NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 16:44 ET — Market closed
- AT&T shares last closed up 0.12% at $24.84 in the year’s final session on Wednesday
- Wall Street ended 2025’s last trading day lower in thin holiday volume
- Next catalysts include AT&T’s Jan. 28 earnings and a mid-January jobs report
AT&T Inc. shares ended 2025 slightly higher in the last U.S. session on Wednesday, holding up as broader indexes slipped into the New Year holiday. The stock last closed up 0.12% at $24.84.
The quiet close matters because year-end trading was thin, which can exaggerate moves in big dividend payers such as AT&T as investors reset portfolios for 2026. Markets were closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day.
With liquidity low, price action late in the week often reflected positioning more than fresh corporate news. “I do not expect that the last few days will have so much bearing on the performance of the next year,” said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Reflexivity. Reuters
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.74% and the Nasdaq lost 0.76%, while the Dow ended down 0.63%, capping a strong year for U.S. equities despite a soft finish.
AT&T’s big telecom peers were mixed in the same session, with Verizon edging up about 0.1% and T-Mobile slipping roughly 0.4%. Comcast, a major cable and broadband competitor, fell about 0.2%.
Wall Street research has also been a cross-current heading into 2026, with several firms trimming price targets while keeping broadly constructive stances. Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins kept a Buy rating but lowered his target to $29, while Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng kept a Buy and cut his target to $29, Benzinga reported.
Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery kept an Overweight rating — a bullish call meaning the bank expects the stock to outperform — but lowered his target to $30, Benzinga said. Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino downgraded the stock to Peer Perform, a hold-equivalent rating, according to the same report.
A “price target” is an analyst’s estimate of where a stock could trade over the next 12 months, not a guarantee. In telecom, targets often move with expectations for cash generation, competition in wireless and broadband, and interest-rate sensitivity.
AT&T’s dividend remains a key support in that debate. The company said its board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, payable Feb. 2 to shareholders of record on Jan. 12.
Annualized, that payout is about $1.11 per share, which implies a yield around 4.5% based on Wednesday’s close — one reason the stock can trade like an income proxy when Treasury yields shift.
The next company-specific catalyst is AT&T’s fourth-quarter report. AT&T said it will release results before the New York Stock Exchange opens on Jan. 28 and host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Before next session, traders will be watching rates and policy expectations alongside single-stock positioning. The Federal Reserve’s next scheduled policy meeting runs Jan. 27–28, landing the same day as AT&T’s earnings release.
Macro risk markers are close behind. The ISM manufacturing PMI is due Jan. 5, while the U.S. employment report for December 2025 is scheduled for Jan. 13, according to the Labor Department calendar.
Technically, traders are also watching the low-$24 area as near-term support and $26 as resistance, Benzinga reported. A break either way could draw in short-term flows in a stock that often trades on yield and broader risk appetite rather than headline-driven momentum.
For now, AT&T heads into the first session of 2026 with a familiar setup: a steady dividend story, an earnings date on the calendar, and a market backdrop still keyed to the path of interest rates.
