NEW YORK, March 19, 2026, 17:27 EDT
AT&T shares ended Thursday up 1.2% at $27.74, shrugging off fresh strike authorization news from a mobility workers union and another down session for the broader U.S. market.
AT&T faces a tricky period ahead. Labor negotiations are set to kick off, and a series of company updates loom, all as markets contend with rising energy prices and the prospect of U.S. rates staying higher for longer.
Wall Street finished in the red on Thursday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.27%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.28%, and the Dow declined 0.44%, pressured by fresh oil price swings that sharpened concerns over the path of interest rates. Odds of a rate cut before mid-2027 look slim. “A real inflation risk,” was how Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments, put it, as investors recalibrated. Reuters
AT&T’s argument still leans on its bread-and-butter phone and fiber business. Back in January, it called for 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.25 to $2.35 a share, topping what analysts were looking for. The company just picked up 421,000 postpaid wireless customers in the fourth quarter, and CEO John Stankey said the Lumen acquisition should push AT&T past 40 million fiber-connected customer locations by year-end.
AT&T doubled down last week, outlining plans to pour more than $250 billion into U.S. network infrastructure over five years and add thousands of new technicians before this year wraps. “Spend hard, but … spend smart,” AJ Bell’s Danni Hewson said, summing up the challenge. The stakes? Comcast is working to protect its broadband turf, while Verizon, fresh off its Frontier deal, is chasing new home-broadband signups. The scramble for internet customers isn’t letting up, Reuters reported. Reuters
AT&T on Wednesday launched a new app designed to let its wireless and home-internet customers handle both services from a single hub—a move aimed at bundling those offerings more tightly. “We wanted a single flagship app,” said Kellyn Smith Kenny, the company’s chief marketing and growth officer, describing a focus on how people actually use their service, not just the payment side. AT&T Newsroom
Still, the threat of a walkout is on the table. The Communications Workers of America reported that employees covered by AT&T’s Orange Mobility contract have authorized CWA President Claude Cummings to initiate a strike if negotiations break down. AT&T, for its part, says the contract affects roughly 9,000 workers in retail, call centers, and customer service roles across 36 states, and adds it’s aiming for a fair deal.
Coming up: senior vice president Yigal Elbaz is set to speak at a conference on March 26, followed by first-quarter earnings on April 22. Investors are especially tuned in for details around customer growth, network spending, and the ongoing labor negotiations.
