NEW YORK, July 24, 2026 – AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is experiencing more favorable conditions for its share repurchase program as the stock price has fallen below the average cost paid during the first half of the year. This development enhances the company's ability to retire shares more cost-effectively.
AT&T's buyback activity in the first half of 2026 implies an average purchase price of approximately $25.49 per share. With the stock closing at $22.96 on Thursday, down 9.9%, each dollar now acquires about 11% more shares compared to the first half.
The company has allocated roughly $10 billion for share repurchases this year. After accounting for $4.435 billion spent on about 174 million shares in the first half, AT&T retains $5.57 billion in buyback capacity, excluding July transactions. At Thursday's closing price, this remaining amount could repurchase approximately 242 million shares, or about 3.5% of shares outstanding as of July 16.
This improved buyback efficiency comes amid mixed quarterly results. AT&T reported a net addition of 432,000 postpaid phone subscribers and a churn rate of 0.86% for the second quarter. Free cash flow reached $4.7 billion, exceeding the Visible Alpha estimate of $4.43 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.65, beating the LSEG consensus of $0.59, while revenue of $31.6 billion slightly missed the $31.8 billion forecast.
CEO John Stankey stated, "We are accelerating the pace of our planned share repurchases this year to approximately $10 billion." The company's annual dividend of $1.11 per share yields 4.8% at the current price. Combined buybacks and dividends could represent about 11.2% of AT&T's current equity value on a gross basis, though this figure excludes execution costs, employee share issuance, or plan modifications.
Following the earnings release on Wednesday, shares rose 3.5%. On Thursday, they slipped 0.35% while the S&P 500 fell 1.21%. AT&T finished the week 5.3% higher than the prior Friday's close.
In contrast, T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) shares dropped 10.75% on Thursday after the company raised its free-cash-flow outlook but projected approximately 250,000 postpaid account additions for the third quarter, below the analyst consensus of 304,000. The divergent market reactions highlight AT&T's strong subscriber metrics and substantial cash-return initiative, despite the revenue miss.
Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino upgraded AT&T to Outperform with a $29 price target, noting, "Starlink may bully its way into mobility, but it would take years to acquire and clear the right spectrum."
U.S. premarket trading began at 06:08 EDT, ahead of the regular session open at 09:30 EDT. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is scheduled to release its second-quarter results at 07:00 EDT, providing an additional benchmark for churn and cash flow metrics. AT&T has no investor events planned through next week, with its next scheduled dividend distribution on August 3.
Risks remain, including net debt of $126.4 billion and annual capital investment targets of $23 billion to $24 billion. A sustained decline in share price could also signal broader concerns about competition, operational performance, or future cash flow generation.
