AT&T Declines 19.3% in Three Months: How to Play the Stock?

AT&T Declines 19.3% in Three Months: How to Play the Stock? AT&T, Inc.T has lost 19.3% in three months compared with the Wireless National industry’s decline of 15.8%. The stock has also underperformed the Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the S&P 500’s growth during this period. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The company has underperformed its peers like Verizon Communications Inc.VZ but outperformed Charter CommunicationsCHTR. Verizon has declined 9.5%, while Charter has lost 43.5% year to date. Major Challenges AT&T continues to experience steep declines in legacy wireline and copper-based services as customers migrate to newer technologies. In first-quarter 2026, Legacy service revenues declined about 25% year over year, and management expects a decline of 20% plus for full-year 2026. The company's long-term growth story relies on massive investments in fiber and wireless infrastructure. It is accelerating fiber deployment, investing $19 billion in California alone through 2030, which places pressure on free cash flow. It faces stiff competition in the U.S. wireless and broadband market. Major rivals like Verizon and Charter are also aggressively investing in fiber, fixed wireless access, and customer acquisition. T must continue offering attractive pricing, bundled services, and network improvements to maintain subscriber growth. Spending on promotional activities and lucrative discounts will put pressure on the margin. Verizon has been aggressively bundling wireless and broadband services through its myPlan and myHome offerings. The company has also been expanding its fiber footprint through the Frontier acquisition and growing fixed wireless access to deepen customer relationships and increase cross-selling opportunities. These strategies from Verizon can impact AT&T’s customer acquisition efforts to some extent. AT&T's leverage increased following the Lumen transaction. Net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ended first-quarter 2026 at 2.71x, up from 2.53x at the end of fourth-quarter 2025, primarily due to the Lumen transaction close. As of the