26 billion in the previous quarter. This indicates that although its short-term liquidity has improved, its long-term debt burden has increased significantly. At the end of the second quarter, the company had a current ratio of 0.81 and a cash ratio of 0.22. It indicates the company may face challenges in meeting short-term debt obligations.
Estimate Revision Trend of T
Earnings estimates for AT&T for 2025 and 2026 have increased over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Key Valuation Metric of T
From a valuation standpoint, AT&T appears to be trading relatively cheaper compared to the industry but trading above its mean. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company shares currently trade at 13.38 forward earnings, lower than 13.69 for the industry but above the stock’s mean of 12.31.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
End Note
AT&T is benefiting from healthy momentum in postpaid wireless business with a lower churn rate. While optimizing operations, AT&T is aiming to increase efficiencies to lower operating costs while focusing on 5G and fiber-based connectivity, along with an expanded reach of software-based entertainment platforms.
However, its high debt obligations remain a major obstacle in this initiative. Intensifying competition from other industry leaders is weighing on margin. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), AT&T appears to be treading in the middle of the road, and new investors could be better off if they trade with caution. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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AT&T Shares Rise 28.6% Year to Date: Is the Stock a Buy Now?
Key Takeaways
AT&T, Inc. (T - Free Report) has gained 28.6% over the past year compared with the Wireless National industry’s growth of 15.9%. The stock has also outperformed the Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the S&P 500’s growth during this period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company has outperformed its peers like Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) and T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) . Verizon has gained 10.5%, while TMUS has increased 16.8% during this period.
T Rides on Strategic Divestiture, Fiber Expansion
AT&T is aggressively expanding its fiber network infrastructure nationwide. Recently, Gigapower, a joint venture of AT&T and Global Infrastructure Partners, has expanded its fiber footprint across six states in the United States. The joint venture is aiming to reach 1.5 million fiber locations nationwide. Growing demand for high-speed connectivity to support high-bandwidth intensive applications is driving demand for robust broadband infrastructure.
The federal government is also pushing for network infrastructure expansion to reduce the digital divide through various policies. To capitalize on these emerging market trends, AT&T has taken a multi-dimensional approach, which includes expanding and enhancing its in-region fiber network, public-private partnerships, commercial open access agreements and strategic buyouts. In its joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partners, AT&T gains from fiber expansion without having to bear the complete capex requirements.
The company’s fiber broadband network has reached 30 million consumer and business locations across the country during the second quarter. It is also acquiring Lumen’s fiber business, which will boost its fiber footprint across 11 U.S. states. By the end of 2030, AT&T expects to reach approximately 50 million customer locations with its in-region fiber network and more than 60 million fiber locations when including the Lumen Mass Markets fiber assets.
Despite a mature and saturated mobile market, the growing proliferation of AI and IoT will continue to drive demand for consistent 5G connectivity. AT&T has been focusing on expanding its 5G portfolio offerings to boost its competitive edge in the 5G market. It is set to acquire wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar. The deal, valued at $23 billion, is set to add approximately 20 MHz of nationwide 600 MHz low-band spectrum and about 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum to AT&T’s spectrum portfolio. AT&T’s recent initiatives are perfectly aligned with its converged connectivity push. The acquisition will strengthen its 5G offerings, and when combined with AT&T’s fiber footprint, it will allow the company to effectively support advanced AI and IoT applications.
Major Challenges for T
AT&T continues to face stiff competition from Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) and T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) . Despite the recent acquisition of EchoStar, it is still playing a catch-up game with VZ and TMUS in 5G mid-band deployment. Growing investment in 5G and fiber infrastructure is also placing a strain on the company’s liquidity.
As of June 30, 2025, AT&T had $10.5 billion of cash and cash equivalents with long-term debt of $123.06 billion compared with respective tallies of $6.88 billion and $117.26 billion in the previous quarter. This indicates that although its short-term liquidity has improved, its long-term debt burden has increased significantly. At the end of the second quarter, the company had a current ratio of 0.81 and a cash ratio of 0.22. It indicates the company may face challenges in meeting short-term debt obligations.
Estimate Revision Trend of T
Earnings estimates for AT&T for 2025 and 2026 have increased over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Key Valuation Metric of T
From a valuation standpoint, AT&T appears to be trading relatively cheaper compared to the industry but trading above its mean. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company shares currently trade at 13.38 forward earnings, lower than 13.69 for the industry but above the stock’s mean of 12.31.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
End Note
AT&T is benefiting from healthy momentum in postpaid wireless business with a lower churn rate. While optimizing operations, AT&T is aiming to increase efficiencies to lower operating costs while focusing on 5G and fiber-based connectivity, along with an expanded reach of software-based entertainment platforms.
However, its high debt obligations remain a major obstacle in this initiative. Intensifying competition from other industry leaders is weighing on margin. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), AT&T appears to be treading in the middle of the road, and new investors could be better off if they trade with caution. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.