AT&T Inc. delivered a stronger‐than‐expected fourth quarter, with consolidated revenue rising 3.5% year-over-year to $31.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $11.2 billion, beating consensus estimates by $450 million. Wireless service revenues climbed 4.2% as 635,000 postpaid phone net additions—its best quarterly performance since Q2 2024—reflected healthy 5G migration and customer upgrades. Broadband demand was driven by fiber convergence, with fiber net adds of 110,000, offsetting a 7% decline in legacy copper DSL lines. Despite persistent margin pressure from promotional spending and legacy disconnect fees, AT&T maintained a consolidated operating margin of 27.5% and reiterated full-year guidance for low-single-digit adjusted EPS growth, underscoring the resilience of its core connectivity franchise and ongoing cost‐synergy programs following its WarnerMedia separation.

Over the past decade AT&T has distributed approximately $85 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, ranking among the top capital-return companies in the S&P 500. Cash dividends accounted for $52 billion of the total, with a current quarterly payout ratio around 65% of free cash flow and a 6.7% dividend yield based on aggregate cash distributions. Share buybacks totaled roughly $33 billion, reducing the diluted share count by 11.5% since fiscal 2016 and enhancing per-share metrics. Management’s three-year capital allocation plan includes an additional $20 billion share repurchase authorization and continued coverage of the dividend from free cash flow, targeting a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio below 2.5x by year-end. This disciplined approach positions AT&T to sustain shareholder returns while funding 5G network expansion and strategic fiber investments.