AT&T Inc. lifted its 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) outlook to about $2.40, with lower depreciation tied to its planned Mexico sale driving most of the increase.
The previous adjusted EPS range was $2.25 to $2.35. Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches said the higher 2026 adjusted EPS outlook primarily reflects lower expected depreciation expense under held-for-sale accounting for AT&T Mexico. Adjusted EPS excludes certain charges and gains.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, service revenue rose 3.8% from a year earlier to $26.301 billion. AT&T described that as its strongest service revenue growth in more than four years. Total operating revenue increased 5.3% to $32.322 billion.
Internet net additions across AT&T’s consumer and business Advanced Connectivity services totaled a record 769,000. Fiber accounted for 442,000 of those additions and fixed wireless for 327,000. The company also added 379,000 postpaid phone customers.
Wireless service and equipment sales helped lift revenue, as did fiber revenue that included contributions from the first-quarter acquisition of Lumen’s Mass Markets fiber business. Declining demand for older services offset part of those gains.
Adjusted EPS rose to $0.65 from $0.54 a year earlier. Reported diluted EPS from continuing operations fell to $0.13 from $1.29. This quarter included a $2.6 billion noncash impairment charge tied to AT&T Mexico and employee separation charges; the year-earlier figure benefited from a gain on the sale of AT&T’s DIRECTV investment. Shareholders received about $4.8 billion during the quarter, including $2.8 billion through common share repurchases.
AT&T kept its 2026 capital investment outlook at $23 billion to $24 billion. It now expects to invest $22 billion to $23 billion annually in 2027 and 2028, down from the previous $23 billion to $24 billion range. The new figures for those years exclude AT&T Mexico. Desroches attributed roughly $300 million to $400 million of the approximately $1 billion reduction to Mexico wireless spending and the rest to efficiencies.
AT&T expects to complete the sale to Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings in the first quarter of 2027. Completion depends on customary deal conditions and any required Mexican regulatory approvals.
