AT&T (T -0.19%) is an iconic telecommunications company. It can trace its roots all the way back to 1876, when Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
The company has evolved over the years through a series of transactions. Today, AT&T is one of North America's largest communications services providers. It provides mobile and wireline (broadband internet and voice) services to more than 100 million U.S. customers, wired services to almost 2.5 million businesses, and mobile services to consumers and businesses in Mexico.
AT&T is investing heavily to build next-generation 5G and fiber networks across the U.S. to support greater connectivity, faster data movement, and increased data usage. The investments should enable AT&T to increase its revenue and earnings in the future.
They should also help grow the telecom giant's already enormous cash flow, giving it more money for dividend payments, another key draw of AT&T stock. AT&T's lucrative income stream is another reason you might be interested in buying its stock.
How to buy
How to buy AT&T stock
Those who want to invest in AT&T will need to take a few steps before becoming shareholders. Here's a step-by-step guide to adding the telecommunications company to your portfolio:
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
Should I invest?
Should I invest in AT&T?
Taking the time to thoroughly research a company before buying shares is vital. You might realize the stock isn't right for you, or it might boost your confidence that shares are a good investment.
With that in mind, here are some reasons why you might want to buy shares of AT&T:
- You're at or nearing retirement and need dividend income.
- You're seeking stocks with a high dividend yield.
- Buying AT&T stock would help diversify your portfolio.
- You think AT&T's investments in 5G and fiber will reignite revenue growth and boost its profitability in the future.
- You think shares of AT&T trade at an attractive valuation.
- You believe AT&T can produce a worthwhile total return.
On the other hand, here are some reasons you might decide not to buy shares of the telecom giant:
- You're years away from retirement and don't need income-generating investments.
- You're seeking dividend stocks that can steadily increase their payouts.
- You already own shares of another telecom stock.
- You're not convinced AT&T's investments in fiber and 5G will reaccelerate its revenue and earnings growth rates.
- You're seeking a faster-growing company than AT&T.
- You're concerned that a recession could affect AT&T's earnings and cash flow.
- You don't think AT&T's total return can beat the S&P 500 over the next three to five years.
Profitability
Is AT&T profitable?
Dialing into a company's profitability is a vital part of investment research. Historically, profit growth is the biggest factor driving stock price performance over the long term. With that in mind, here's a closer look at AT&T's profitability.
AT&T is an incredibly profitable company. The telecom giant produced $12.3 billion of net income in 2024 on $122.3 billion of revenue. Meanwhile, the company's cash flow from operations was even higher at $38.8 million. Its strong profitability continued in 2025 as it reported $4.7 billion of net income on $30.6 billion of earnings in the first quarter, along with $9 billion of operating cash flow.
Revenue
AT&T also produces strong free cash flow ($17.6 billion in 2024 and $3.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025). That's more than enough to cover its dividend payment (about $2 billion per quarter). The company had been using its excess free cash flow to repay debt.
That strategy has paid off as AT&T reached its targeted leverage ratio in early 2025. That's giving it the financial flexibility to return additional cash to shareholders by repurchasing shares. It plans to repurchase about $20 billion of its shares between 2025 and 2027.
Dividends
Does AT&T pay a dividend?
AT&T has a long history of paying dividends. As of mid-2025, the company made quarterly dividend payments of $0.2775 per share ($1.11 annualized), giving the telecom giant a dividend yield of around 4% on its share price at the time. That was much higher than the average (the S&P 500's dividend yield was less than 1.5%).
Despite the company's long history of paying dividends and its attractive yield, AT&T cut its payout in 2022, ending a long period of growth:
AT&T cut its dividend by almost 50% in 2022 to retain more cash to invest in its growth and to reduce debt following the spinoff and merger of its media business to create Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD 2.61%).
While AT&T could certainly increase its dividend now that it has achieved its targeted leverage ratio, the company plans to maintain its current payment level for the time being. Instead, it intends to return additional cash to investors by repurchasing shares.
ETF options
ETFs with exposure to AT&T
Those still determining whether they're ready to invest directly in a company like AT&T have alternative options to consider. They can passively invest by purchasing a fund that holds its stock. One of the most common passive investment vehicles is an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)
AT&T is a fairly widely held stock. According to ETF.com, 358 ETFs held 1 billion shares of AT&T as of mid-2025. The iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF (IYZ 0.56%) and the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Communications Services ETF (NYSEMKT:EWCO) had meaningful weightings to AT&T. The former had a 14.6% weighting to AT&T, while the latter had a 4.8% weighting. That makes these ETFs ideal options for investors seeking to gain passive exposure to AT&T and other communications stocks.
Stock splits
Will AT&T stock split?
AT&T didn't have an upcoming stock split as of mid-2025. However, the company and its predecessor entities have completed several stock splits throughout their history. AT&T (along with the former SBC Communications Inc. and Southwestern Bell Corporation) has completed three splits:
| Split Year | Split Ratio |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 2-for-1 |
| 1993 | 2-for-1 |
| 1987 | 3-for-1 |
The company also completed a stock spinoff of its former media division in 2022. The transaction entitled investors to receive 0.241917 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock for every share of AT&T they owned.
AT&T likely won't complete another stock split soon. Shares traded at less than $30 in mid-2025, a very accessible level for most investors. The stock would have to gain significant value before AT&T would need to consider another split.
Related investing topics
The bottom line on AT&T
Iconic telecom giant AT&T believes its best days are still ahead. The company is investing heavily in building faster 5G and fiber networks, which it believes will increase its already copious cash flows. The increasing cash flows could enable it to grow value for its investors.
The company reached its targeted leverage level in early 2025, giving it the flexibility to start returning more cash to investors by repurchasing shares. That combination of earnings growth, dividend income, and value-enhancing share repurchases could enable AT&T to be a solid investment in the coming years.
FAQ
Investing in AT&T FAQ
Can you buy AT&T stock?
You can buy AT&T stock with any brokerage account. It trades under the stock ticker T. Here are some of the best online broker or stock trading accounts if you still need to open one.
Is AT&T a buy, sell, or hold?
AT&T's primary draw is its high-yielding dividend. It offers investors a bond-like fixed-income stream. While that might be attractive to some investors, there are better dividend stocks to buy for income, including chief rival Verizon (NYSE: VZ).
Verizon delivered its 18th straight year of dividend growth in late 2024. In addition, it pays a higher-yielding dividend (more than 6% as of mid-2025) that the telecom giant will likely continue increasing since it already has an even lower leverage ratio than AT&T.
However, analysts like AT&T's overall total return potential. In mid-2025, it had a consensus buy rating as 12 of the 28 analysts who followed the company gave it a "buy" rating, while another eight rated it as a "strong buy."
