Where Does AT&T Stock Rank Among Competitors?
AT&T‘s stock has delivered positive returns over the past year, but how does it truly stack up against rivals navigating the evolving connectivity and broadband landscape? A closer look reveals solid profitability, moderate revenue growth, and attractive valuation support. However, the company faces persistent challenges from intense competition, elevated churn, and the capital-intensive nature of the telecom industry as of 2/27/2026.
AT&T (T) has seen positive returns over the past year, with its stock gaining 2.1% against the Wireless National industry’s decline. As of February 27, 2026, shares were up 9.3% since their last earnings report, closing at $28.01. The telecommunications giant is focused on expanding its fiber network and modernizing its wireless infrastructure amidst a competitive environment.
Analysis of the provided data and search grounding reveals:
* **Solid Profitability**: AT&T exhibits strong profitability, with a last twelve months (LTM) operating margin of approximately 19.9% and a LTM free cash flow margin of 15.47%. Its adjusted operating income margin for Q4 2025 was 18.3%, and full-year 2025 free cash flow reached $16.6 billion, at the high end of guidance.
* **Moderate Revenue Growth**: The company recorded an LTM revenue growth of 2.7%. Its full-year 2025 revenue of $125.65 billion was up 2.7% from 2024, driven by fiber consumer and business subscriptions. AT&T anticipates low-single-digit service revenue growth annually.
* **Attractive Valuation**: With a P/E ratio of 9.05 and a forward-looking P/E ratio of less than 10, AT&T‘s valuation appears attractive relative to some peers.
* **Persistent Challenges**: Despite these strengths, AT&T operates in a highly competitive and capital-intensive industry. The telecom sector faces macroeconomic uncertainties, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain disruptions. AT&T itself has acknowledged challenges such as elevated churn and declining legacy service revenues, alongside intense competition from cable providers in the fiber market. The industry also requires significant ongoing investment in 5G and fiber networks.
- T’s 19.9% operating margin is strong but trails CHTR (24.3%), reflecting T’s costly 5G/fiber transition vs. CHTR’s high-margin broadband model.
- T’s 2.7% revenue growth is low, lagging TMUS’s 5G/FWA gains but outpacing VZ, CMCSA, CHTR, LUMN amidst industry ARPU pressure.
- T’s stock gained 8.7% with a 9.1 PE, suggesting undervaluation amidst debt reduction, while VZ/LUMN offered stronger returns.
Here’s how AT&T stacks up across size, valuation, and profitability versus key peers.
| T | VZ | TMUS | CMCSA | CHTR | LUMN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap ($ Bil) | 198.8 | 212.0 | 241.1 | 112.4 | 29.8 | 7.1 |
| Revenue ($ Bil) | 125.6 | 138.2 | 88.3 | 123.7 | 54.8 | 12.7 |
| PE Ratio | 9.1 | 12.3 | 21.9 | 5.6 | 6.0 | -4.3 |
| LTM Revenue Growth | 2.7% | 2.5% | 8.5% | -0.0% | -0.6% | -4.6% |
| LTM Operating Margin | 19.9% | 21.2% | 21.0% | 16.7% | 24.3% | 1.3% |
| LTM FCF Margin | 15.5% | 14.2% | 17.5% | 15.5% | 8.1% | 9.7% |
| 12M Market Return | 8.7% | 23.8% | -16.1% | -3.0% | -34.7% | 57.6% |
For more details on AT&T, read Buy or Sell T Stock. Below we compare T’s growth, margin, and valuation with peers across years
Revenue Growth Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | 2.7% | 2.7% | -0.1% | 1.4% | |
| VZ | 2.5% | 2.5% | 0.6% | -2.1% | |
| TMUS | 8.5% | 8.5% | 3.6% | -1.3% | |
| CMCSA | -0.0% | -0.0% | 1.8% | 0.1% | |
| CHTR | -0.6% | -0.6% | 0.9% | 1.1% | |
| LUMN | -4.6% | – | -10.0% | -16.7% | -11.2% |
Operating Margin Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | 19.9% | 19.9% | 19.7% | 20.1% | |
| VZ | 21.2% | 21.2% | 21.3% | 21.4% | |
| TMUS | 21.0% | 21.0% | 22.1% | 18.1% | |
| CMCSA | 16.7% | 16.7% | 18.8% | 19.2% | |
| CHTR | 24.3% | 24.3% | 24.0% | 22.9% | |
| LUMN | 1.3% | – | 3.6% | 8.4% | 18.8% |
PE Ratio Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | 9.1 | 8.1 | 15.0 | 8.4 | |
| VZ | 12.3 | 10.0 | 9.6 | 13.7 | |
| TMUS | 21.9 | 20.8 | 22.8 | 22.8 | |
| CMCSA | 5.6 | 5.5 | 9.0 | 11.7 | |
| CHTR | 6.0 | 5.7 | 9.6 | 12.7 | |
| LUMN | -4.3 | – | -139.5 | -0.5 | -1.2 |
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