Erste Group Bank Issues Positive Estimate for AT&T Earnings

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for AT&T to $2.33 from $2.32, near the $2.34 analyst consensus, following the company’s second-quarter EPS beat of $0.65 versus expectations of $0.59.
• AT&T reported quarterly revenue of $31.56 billion, up 2.3% year over year, although it fell short of the $31.80 billion consensus estimate. Management’s FY2026 EPS guidance remains $2.25–$2.35.
• The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $29.19, while AT&T’s quarterly dividend is $0.2775 per share, representing a 4.5% annualized yield.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank lifted their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of AT&T in a research note issued to investors on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the technology company will post earnings of $2.33 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.32. The consensus estimate for AT&T's current full-year earnings is $2.34 per share.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.80 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 12.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. AT&T has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on T. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of AT&T from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AT&T from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $30.00 price target on AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised AT&T from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AT&T from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.19.

AT&T Stock Performance

T opened at $24.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. AT&T has a twelve month low of $19.89 and a twelve month high of $29.79. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $22.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in AT&T by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,055,700 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,495,144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,585,661 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 332,089,723 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,249,109,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314,678 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of AT&T by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 125,191,700 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,629,307,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449,222 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,181,977,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in AT&T by 12.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 72,764,509 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,109,443,000 after buying an additional 8,197,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

AT&T News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AT&T this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AT&T completed its $23 billion acquisition of wireless spectrum from EchoStar. The deal adds approximately 50 MHz of nationwide low- and mid-band spectrum—30 MHz of 3.45 GHz spectrum and 20 MHz of 600 MHz spectrum—across virtually every U.S. market. The additional capacity should strengthen AT&T’s 5G network, improve connection quality and support future data demand. AT&T reiterated its second-quarter financial outlook and capital-allocation plan. AT&T closes $23 billion deal to acquire spectrum from EchoStar
• Positive Sentiment: AT&T expanded its agreement with D-Wave Quantum NASDAQ: QBTS to apply quantum-optimization technology to network operations, including outage detection, technician routing and traffic management. Initial testing reportedly reduced a network-optimization task from roughly one hour to 15 seconds. Potential benefits include faster outage response and more efficient network management, though the near-term financial impact is not yet quantified. D-Wave Wins Wider AT&T Deal After 15-Second Test
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 EPS forecast for AT&T to $2.33 from $2.32. The new estimate is close to the $2.34 analyst consensus and adds to the positive sentiment following AT&T’s second-quarter earnings beat, when the company reported $0.65 in EPS versus the $0.59 consensus estimate. AT&T analyst estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: The spectrum purchase is strategically valuable but capital intensive. AT&T must absorb the substantial upfront cost and still invest in deploying the new spectrum, which could limit near-term financial flexibility despite the potential for improved network competitiveness and long-term returns.

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T Inc is a global telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and digital entertainment services. Its core activities include consumer and business wireless services, broadband and fiber internet, and network infrastructure. The company operates branded wireless services through AT&T Mobility and deploys fixed-line and fiber networks to deliver high-speed internet and related home services.

AT&T's product and service portfolio spans mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and device sales, home internet (including fiber-to-the-home where available), and managed connectivity solutions for enterprise customers.

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