AT&T beats earnings estimates on strong wireless subscriber growth, shares up 3.5%

Howard Smith, The Motley Fool Wed, July 22, 2026 at 2:31 PM PDT | 2 min read

AT&T (NYSE: T) closed at $23.04, up 3.50%, after reporting earnings and subscriber growth data that beat estimates, despite a slight revenue miss. Trading volume reached 177.6 million shares—roughly triple its three-month average of 57.9 million shares.

Market Overview

• S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC): Fell 0.13% to 7,499
• Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC): Declined 0.57% to 25,691

Peer Performance

| Company | Ticker | Price | Change | |---------|--------|-------|--------| | Verizon Communications | NYSE: VZ | $44.29 | +1.16% | | T-Mobile US | NASDAQ: TMUS | $190.94 | -0.09% |

What This Means for Investors

Investors responded positively to AT&T's results despite a slight revenue miss. The key driver was strong subscriber growth, particularly as market participants look ahead to the upcoming initial quarterly report from Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX).

SpaceX's Starlink service has the potential to disrupt the existing wireless market, but today's results suggest AT&T has not yet felt the impact. However, investors should continue monitoring developments in space-based broadband. SpaceX is not the only player in this space—AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) is also building a satellite network to deliver broadband directly to smartphones anywhere on Earth.

For now, attention remained on AT&T's continued growth. The company added 432,000 postpaid phone net subscribers during the quarter, surpassing Wall Street's expectations of 338,500 additions.

Given the emerging competition from satellite-based solutions, AT&T investors should closely follow what SpaceX reports about its Starlink business when it releases earnings on August 4.

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Howard Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AST SpaceMobile. The Motley Fool recommends T-Mobile US and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.