NEW YORK, May 31, 2026, 14:04 (EDT)
- AT&T shares settled at $24.80 on Friday, off 0.32% for the session and down 1.82% over the last five days.
- AT&T will report second-quarter earnings on July 22 and is hosting an investor webcast with CFO Pascal Desroches on June 9.
- Free cash flow, capex and the ongoing wireless battle with Verizon and T-Mobile are on investors’ radar.
AT&T Inc. is set to report earnings on July 22. Shares edged lower over the holiday-shortened week, a small dip as most of the U.S. market climbed to new highs.
AT&T shares closed Friday at $24.80, down 0.32% for the session. Over the last five days, the stock fell 1.82% and is off 0.16% this year, according to MarketScreener. The New York Stock Exchange was shut Monday for Memorial Day.
Investors now have a key date ahead for AT&T’s 2026 pitch. The company said Friday it will report Q2 earnings before the New York Stock Exchange opens on Wednesday, July 22. AT&T’s call is set for 8:30 a.m. ET.
Sectors outside of telecom were driving the market higher. Wall Street’s big indexes ended at new record highs Friday, according to Reuters. The S&P 500 added 0.22% and the Nasdaq rose 0.21%, lifting both to weekly and monthly gains on tech strength. AT&T was left out of that rally.
AT&T stuck to its message. The company said Desroches will appear at the Mizuho Technology Conference on June 9. It kept its 2026 and long-term targets and is still planning more than $45 billion in shareholder returns from 2026 to 2028. AT&T also repeated its second-quarter free cash flow outlook of $4.0 billion to $4.5 billion. Free cash flow is what’s left after operations and capital spending.
AT&T’s first-quarter numbers set the tone. The company reported revenue of $31.5 billion, adjusted earnings at 57 cents per share, and added 294,000 postpaid phone subscribers. CEO John Stankey called it AT&T’s “best first quarter ever” for Advanced Connectivity internet net adds. AT&T Newsroom
Convergence—offering wireless and home internet as a bundle—remains the main bull case. J.P. Morgan’s Sebastiano Petti said in May that AT&T’s asset mix “positions the company well to drive share gains,” pointing to fiber, 5G spending, and overlap between its home internet and wireless users. Barron’s
Analyst views have shown mixed support. RBC Capital’s Jonathan Atkin left his Outperform rating unchanged and kept the target at $31 on May 20. Scotiabank’s Maher Yaghi also held his Sector Perform rating but lowered the target to $31 in April.
Telecom stocks slid. Verizon ended down 0.39% at $47.81 on Friday. T-Mobile US dropped 0.87% to $187.53. AT&T also lost ground, though less. The whole group trailed as tech names outperformed, with growth stocks getting more attention than steady dividend payers.
Wiliot said this week it has expanded its work with AT&T Business, aiming to scale its Physical AI systems. These platforms use sensors and data to monitor goods in supply chains. Lee Wagner at AT&T said businesses “need actionable data from the physical world,” a line pointing to the carrier’s push to go beyond connectivity for business clients. PR Newswire
AT&T’s capital needs may cut into returns. Free cash flow dropped to $2.5 billion in the first quarter from $3.1 billion a year ago as capital investment went higher. The company is planning $23 billion to $24 billion in capital investment for 2026. Net debt was $126.4 billion at quarter’s end.
AT&T isn’t reporting earnings this week, but traders are still on alert for macro moves. The May U.S. jobs number lands June 5 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Reuters said jobs, rates and bond yields are on the radar for market risks. For AT&T, higher rates could put more focus on debt load and dividends.
AT&T has set the date and kept its guidance steady, but the stock has lagged while the index climbed. Investors will find out in June if this is just a pause ahead of July’s figures, or if telecom names like AT&T still have more to prove to get noticed.
