AT&T customers flock to wireless, Internet bundles during Q1

An AT&T storefront in Missouri. (Photo courtesy Jeff Moore, Wave7 Research)

Key Financial Data

Q1 Total revenue: $31.5 billion (+2.9% year-over)
Operating income: $6.1 billion (+15%)
Net income: $4.2 billion (-10.6%)
Postpaid net additions: +294,000
Postpaid churn: >1%
AT&T Fiber net additions: +292,000
AT&T Internet Air net additions, residential: +239,000
Total AT&T Internet/Fiber additions: +584,000
Read more Q1 2026 media earnings coverage

AT&T saw a modest growth in total revenue and operating income during the first three months (Q1) of the year as wireless and Internet subscribers took advantage of bundling opportunities offered by the telecommunications firm.

During Q1, overall revenue rose to $31.5 billion, up 2.9 percent from $30.6 billion a year earlier, driven largely by growth in wireless and fiber services, AT&T said in its earnings release. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.57, compared with $0.51 in the year-ago quarter, while reported diluted EPS declined to $0.54 from $0.61.

Operating income increased to $6.7 billion, up from $5.8 billion last year, with adjusted operating income reaching $6.9 billion. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $11.8 billion, reflecting a modest increase from $11.5 billion in the prior-year period.

In a prepared statement, AT&T CEO John Stankey said stronger customer additions across its wireless and land-based broadband segment were key drivers of the company’s performance during Q1.

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“We saw our best first quarter ever for Advanced Connectivity internet customer net additions, demonstrating the solid foundation of assets we have built,” Stankey said. “We’re uniquely positioned to deliver more of what customers want — fiber and 5G all from one provider.”

This was the first quarter that AT&T stopped disclosing overall subscriber counts across its business units, choosing instead to focus on growth or constriction across its wireless and broadband offerings.

AT&T added 584,000 total advanced connectivity internet customers during the quarter, including 292,000 fiber subscribers and 292,000 fixed wireless users. Consumer net additions accounted for 512,000 of those gains, with 273,000 coming from fiber and 239,000 from its fixed wireless offering, AT&T Internet Air.

Wireless growth also remained steady, with 294,000 postpaid phone net additions and churn of less than 1 percent, the company said.

A key metric for the company — the convergence of wireless and home Internet customers — continued to improve. On a conference call with investors, Stankey noted that 42 percent of its broadband households were bundling their service with AT&T’s wireless offerings. That figure rises to 45 percent when excluding new subscribers, Stankey said.

“This is our fastest ever year-over-year convergence growth rate,” Stankey affirmed. “When our customers choose AT&T for their wireless and Internet connectivity, they consistently express stronger brand love, higher Net Promoter Scores and ultimately stay with us longer.”

Moving forward, AT&T is promoting a new offering called OneConnect, which offers a single flat rate for bundled home broadband and wireless Internet. The price of service depends on the number of lines added to OneConnect: A single wireless line costs $90 per month, while two wireless lines costs $120 per month. An upper-tier plan, called AT&T Family, allows subscribers to add as many as 10 wireless lines for $225 per month. All three plans include 1 Gigabit (Gbps) Internet connections through AT&T Fiber at home.

Advanced connectivity service revenue rose 3.6 percent to $22.9 billion, while segment operating income climbed 14.8 percent to $6.9 billion. Equipment revenue also increased, reflecting higher wireless device sales volumes.

The company’s fiber expansion remained central to its growth strategy: AT&T now reaches more than 37 million locations with its fiber Internet, including over 4 million added through its acquisition of substantially all of Lumen Technologies’ mass markets fiber business, which closed in February. The company reiterated its goal of reaching more than 40 million locations by the end of 2026 and over 60 million by 2030.

The Lumen transaction also influenced AT&T’s financial structure: The acquired fiber assets are being held in a subsidiary that the company plans to partially divest to an equity partner, and are classified as discontinued operations.

Cash flow metrics declined year over year, with free cash flow totaling $2.5 billion compared with $3.1 billion in the prior-year quarter. The company attributed the decrease to higher capital investment, which reached $5.1 billion as it accelerates fiber deployment.

Legacy services continued to decline sharply, with revenue down 25.3 percent as AT&T phases out its copper-based network. Its Latin America segment posted revenue growth of 20.8 percent, aided by favorable foreign exchange conditions and subscriber gains.

AT&T repurchased approximately $2.3 billion in shares during the quarter and reaffirmed its broader capital return plans, including more than $45 billion in shareholder returns between 2026 and 2028.