New York, June 18, 2026, 08:09 (EDT)
- AT&T traded at $22.44 ahead of the bell, following a 3.1% drop during Wednesday’s session.
- Pascal Desroches is stepping down as CFO at the end of the year, the company said in an SEC filing. Jennifer Biry is scheduled to become deputy CFO starting July 6 and will take over as CFO on Jan. 1, 2027.
- AT&T’s push to end certain old domestic voice services is up for comment at the FCC. With the market shut for Juneteenth on Friday, U.S. traders face a short week, wrapping up Thursday.
AT&T stock held at $22.44 ahead of Thursday’s open. Investors looked at news of a new CFO and new regulatory interest tied to AT&T’s legacy voice-line segment. Shares dropped 3.11% at Wednesday’s close, market data showed.
The timing is key. Thursday is the final U.S. stock-market session ahead of the Juneteenth break. S&P 500 futures gained 0.75% at 7:06 a.m. ET, Reuters said, with investors also keeping an eye on “triple witching.” This is when stock options, index options and futures all expire, usually driving volume and picking up intraday moves. Reuters
AT&T said in a filing that CFO Desroches will retire at the end of the year. The CFO handles financial planning, capital spending and manages the balance sheet. Biry, 52, is a former AT&T executive who most recently was the CFO and COO at McAfee. She’s also held senior finance, sales and strategy jobs at AT&T and WarnerMedia.
Biry called her move back to AT&T a “full-circle moment,” CFO Dive said. Desroches added, “progress isn’t linear.” The remarks come as AT&T faces pressure to show big network spending brings in customers, cash, and helps cut debt, while also holding off wireless rivals. CFO Dive
AT&T gets over six months of CFO overlap, according to the filing, a setup that should limit succession risk. Still, Desroches exits after investors made finance discipline a core part of how they look at AT&T, not just background noise.
AT&T’s Q1 results are front and center. Revenue came in at $31.5 billion. Adjusted EBITDA was $11.8 billion. Free cash flow, which is cash after operations and capex, was $2.5 billion. The company said it added 294,000 postpaid phone net adds and 584,000 advanced connectivity internet net adds in the period.
Desroches told investors at Mizuho that AT&T is “building a network for the future,” pointing to higher bandwidth demand driven by artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles and connected devices. He added that the company doesn’t “need to do anything” on new deals right now, saying it remains focused on execution. AT&T Investor Relations
Verizon is feeling the heat. The wireless carrier this week rolled out new, simpler wireless plans, cut activation and upgrade fees, and launched a loyalty program. Reuters reported the shake-up is meant to go after AT&T and T-Mobile in the crowded U.S. telecom space, where companies lean on subsidies, discounts and network investments to hold onto subscribers.
FCC has set July 1 as the deadline for comments on AT&T’s Section 214 filing, which seeks to drop some domestic legacy voice services like landline and wireline products. The agency said the request could get an automatic green light by July 17 if it doesn’t step in. Any objections from customers or regulators could hold up AT&T’s move to shed more expensive infrastructure, while Verizon and T-Mobile keep pushing on prices and bundles.
AT&T’s next set event is the Q2 earnings call on July 22. Investors looking for more answers on whether Biry’s return means anything for capital allocation, or if AT&T’s 2026 guidance still stands as money shifts to fiber and 5G and away from copper lines.
