A big potential catalyst for any stock is always its quarterly earnings report, which can give investors a good indication of whether its business is on the right path or not. If a company posts better-than-expected numbers or provides encouraging guidance, it can give the stock a huge boost. On the flip side, however, if investors are underwhelmed with what they see, that can quickly lead to a sell-off.
On April 22, AT&T (T 3.96%) will report its first-quarter earnings for 2026. This comes after the company posted some strong fourth-quarter numbers a few months ago. There will also be plenty of attention given that rival Verizon Communications also reported impressive subscriber growth in its quarterly report recently. This means for AT&T, expectations may be elevated for Q1 to see not only if it can build off strong Q4 numbers but also if it can keep up with Verizon.
Should you invest in AT&T stock before it releases its upcoming earnings numbers?
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How AT&T stock has normally done after earnings
AT&T isn't a top growth stock that depends heavily on how it does on earnings, but generating solid numbers can still be important for any company. In the chart below, you can see how AT&T's stock has done after posting its earnings numbers, and there are occasionally large moves in both directions.
The last time it reported earnings, back in January, the stock would end up climbing more than 25% within the following couple of weeks, as AT&T beat analyst expectations and its numbers looked strong. Big moves in share price can happen, but they haven't typically been the norm for the stock.
Another big rally may not be coming, but the stock still looks like a buy
This year has been a strong one thus far for the telecom company, with its share price up by 17%. Investors have been loading up on the stock due to the stability it offers, plus its high dividend, which yields 3.8% (the S&P 500 average is only 1.2%).
While it offers some terrific long-term stability, I don't expect there to be a reason for the stock to surge after earnings again, especially with AT&T already coming off an impressive rally after reporting its most recent quarterly numbers -- a fair bit of optimism may already be priced in.
NYSE: T
Key Data Points
However, with the stock still trading at less than 10 times its trailing earnings, it's not an expensive investment to put in your portfolio. Buying the dividend stock today and hanging on for the long term can be an excellent move, regardless of how it does in a single quarter.
