NEW YORK, Jan 8, 2026, 10:11 EST — Regular session
- AT&T shares rose about 1% in morning trade, paring the prior session’s slide.
- Traders weighed an American Airlines Wi‑Fi partnership and a fresh sell call from Arete.
- Next catalysts include U.S. jobs data on Friday and AT&T’s Jan. 28 earnings call.
AT&T Inc shares rose about 1% on Thursday to $24.20, as the telecom stock steadied after a weak start to the week.
The move matters because AT&T is three weeks from quarterly results, with investors looking for any shift in wireless and broadband momentum and for signals on cash returns. The company has set its fourth-quarter earnings call for Jan. 28.
AT&T fell 1.5% on Wednesday and remains nearly 20% below its 52-week high, leaving it sensitive to small catalysts and changes in rate expectations. Verizon and T-Mobile also traded higher on Thursday, keeping AT&T’s move in line with the broader U.S. telecom group.
One support point has been a new customer-facing tie-up: American Airlines said it will roll out free in-flight Wi‑Fi for loyalty members in partnership with AT&T. “Free high-speed Wi‑Fi isn’t just a perk — it’s essential for today’s travelers,” American’s chief customer officer Heather Garboden said in a statement. Reuters
At the same time, Arete downgraded AT&T to “sell” from “neutral” and cut its price target to $20 from $26, according to MT Newswires. Analysts polled by FactSet have an average “overweight” rating and a mean price target of $30.04, the same report said. Tiger Brokers
Macro data is also in the mix. The U.S. employment report is due Friday, and the CPI inflation report follows on Jan. 13, events that can swing bond yields and, by extension, rate-sensitive dividend stocks.
AT&T has leaned on fiber growth and higher-value wireless customers to offset a mature U.S. handset market, where carriers have relied on promotions to defend share. In its latest quarterly update, AT&T reported $30.7 billion in revenue and 405,000 postpaid phone net adds, the company’s measure of monthly-bill phone subscribers added after churn.
But the setup cuts both ways. If promotions intensify or subscriber additions cool, AT&T could face pressure on free cash flow — the cash left after capital spending — and on its ability to sustain buybacks and dividends at the pace investors expect.
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