AT&T Doubles Down on Fiber as Massive Spend Jolts Investors

AT&T ( (T) ) has been popular among investors this week. Here is a recap of the key news on this stock.

AT&T is working to shed its old image as a slow-growth telecom by turning fiber into its main growth engine and tightening capital discipline. Management plans to reach nearly 60 million fiber locations by 2030, pushing bundled fiber‑wireless offerings that reduce churn and improve customer value. At the same time, AT&T is shutting down legacy copper networks, targeting about $4 billion in annual run‑rate cost savings by 2028 and roughly $6 billion in broader operating cuts tied to decommissioning old infrastructure.

These efforts are expected to lift free cash flow as heavy modernization capex eases from the high‑teens to mid‑teens as a percentage of revenue, with estimates calling for around $18 billion in FCF in 2026 and $19.5 billion in 2027. AT&T also unveiled a headline $250 billion-plus U.S. infrastructure commitment over five years, covering capex and operating costs to expand fiber, 5G, fixed wireless and satellite connectivity, including its AST SpaceMobile partnership. Despite investor nerves over the scale of spending, the stock offers a roughly 4.1% dividend yield, a payout targeted at 40%–50% of FCF, and a capital plan that earmarks about $45 billion for dividends and buybacks, while Wall Street’s Moderate Buy consensus and ~9% upside target suggest room for re‑rating as the cash-flow story strengthens.

AT&T is also pushing a more flexible, software-based network architecture, naming Intel as a key cloud RAN partner while keeping the door open to alternative suppliers, underscoring its drive for hardware independence and long-term cost efficiency. With a cleaner focus on connectivity, AI-driven efficiency initiatives and supportive U.S. telecom policy, the company is positioning itself as a more durable income and growth play than in past cycles, even though its share price has lagged the S&P 500 over the last year.