MMarketMath

T

Slow growerQuality: Medium (48/100)1 red flag

AT&T · Communication Services · Integrated Telecommunication Services

$25.69

52w 19.89 – 29.79

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$176.0B

P/E

7.9

P/FCF

8.9

FCF yield

11.2%

ROE

17.4%

Shldr yield

7.3%

div 4.7% + bb 2.6%

What today's price assumes

At $176.0B, the market is pricing in -3.5% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew 1.6% per year — expectations look undemanding relative to history.

Simple DCF per-share range: $36 · $36 · $45 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 2.3× across 18 years, T would trade near $14/share (25th–75th percentile: $9–$16); it trades at 4.4× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

+1.3%

Rev 5y

−2.6%

Rev 10y

−1.5%

EPS 5y

EPS 10y

+2.5%

FCF 5y

−7.3%

FCF 10y

+1.6%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2007–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2007: $118.9B
2008: $123.4B
2009: $122.5B
2010: $124.3B
2011: $126.7B
2012: $127.4B
2013: $128.8B
2014: $132.4B
2015: $146.8B
2016: $163.8B
2017: $160.5B
2018: $170.8B
2019: $181.2B
2020: $143.1B
2021: $134.0B
2022: $120.7B
2023: $122.4B
2024: $122.3B
2025: $125.6B
$0$50.0B$100.0B$150.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Net income

2007: $12.0B
2008: −$2.6B
2009: $12.1B
2010: $19.9B
2011: $3.9B
2012: $7.3B
2013: $18.4B
2014: $6.4B
2015: $13.3B
2016: $13.0B
2017: $29.4B
2018: $19.4B
2019: $13.9B
2020: −$5.2B
2021: $20.1B
2022: −$8.5B
2023: $14.4B
2024: $10.9B
2025: $22.0B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Free cash flow

2007: $16.5B
2008: $14.0B
2009: $17.9B
2010: $15.7B
2011: $14.6B
2012: $19.7B
2013: $13.9B
2014: $10.1B
2015: $16.7B
2016: $16.9B
2017: $17.4B
2018: $22.4B
2019: $29.0B
2020: $28.4B
2021: $26.4B
2022: $16.2B
2023: $20.5B
2024: $18.5B
2025: $19.4B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2008: 6.0B
2009: 5.9B
2010: 5.9B
2011: 6.0B
2012: 5.8B
2013: 5.4B
2014: 5.2B
2015: 5.6B
2016: 6.2B
2017: 6.2B
2018: 6.8B
2019: 7.3B
2020: 7.5B
2021: 7.5B
2022: 7.6B
2023: 7.3B
2024: 7.2B
2025: 7.2B
02.0B4.0B6.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Margins

0%10%20%07101316192225
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2007: $19.1B
2008: $15.6B
2009: $9.7B
2010: $9.9B
2011: $10.2B
2012: $23.0B
2013: $22.7B
2014: $11.2B
2015: $10.5B
2016: $12.3B
2017: $12.5B
2018: $14.0B
2019: $17.3B
2020: $20.5B
2021: $15.3B
2022: $10.7B
2023: $8.3B
2024: $8.4B
2025: $12.7B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$0$50.0B$100.0B$150.0B07101316192225
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q2'23: $29.9B
Q3'23: $30.4B
Q4'23: $32.0B
Q1'24: $30.0B
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
$0$10.0B$20.0B$30.0B
23
24
24
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q2'23: $4.5B
Q3'23: $3.5B
Q1'24: $3.4B
Q2'24: $3.6B
Q3'24: −$174.0M
Q4'24: $4.1B
Q1'25: $4.4B
Q2'25: $4.5B
Q3'25: $9.3B
Q4'25: $3.8B
Q1'26: $3.8B
Q2'26: $4.6B
$0$2.5B$5.0B$7.5B
23
24
24
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q2'26$31.6B+2.3%$4.6B+2.8%0.66
Q1'26$31.5B+2.9%$3.8B−12.0%0.54
Q4'25 *$33.5B+3.6%$3.8B−7.2%0.52$11.3B
Q3'25$30.7B+1.6%$9.3B1.29$10.2B
Q2'25$30.8B+3.5%$4.5B+25.1%0.62$9.8B
Q1'25$30.6B+2.0%$4.4B+26.3%0.61$9.0B
Q4'24 *$32.3B+0.9%$4.1B0.56$11.9B
Q3'24$30.2B−0.5%−$174.0M−105.0%-0.03$10.2B
Q2'24$29.8B−0.4%$3.6B−19.9%0.49$9.1B
Q1'24$30.0B−0.4%$3.4B−18.5%0.47$7.5B
Q4'23$32.0B+2.2%$11.4B
Q3'23$30.4B+1.0%$3.5B−42.0%0.48$10.3B
Q2'23$29.9B+0.9%$4.5B+8.0%0.61$9.9B

