AT&T (NYSE:T) executives said the company’s second-quarter performance reflected the benefits of its fiber expansion, spectrum investments and recently closed acquisitions, while emphasizing a strategy centered on converged wireless and broadband customer relationships.
Speaking at the 2026 Bank of America Telecom and Media Conference, Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches said AT&T had reached a “tipping point” in the second quarter after several years of investment in fiber deployment, wireless-network modernization and spectrum.
“Together, those assets positioned us for accelerated growth,” Desroches said, adding that AT&T expects broadband revenue growth to accelerate across fiber and fixed wireless.
Outlook and capital returns
Desroches said AT&T continues to expect double-digit earnings-per-share growth over the next three years, along with accelerating EBITDA growth. He also reiterated that the company expects to return $18 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks this year and $45 billion over the following three years.
He said the company’s business segment grew service revenue 1.8% in the most recent quarter and is expected to deliver low-single-digit service-revenue growth for the foreseeable future.
Consumer strategy emphasizes choice and convergence
Jen Robertson, executive vice president and general manager of AT&T Consumer, said industry switching activity has remained broadly consistent with the prior year. She described the competitive environment as healthy and said AT&T’s results were driven by execution rather than a major change in consumer switching behavior.
Robertson highlighted three factors behind the company’s consumer performance:
- Growth in converged households that combine broadband and wireless services.
- Pricing-plan changes designed to provide customers with more choices.
- The company’s AT&T Guarantee value proposition, which Robertson said has helped build customer trust.
AT&T introduced revised pricing constructs earlier in the year, including its Unlimited Your Way and Build-A-Plan offerings. Robertson said the Build-A-Plan option allows customers to start at $15 per line and add selected features, while the company’s broader plans allow family-plan customers to mix and match service tiers.
AT&T reported higher average revenue per user, lower postpaid phone churn and its highest postpaid phone account growth in more than three years during the second quarter, according to Robertson.
She said AT&T approaches pricing changes using three principles: providing additional value with any price increase, communicating changes transparently in advance, and offering customers options to remain on their plan or move to a higher- or lower-priced alternative. The company models pricing actions using conservative churn assumptions, she said, and has generally experienced lower churn than expected.
Device promotions tied to customer value
With new smartphones expected to be introduced during the holiday selling season, Desroches said AT&T intends to remain within its device-subsidy budget even if handset manufacturers raise prices.
Robertson said the company is focused on growing service revenue rather than pursuing customer additions “for volume’s sake.” AT&T can tailor promotions through trade-in values, eligibility tied to wireless rate plans and offers directed at converged households, she said.
“The more value on the household account itself, the more value we’re willing to give on the offer because the long-term value of the account grows,” Robertson said.
She said growth has been particularly strong in AT&T’s value segment, where the company has historically been underpenetrated. The company is using combinations of fiber, Internet Air fixed wireless and wireless service to target one- and two-line accounts while also protecting its mult-line customer base.
Fiber remains the priority where available
Desroches said AT&T will prioritize fiber connections in areas where it has built the network because fiber offers the strongest customer experience, the lowest incremental cost to deliver data and a lower cost to serve. Fixed wireless remains an important product in places where the company does not have fiber, particularly in markets where it has lower wireless market share.
He said AT&T does not expect to pursue a fixed-wireless base as large as some competitors, describing its approach as selective and focused on sustainable returns.
Executives also said they increasingly evaluate broadband and wireless economics at the household level rather than as separate products. Robertson said AT&T may accept lower fiber ARPU in some cases to acquire a household that can later produce more wireless revenue, lower churn and greater long-term value.
AT&T said 42.5% of its internet customers had postpaid wireless service at the end of the second quarter, or 45% excluding the Lumen footprint. Robertson said the company has publicly targeted 50% convergence and views that as an achievable objective, though the expanding number of fiber locations can affect the percentage from quarter to quarter. Desroches added that AT&T’s fixed-wireless customer base is already more than 50% converged.
Lumen integration and fiber costs
Desroches said the acquired Lumen assets include about 4.5 million consumer locations that were roughly 25% penetrated, compared with approximately 40% in AT&T’s owned-and-operated footprint. AT&T has been adding distribution capacity, marketing support and customer equipment to meet demand in those markets.
Robertson said the initial effort has included using AT&T retail locations, third-party sales channels and marketing to existing wireless customers to promote the Quantum Fiber brand. A broader launch under the AT&T Fiber brand and AT&T Guarantee will occur market by market as network work is completed, executives said.
On fiber construction costs, Desroches said AT&T has long-term fiber supply commitments and agreements with contractors and labor unions that provide visibility into costs. He also cited lower connection costs as more homes use self-installation, as well as lower maintenance and energy requirements compared with copper networks.
About AT&T (NYSE:T)
AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband internet, voice, and related connectivity services. Its offerings include mobile phone and data plans, fiber-optic internet, fixed wireless access, traditional voice services, and networking solutions for businesses and government customers.
The company serves consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations primarily across the United States. AT&T also provides wireless services in Mexico and operates extensive communications networks that support mobile connectivity, internet access, data transmission, and enterprise communications.
AT&T traces its history to the development of the Bell System and has evolved through a series of reorganizations and acquisitions.
