AT&T has unveiled its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings for 2025, showcasing solid financial performance amid mixed expectations from analysts. While the company managed to exceed revenue projections, it narrowly missed estimates for net postpaid phone additions, prompting attention as competitors Verizon and T-Mobile gear up to release their own earnings results.
AT&T's Fourth Quarter Highlights
In its final quarterly report for 2025, AT&T disclosed a revenue of $33.5 billion for the three months ending on December 31, 2025. However, it fell short of Wall Street's predictions for net postpaid phone additions, reporting 421,000 additions instead of the anticipated 425,000. Despite these figures, the company’s net income rose to $4.2 billion, translating to 52 cents per share on an adjusted basis, a notable increase from 43 cents per share during the same quarter the previous year.
The Importance of Postpaid Subscribers
Postpaid phone subscribers represent the most reliable segment for wireless carriers due to their consistent payments. Although churn increased to 0.98% in Q4—up from 0.85% in Q4 2024—AT&T continued to grow its customer base in other areas. The company added 283,000 net additions in its Fiber division and 221,000 in AT&T Internet Air, surpassing analyst expectations in both categories.
2025 Annual Performance Overview
For the entirety of 2025, AT&T reported more than 1.5 million net additions in postpaid phone subscriptions for the fifth straight year, along with over 1 million net adds in Fiber for the eighth consecutive year. Mobility service revenue reached $67.4 billion, reflecting an annual growth rate of 3.1%. Additionally, AT&T repurchased $4.3 billion of its common stock, utilizing a previously approved share buyback program from 2024.
Future Forecasts
Looking ahead, AT&T anticipates steady growth in service revenue and earnings per share over the next few years, projecting earnings to reach between $2.25 and $2.35 per share in 2026. The stock's positive reaction today, rising 4.7% to $24.08, signals a favorable outlook among investors following a challenging year.
Upcoming Reports from Verizon and T-Mobile
Investors are keenly awaiting earnings reports from competitors Verizon and T-Mobile. Verizon is set to report its numbers on Friday, expected to reveal a substantial decline in net phone additions compared to last year's figures. T-Mobile’s earnings release is scheduled for February 11, with analysts predicting its own performance in the crucial postpaid segment. Should T-Mobile's figures fall short of expectations, it could trigger a negative reaction in its stock valuation.