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+1.3%−2.6%−1.5%+0.1%
Operating cash flow+4.0%−1.4%+1.2%+0.9%
Free cash flow+6.3%−7.3%+1.6%+1.4%
EPS (diluted)+2.7%+8.2%+2.5%−0.6%
Equity+5.9%−6.7%+0.2%+0.8%
LT debt+0.4%−2.8%+1.3%+5.7%
Diluted shares−1.8%−0.8%+2.4%+1.3%
Stock price+26.7%+10.9%+5.3%+8.5%

$100, 3 years ago

$203vs $176 in SPY

26.7% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$168vs $181 in SPY

10.9% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$167vs $412 in SPY

5.3% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$341vs $813 in SPY

8.5% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$7.42

$69.8B created / $9.4B retained

Last 10 years

$8.53

$109.5B created / $12.8B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

15.4%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

13.9%

MC vs 10× OCF

0.43

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

6.9y

SBC / FCF

2.8%

Owner earnings

$18.9B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

10.9%

Share count 5y

+1.1%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

$0.35

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Checklist

17 of 25 checks pass · 68%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

3/6

  • Revenue growth

    -2.6% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • EPS growth

    · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    na
  • FCF growth

    -7.3% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Revenue rises consistently

    4 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    fail
  • FCF consistently positive

    10 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    8 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    -1.4% vs -2.6% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    pass

Profitability

6/6

  • Net margin

    17.5% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    19.2% · ≥ 10%

    pass
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    17.4% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    15.4% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • FCF margin

    15.5% · ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $40.3B vs NI $22.0B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

1/5

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    6.9y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    fail
  • Cash cushion

    14% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    1.07 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $126.5B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    fail
  • Interest burden

    28% · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    fail

Capital Allocation

3/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    1.1% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    fail
  • Stock comp restrained

    3% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    pass
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    65% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    pass
  • Repurchases are a habit

    10 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    pass

Valuation Discipline

4/4

  • FCF yield

    11.2% · ≥ 3%

    pass
  • Earnings multiple

    7.9 · P/E ≤ 25

    pass
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    -3.5% vs 1.6% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    pass
  • Shareholder yield

    7.3% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    pass

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Heavy debt load

Long-term debt exceeds 5 years of free cash flow.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
2025125,64824,16221,9533.0440,28420,84219,4428,1804,50053618,234134,718126,4917,179
2024122,33619,04910,9481.4938,77120,26318,5088,2082155053,298122,116118,2457,204
2023122,42823,46114,4001.9738,31417,85320,4618,1361944796,722133,402117,4427,258
2022120,741-4,587-8,524-1.1335,81219,62616,1869,8598905183,701133,207106,4577,587
2021134,03825,89720,0812.7341,95715,54526,41215,06820244719,223167,476183,8557,503
2020143,0508,372-5,176-0.7543,13014,69028,44014,9565,4984227,924155,209179,2407,466
2019181,19327,95513,9031.8948,66819,63529,03314,8882,4178199,702161,109201,9347,348
2018170,75626,09619,3702.8543,60221,25122,35113,4106094635,204166,250193,8846,806
2017160,54619,97029,4504.7638,01020,64717,36312,03846348050,498125,972142,0076,183
2016163,78623,54312,9762.1038,44221,51616,92611,7975126535,788113,681124,1106,189
2015146,80124,78513,3452.3735,88019,21816,66210,2002694515,121118,515123,6405,646
2014132,44712,2126,4421.2431,33821,19910,1399,5521,6173188,60375,77890,2705,221
2013128,75230,75218,4183.4234,79620,94413,8529,69613,0284583,33969,29094,6105,385
2012127,43412,9977,2641.2539,17619,46519,71110,24112,7525114,86866,35895,6535,821
2011126,7239,2183,9440.6634,74320,11014,63310,17204893,04561,300105,7975,950
2010124,28019,57319,8643.3535,22219,53015,6929,91605131,20158,971111,9505,938
2009122,51321,00012,1382.0534,40516,55417,8519,67003,27764,720101,9895,924
2008123,443-1,690-2,625-0.4433,61019,63113,9799,5076,0771,72760,87296,3645,958
2007118,92820,40411,9511.9434,24217,71716,5258,74310,3901,905115,256

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.