NEW YORK, Feb 3, 2026, 13:16 EST — Regular session
AT&T Inc shares were up 1.8% at $26.78 in early afternoon trading on Tuesday, after moving between $26.07 and $26.80.
The carrier, based in Dallas, said it completed a $5.75 billion all-cash purchase of “substantially all” of Lumen Technologies’ Mass Markets fiber business, a deal announced last year. The purchase adds more than 1 million fiber subscribers and more than 4 million fiber locations, including in metros such as Denver, Seattle and Salt Lake City, the company said. “America’s largest network is the best positioned in our industry to serve even more consumers,” John Stankey said. (AT&T Investors)
The acquired network starts with about 25% customer penetration — the share of homes passed by fiber that actually take service — well below AT&T’s roughly 40% fiber penetration, Stankey said on a recent call. He also said fewer than 20% of those customers subscribe to AT&T wireless, leaving room for bundling. David Barden at New Street Research wrote that the deal close “only raises the stakes in the convergence conversation” — Wall Street shorthand for selling broadband and mobile together. (Fiercewireless)
Lumen, which branded parts of the consumer unit as Quantum Fiber, called the divestiture “a pivotal moment” and said it plans to apply about $4.8 billion of the proceeds to retire super-priority debt. “We are doubling down on where we are strongest,” Kate Johnson said. (Lumen Investor Relations)
AT&T’s gain came as telecom shares held up: Verizon Communications was up 3.5% and T-Mobile US gained 1.6%, while Lumen fell 4.4%.
Investors have leaned on fiber because it tends to be stickier than wireless — fewer reasons to switch, and the service lives in the home. AT&T is betting it can lift take-rates in the new footprint and then pull more of those households into two-product bundles.
The immediate test is messy and local: marketing in new metros, moving customers smoothly, and filling gaps where the network is thin. Any delays show up in cash flow, and this is a stock that often trades on the promise of steady returns.
But the math cuts both ways. If penetration stays near 25% in the acquired footprint, or if AT&T has to discount heavily to win wireless lines, the payback period stretches.
For now, traders will be watching the tape for follow-through and for any sign that the deal is translating into sharper broadband momentum — not just headlines.
A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed the transaction closed on Feb. 2 and involved Lumen’s mass-markets fiber-to-the-home business across 11 states for $5.75 billion in cash. Lumen also said it intends to file pro forma financial information within four business days of the close — due by Feb. 6 — giving investors a closer look at what changed hands. (SEC)
