AT&T Stock: AT&T Earnings Due. Verizon Dividend At Risk Under New CEO?

when AT&T (T), T-Mobile USA (Tamos) and Verizon Communications (VZ) for third-quarter earnings, Wall Street analysts will look for management’s views on the outlook for competitive intensity versus the cable TV industry in 2026. AT&T stock has risen 14%, about the same level as the S&P 500, this year but has declined since mid-September.

AT&T’s third-quarter earnings are scheduled to be released before the market opens on October 22. T-Mobile reports third-quarter financial results early on October 23. Verizon stock earnings are scheduled to be announced early on October 29. Verizon has moved its third quarter report from October 21st.

AT&T’s earnings are expected to fall 11% to 54 cents per share. Analysts expect T-Mobile’s earnings to fall 8% to $2.40. Verizon’s earnings are expected to be flat at $1.19 per share.

T-Mobile stock is up 5% this year while Verizon stock is up 1.5%.

Verizon profits in jeopardy under new CEO?

In a surprise move, Verizon on October 6 named Dan Schulman as CEO effective immediately. He replaced Hans Vestberg. T-Mobile in September as expected appointed Srinivasan Gopalan as president and CEO effective November 1, succeeding Michael Seifert.

“We’ll be looking for signs of strategy shifts at Verizon or T-Mobile. They both have new CEOs,” said Craig Moffitt, an analyst at MoffettNathanson. “The transition at T-Mobile was organized and planned, but the transition at Verizon was completely unexpected. This will be Dan’s first opportunity to put his stamp on Verizon’s strategic direction.”

Verizon could target its profits under the new CEO, JPMorgan analyst Sebastiano Petti said in a report.

“We expect Shulman to pursue an aggressive strategy to accelerate the growth of Verizon’s fiber footprint, with an increased focus on convergence to reduce disruption and boost consumer segment volumes and share,” Beatty said. “However, increased capital expenditures to support footprint expansion will likely put pressure on free cash flow and impede the company’s deleveraging path. As a result, we would not be surprised if Verizon suspends earnings growth to prioritize investing in growth initiatives and/or discretionary stock repurchases.”

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Shulman served as CEO of the company PayPal Holdings (PYPL) and Virgin Mobile. At PayPal, Shulman has had a mixed record. He succeeded in separating the company from eBay (eBay). But PayPal stock fell in 2022 after the company trimmed guidance and growth stalled. Also, critics said PayPal lagged behind the latest financial technologies in product development.

Verizon’s consumer business has been under pressure amid subscriber share losses to T-Mobile and AT&T. Verizon expects to raise $20 billion Border communications (FYBR) to close in early 2026.

In a regulatory filing, Verizon said Shulman’s contract runs through December 31, 2027.

Wireless competition is heating up

“We suspect the (Verizon) board’s initial timidity at the 2026 numbers may have been the impetus behind the recent CEO transition announcement,” TD Cowen analyst Gregory Williams said in a report. “2026 will see significant capital expenditure and operating expenditure to expand and consolidate frontier businesses.” He also says Verizon could target its profits.

“The new CEO appears to be a gap in the board and we suspect he may be the right man to cut the dividend,” Williams added.

At T-Mobile, Gopalan has been chief operating officer since March. Earlier, he served as Managing Director at T-Mobile’s parent company, based in Germany Deutsche Telekom (Datiji).

Wireless competition will intensify in 2025, putting pressure on profit margins, Wall Street analysts say. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have increased support on mobile phones amid… apple(AAPL) has introduced the higher-priced iPhone 17 models. Wireless carriers have stepped up phone trade-in promotions that also offer consumers buyouts if they terminate contracts.

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Meanwhile, T-Mobile is expected to lead third-quarter additions of high-spending “postpaid” phone subscribers. Wall Street analysts estimate that T-Mobile will add 840,000 postpaid phone subscribers, with AT&T adding 332,000 and Verizon 47,000.

T-Mobile: Subscriber additions in the third quarter

Some analysts expect a strong third-quarter performance from T-Mobile.

“The third quarter will be Mike Seifert’s last quarter as CEO,” RBC Capital analyst Jonathan Atkin said in a report. “We do not expect that he will leave the company on a weaker footing.”

“T-Mobile is poised to deliver positive third-quarter results with better postpaid organic phone network additions and strong financial performance, which should be bolstered by early contributions from its U.S. cellular and fiber acquisitions,” Citibank analyst Michael Rollins said in a report.

Both AT&T and Verizon are focused on “convergence” — selling landline broadband and wireless services in bundled products. Cable TV companies Comcast (CMCSA) and Charter Communications (CHTR) also sells product bundles.

Competition may intensify next year, Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng said in a recent report. Cable TV companies have suffered from the loss of high-speed Internet subscribers and will try to bounce back with aggressive pricing.

“We expect 2026 to be a pivotal year for the U.S. telecom and cable sectors given increasing competition in consumer communications services,” Ng said. “Unlike past years where competitive responses were largely through plan pricing and promotions for wireless handsets, we are seeing more competitive activity through wireless and wireline bundling (convergence).”

AT&T Stock: Fiber Expansion

Other analysts hold similar views.

“AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have all laid out aggressive fiber expansion plans, and the current pace — driven by organic and inorganic buildouts, partnerships and acquisitions — leaves little doubt that the rollout is accelerating,” Bernstein Research Analyst Laurent Yoon said. “Cable companies will struggle to defend their base and perhaps regain growth over time, but that will come at a cost. Right now, they are largely at the mercy of telcos’ expansion plans and the foreseeable future will not be pretty.”

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At KeyBanc Capital, analyst Brandon Nispel said in a report: “Over time, we believe that competition in a market with a limited total addressable market indicates more losers than winners, pricing pressure, margin pressure, and valuation pressure.”

In addition to building fiber networks for residential homes and businesses, telecom companies have expanded fixed wireless broadband services via 5G networks.

Comcast reported third-quarter earnings on October 30. Comcast in late September named CFO Michael Kavanagh co-CEO alongside Brian Roberts.

AT&T stock technical rating

Moreover, AT&T has returned to its telecommunications roots, divesting itself of satellite television companies DirecTV and WarnerMedia.

From a technical standpoint, AT&T stock carries an IBD Composite Rating of 46 out of a best possible score of 99. T-Mobile’s CR rating is 58 while Verizon’s is 27. compound classification It is a combination of key fundamental and technical metrics to help investors gauge a stock’s strengths.

Also, AT&T stock carries an Accumulation/Distribution rating of C-minus. The rating measures institutional buying and selling of a stock over the past 13 weeks. A+ indicates heavy institutional buying; E means heavy selling. Think of C as neutral.

Follow Reinhardt Krauss on X, formerly Twitter, @reinhardtk_tech For updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.

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