AT&T says to return $45B+ to shareholders during 2026-2028

AT&T expects to return $45 billion+ to shareholders during 2026-2028 through dividends and share repurchases. Under this capital return plan, the company expects to maintain its current annualized common stock dividend of $1.11 per share. Management also expects to complete share repurchases under its current $10 billion authorization before the end of 2026 and to commence repurchases under a subsequent $10 billion authorization that has been approved by the company’s Board of Directors. The company expects to repurchase approximately $8 billion of common stock during 2026 under these authorizations and to maintain a consistent pace of share repurchases through 2028, pending additional Board authorization. AT&T expects its net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio to increase to approximately 3.2x following its transactions with Lumen and EchoStar and to decline to approximately 3x by the end of 2026. AT&T continues to expect net leverage will return to a level consistent with its target in the 2.5x range within approximately three years following the closing of these acquisitions. The company expects to maintain a consistent approach to capital returns while reducing net leverage to its target range.