NEW YORK, August 6, 2026, 16:06 EDT — Regular trading in the U.S. has ended and after-hours trading has begun.
- AT&T ended the session at $23.71, rising 2.82%, following a 1.37% drop on Wednesday.
- Initial estimate: projected 2026 dividends and share repurchases represent roughly 10.8% of the equity value as of Thursday.
- The average analyst price target of $28.65 suggests a potential upside of roughly 20.8% from the latest closing price.
AT&T Inc. NYSE:T ended Thursday’s session up 2.8% at $23.71, recovering after falling 1.4% in a telecom sector selloff on Wednesday.
AT&T had an equity valuation of approximately $162.4 billion at Thursday’s closing price, based on around 6.85 billion shares in circulation.
The company expects total dividends and share repurchases to reach approximately $17.6 billion this year, resulting in an estimated cash-return yield of 10.8%.
Notably, those payments are close to AT&T’s minimum free-cash-flow target. The company projects at least $18 billion for 2026.
Initial cash-return comparison for 2026
| Item | Company plan or estimate | Share of equity value |
|---|---|---|
| Annual dividend | $1.11 per share, approximately $7.6 billion | 4.7% |
| Share repurchases | Roughly $10.0 billion | 6.2% |
| Dividend plus repurchases | Roughly $17.6 billion | 10.8% |
| Free-cash-flow guidance | No less than $18.0 billion | No less than 11.1% |
| Planned returns as share of FCF floor | Roughly $17.6 billion/$18.0 billion | Roughly 98% |
The figures are based on Thursday’s closing price and AT&T’s present number of shares. Dividend expenses are expected to decrease as AT&T continues its share buyback.
SpaceX NASDAQ:SPCX sparked fresh swings in the market. Company President Gwynne Shotwell stated SpaceX “definitely intend[s] to build out terrestrial” mobile infrastructure. Shotwell believes Starlink will attract “quite a few” customers away from current telecom providers. Reuters
Analysts expressed skepticism about the immediate risk. Craig Moffett at MoffettNathanson described the prospect of a rival direct service appearing within five years as “extraordinarily challenging” in the absence of a carrier partnership. Reuters
Telecom response and assessment
| Company | Wednesday move | Thursday move | Trailing P/E |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Inc. NYSE:T | -1.4% | up 2.8% | 7.8x |
| Verizon Communications Inc. NYSE:VZ | -0.9% | up 0.7% | 12.2x |
| T-Mobile US Inc. NASDAQ:TMUS | -2.1% | up 3.8% | 18.8x |
Figures for movements and multiples are approximate. SpaceX’s mobile remarks led to the declines reported on Wednesday.
The trio of carriers bounced back on Thursday. AT&T maintains the group’s lowest earnings multiple.
The discount comes despite better operating performance. AT&T reported 432,000 net additions of postpaid phone customers in the second quarter, above FactSet’s expectation of 338,500.
AT&T Q2 comparison
| Metric | Q2 2026 | Q2 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $31.6 billion | $30.8 billion | up 2.3% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $12.3 billion | $11.7 billion | rise of 5.1% |
| Adjusted EPS | $0.65 | $0.54 | increase of 20.4% |
| Free cash flow | $4.7 billion | $4.4 billion | gained 6.8% |
| Postpaid phone additions | 432,000 | 338,500 analyst estimate | beat by 27.6% |
AT&T’s own disclosed numbers are used to determine financial growth rates. Subscriber comparisons rely on FactSet’s consensus estimate.
Broadband contributed further growth. AT&T logged 367,000 new fiber customers alongside 279,000 fixed-wireless net adds. Around 42.5% of advanced internet subscribers also opted for its wireless offering.
“The cross-selling they have been working toward is now apparent in the figures,” said David Wagner, head of equity at AT&T shareholder Aptus Capital Advisors. Reuters
The cash-return argument is limited by balance-sheet pressures. AT&T reported $126.4 billion in net debt at the end of June. The company projects annual capital spending between $23 billion and $24 billion until 2028. Executives forecast leverage approaching 2.5 times roughly three years following its spectrum deal.
Analyst ratings
| Recommendation | Three months ago | One month ago | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Overweight | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Hold | 14 | 12 | 11 |
| Underweight | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sell | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Consensus | Hold | Buy | Buy |
The 28 ongoing ratings have an average price target of $28.65. Targets span from $20 up to $36.
The mean price target is 20.8% higher than Thursday’s closing level. However, the presence of a sell rating indicates growing debate.
AT&T dropped 3.6% over the week ending July 31, then regained approximately 2.0% from that level by Thursday.
The July employment report is set for release at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Friday. July consumer price figures are due on August 12, followed by producer prices on August 13. AT&T has not scheduled any financial events, making interest rate moves and SpaceX commentary the primary near-term drivers.
Risks: Starlink may lead to downward pressure on prices in the future. Substantial capital expenditures, expenses for spectrum, and net debt of $126.4 billion further constrain AT&T’s ability to absorb any shortfall in cash flow. The 2026 planned distributions are already near the lower end of the company’s free-cash-flow outlook.
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