AT&T posts a record 769,000 internet net adds while its fiber crews picket in nine states
The company's first quarterly print since GIP and CPP Investments agreed to buy half its wholesale fiber venture lands a record 769,000 internet net adds, $32.3 billion of revenue and a $2.6 billion Mexico impairment, one day after fiber technicians picketed in nine states.
Vincent Jiang · 2 min read
AT&T's−6.30% — AT&T, down 6.30 percent today fiber network set a subscriber record on Tuesday, and the crews who build it spent the day before on a picket line outside it. The company's 8-K, filed October 21, 2026, shows 769,000 Advanced Connectivity internet net adds in the third quarter, a company record, split between 442,000 fiber and 327,000 fixed wireless, with 379,000 postpaid phone adds on top 1.
The record 769,000 internet adds rest on fiber and fixed wireless in roughly equal parts
Data
| Q3 2026 net adds | |
|---|---|
| Fiber | 442K |
| Fixed wireless | 327K |
| Postpaid phone | 379K |
The record quarter, in numbers
Revenue reached $32.3 billion, up 5.3% year over year, helped by the Lumen mass-markets fiber acquisition that closed in February 1. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.65 against $0.54 a year ago, and free cash flow was $5.0 billion 1. The convergence pitch is working: 42.8% of households with AT&T's advanced home internet also take its wireless 1. But the quarter also booked a $2.6 billion non-cash impairment on the Mexico wireless business AT&T agreed to sell on October 13, and total debt stands at $159.6 billion after the EchoStar+6.95% — EchoStar, up 6.95 percent today spectrum closing 1.
$32.3 billion is AT&T's biggest quarter outside the seasonal fourth-quarter peak on record here
Data
| Revenue | |
|---|---|
| Q1 '24 | $30B |
| Q2 '24 | $29.8B |
| Q3 '24 | $30.2B |
| Q4 '24 | $32.3B |
| Q1 '25 | $30.6B |
| Q2 '25 | $30.8B |
| Q3 '25 | $30.7B |
| Q4 '25 | $33.5B |
| Q1 '26 | $31.5B |
| Q2 '26 | $31.6B |
| Q3 '26 | $32.3B |
Fiber carries the growth: Advanced Connectivity EBITDA dwarfs Legacy and Latin America
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Advanced Connectivity | $12,330M |
| Legacy | $498M |
| Latin America | $236M |
Who owns the fiber now
Two weeks ago AT&T agreed to sell half of its wholesale fiber operation, combining Forged Fiber 37, the former Lumen build engine, with Gigapower, into a joint venture owned 50/50 with BlackRock's+1.17% — BlackRock, up 1.17 percent today Global Infrastructure Partners and Canada's CPP Investments 2. The deal funds the build toward 60 million fiber locations by 2030 on a capital-light basis, and AT&T guided long-term capital investment down to $22–23 billion a year for 2027–2028 while promising $45 billion-plus of shareholder returns through 2028 12.
The labor fight under the build
On October 20, fiber technicians and facility specialists at Forged Fiber picketed across nine states, demanding a fair contract and protesting AT&T's plan to outsource the work to non-union contractors; the CWA filed an unfair labor practice charge in August 3. Copper, meanwhile, is being shut off on schedule: legacy revenue is guided down more than 20% this year, with legacy EBITDA turning negative after 2027 1. Fiber carries the whole growth story, and the people hanging it are now bargaining with the structure half-owned by pension capital.
What decides it
Watch three dated events: regulatory approval of the JV sale, expected to close in the first half of 2027 2; the NLRB case over bargaining, docketed August 12, 2026 3; and whether the 60-million-location 2030 target holds while capex falls 1. The network is priced as an AI-era asset. The picket line is the counterparty's ledger on that price.
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