AT&T lifts 2026 adjusted earnings outlook as advanced connectivity growth builds

AT&T said it has raised its 2026 outlook for adjusted earnings, pointing to improving demand across both fixed broadband and mobile services. The change comes as the company continues to report growth in customer lines it groups under its “advanced connectivity” offering, which the firm links to higher-value connectivity needs for consumers and businesses.

In the latest quarter, AT&T added more than 1 million advanced connectivity customers, marking a second consecutive quarter of net additions at that level, according to the report. AT&T framed that customer growth as evidence that customers are continuing to move toward fiber broadband where it is available, while its wireless service demand remains strong.

The company’s forecast increase was attributed to the same underlying drivers, with the report highlighting fiber broadband growth and wireless demand as the core contributors. Fiber broadband, typically delivered over fiber-optic lines, is generally viewed in the industry as a higher-performance alternative to older copper-based connections, and it often carries different cost and revenue profiles for providers.

AT&T’s wireless segment also remains central to its earnings narrative, with the report suggesting that demand for mobile connectivity is supporting cash generation and overall profitability. In practical terms, wireless demand matters for the company because it influences subscriber numbers, usage levels, and the cost of customer acquisition and retention.

Taken together, the updated outlook indicates that AT&T believes it can sustain a better operating mix than it previously expected for the rest of 2026. Investors typically watch forecast revisions closely for indications that management’s assumptions about customer growth, pricing, and competitive conditions are moving in a favorable direction.

AT&T’s “advanced connectivity” concept is essentially a way to describe customer relationships that rely on next-generation or higher-value network services rather than basic connectivity. By bundling those lines into a single growth metric, the company can track progress toward higher-quality customer relationships that it expects to translate into improved adjusted earnings performance.

The report did not provide, in the excerpt available here, specific details on the size of the 2026 earnings revision or the timetable of underlying segment drivers. It also did not specify how much of the advanced connectivity net adds came from fiber broadband versus wireless, or whether the company expects any changes in capital spending intensity as growth continues.

What to watch next is whether AT&T’s upgraded outlook persists through subsequent quarters, particularly as management reports how fiber deployment and wireless subscriber trends translate into adjusted earnings. Additional disclosures on the mix behind the advanced connectivity adds, along with any updates to cost expectations, would help clarify how durable the outlook increase may be.